Known By Peace:
The Peacemakers and the Empire's Peacekeepers
Second Sunday of Lent
Luke 13:31-35, Philippians 3:17-4:1
What Kind of Peace Are We Talking About?
On June 5, 1989, an unknown man stood in the middle of a wide Beijing street, holding nothing but two shopping bags. He had no weapons, no armor, no power-except for the courage to stand his ground. In front of him rumbled a line of tanks, part of the Chinese military's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square.
As the tanks rolled toward him, he refused to move. The lead tank tried to go around him, but he stepped back into its path. The tank moved again; he blocked it once more. For a moment, one unarmed man stopped an entire column of war machines.
That man, known only as "Tank Man," has never been identified, and his fate remains a mystery. But his act of defiance remains one of the most powerful images of nonviolent resistance in modern history.
Tank Man was not a peacekeeper--he was a peacemaker.
Peacekeepers might have said, "Step aside. Don't make trouble. Keep the order."
But peacemakers step into the chaos, the injustice, the suffering- and refuse to let it continue unchallenged.
And that brings us to our scriptures today. Both Jesus and Paul show us that the peace of God is not the world's peace-it is not about order for order's sake, not about keeping things comfortable, but about truth, justice, and reconciliation, even when it costs us something.
(The Pharisees and the "Peacekeeping" Approach -- Luke 13:31- 35)
In Luke 13, Jesus is moving toward Jerusalem-toward his inevitable confrontation with power. And that's when the Pharisees come to him with a warning:
"Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.
**
Now, at first glance, this might seem like a moment of kindness. Maybe they were looking out for Jesus. But when we read between the lines, their words sound more like an attempt to control him rather than protect him.
A. Why Would the Pharisees Want Jesus to Leave?
Political self-preservation - If Jesus caused too much trouble, it could bring Roman retaliation against all Jewish leaders.
Maintaining control - Jesus' radical message of the Kingdom of God threatened the religious status quo.
Avoiding conflict - If Jesus kept drawing crowds and challenging power, things could turn violent.
They weren't looking for God's peace. They were looking for Herod's peace a false peace, one built on fear, control, and silence.
B. Jesus' Response: A Peacemaker's Defiance
But Jesus is not intimidated. He refuses to be driven out by fear. Instead, he sends a message back:
"Go tell that fox, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.
He calls Herod a fox-a symbol of cunning, deceit, and destruction. Jesus knows exactly what kind of peace Herod offers: a peace built on submission and control, enforced through violence.
Jesus refuses that peace.
Instead, he describes himself as a mother hen gathering her chicks; a tender, vulnerable, yet fiercely protective image.
Hens don't run from foxes.
Hens stand their ground for the sake of their chicks.
And that's exactly what Jesus is doing-marching toward Jerusalem, toward the cross, refusing to be silenced.
(Paul's Warning About Living as "Enemies of the Cross" -- Philippians 3:17-4:1)
The Pharisees were peacekeepers of empire. But in our second scripture, Paul warns that many people-even those who claim to follow Jesus- end up living as "enemies of the cross."
A. "Their God is Their Belly" -- A Life of Self-Interest Over Sacrifice
Paul writes, "Their god is their belly... their minds are set on earthly things."
He's not just talking about food--he's talking about people who live only for themselves, for their own comfort, their own security, their own gain.
This could refer to:
Roman elites chasing luxury.
Legalists obsessed with religious rules but lacking compassion.
Complacent Christians who refuse to speak out for fear of
discomfort.
B. "Their Minds Are Set on Earthly Things" - Prioritizing Empire Over the Kingdom
The Roman world valued power, wealth, and dominance-and Paul warns against getting caught up in that way of thinking.
But Jesus chose the cross over power, truth over comfort, love over control.
Paul reminds us: “Our citizenship is in heaven.
That means we don't live by the empire's values-we live by God's kingdom values.
C. The Call to Be Peacemakers, Not Peacekeepers
Peacekeepers avoid conflict.
Peacemakers step into it with truth, courage, and love.
The question is: Are we keeping peace in a way that protects power, or making peace in the way of Christ through truth and sacrifice?
(What Does It Mean to Be Peacemakers Today?)
A. Peacekeepers vs. Peacemakers
Peacekeepers say, "Don't stir up trouble. Just accept the way things are.
Peacemakers say, "This is not right. God's peace demands justice."
B. Examples of Peacemakers in Action
The Civil Rights Movement - Those who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge weren't keeping peace; they were making it.
Oscar Romero in El Salvador - A bishop who spoke against government oppression, even though it cost him his life.
Everyday Peacemakers - Teachers advocating for their students, pastors speaking truth to their congregations, community members standing up for the vulnerable.
(Jesus the Peacemaker: The Mother Hen Who Confronts Empire)
Jesus does not offer peace through dominance--he offers peace through sacrificial love.
Like a mother hen, he stands against the fox, not with weapons, but with open arms.
And ultimately, his way of peace leads him to the cross.
(Call to Action: Where Are We Called to Be Peacemakers?)
Where are we keeping peace when we should be making it?
In our families? Our churches? Our communities?
Three Steps to Becoming a Peacemaker:
1. Speak the truth in love. Don't avoid hard conversations.
2. Stand with the vulnerable. Where there is injustice, show up.
3. Refuse to settle for shallow peace. Seek God's shalom-fullness, justice, and healing.
(Closing Illustration & Benediction)
Jesus enters Jerusalem knowing what awaits him--but he goes
anyway.
He is the true Peacemaker, the one who refuses to bow to empire's version of peace.
Final Charge:
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9)
May we be peacemakers in our time, willing to stand for truth, even when it costs us.
Amen.
The Peacemakers and the Empire's Peacekeepers
Second Sunday of Lent
Luke 13:31-35, Philippians 3:17-4:1
What Kind of Peace Are We Talking About?
On June 5, 1989, an unknown man stood in the middle of a wide Beijing street, holding nothing but two shopping bags. He had no weapons, no armor, no power-except for the courage to stand his ground. In front of him rumbled a line of tanks, part of the Chinese military's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square.
As the tanks rolled toward him, he refused to move. The lead tank tried to go around him, but he stepped back into its path. The tank moved again; he blocked it once more. For a moment, one unarmed man stopped an entire column of war machines.
That man, known only as "Tank Man," has never been identified, and his fate remains a mystery. But his act of defiance remains one of the most powerful images of nonviolent resistance in modern history.
Tank Man was not a peacekeeper--he was a peacemaker.
Peacekeepers might have said, "Step aside. Don't make trouble. Keep the order."
But peacemakers step into the chaos, the injustice, the suffering- and refuse to let it continue unchallenged.
And that brings us to our scriptures today. Both Jesus and Paul show us that the peace of God is not the world's peace-it is not about order for order's sake, not about keeping things comfortable, but about truth, justice, and reconciliation, even when it costs us something.
(The Pharisees and the "Peacekeeping" Approach -- Luke 13:31- 35)
In Luke 13, Jesus is moving toward Jerusalem-toward his inevitable confrontation with power. And that's when the Pharisees come to him with a warning:
"Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.
**
Now, at first glance, this might seem like a moment of kindness. Maybe they were looking out for Jesus. But when we read between the lines, their words sound more like an attempt to control him rather than protect him.
A. Why Would the Pharisees Want Jesus to Leave?
Political self-preservation - If Jesus caused too much trouble, it could bring Roman retaliation against all Jewish leaders.
Maintaining control - Jesus' radical message of the Kingdom of God threatened the religious status quo.
Avoiding conflict - If Jesus kept drawing crowds and challenging power, things could turn violent.
They weren't looking for God's peace. They were looking for Herod's peace a false peace, one built on fear, control, and silence.
B. Jesus' Response: A Peacemaker's Defiance
But Jesus is not intimidated. He refuses to be driven out by fear. Instead, he sends a message back:
"Go tell that fox, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.
He calls Herod a fox-a symbol of cunning, deceit, and destruction. Jesus knows exactly what kind of peace Herod offers: a peace built on submission and control, enforced through violence.
Jesus refuses that peace.
Instead, he describes himself as a mother hen gathering her chicks; a tender, vulnerable, yet fiercely protective image.
Hens don't run from foxes.
Hens stand their ground for the sake of their chicks.
And that's exactly what Jesus is doing-marching toward Jerusalem, toward the cross, refusing to be silenced.
(Paul's Warning About Living as "Enemies of the Cross" -- Philippians 3:17-4:1)
The Pharisees were peacekeepers of empire. But in our second scripture, Paul warns that many people-even those who claim to follow Jesus- end up living as "enemies of the cross."
A. "Their God is Their Belly" -- A Life of Self-Interest Over Sacrifice
Paul writes, "Their god is their belly... their minds are set on earthly things."
He's not just talking about food--he's talking about people who live only for themselves, for their own comfort, their own security, their own gain.
This could refer to:
Roman elites chasing luxury.
Legalists obsessed with religious rules but lacking compassion.
Complacent Christians who refuse to speak out for fear of
discomfort.
B. "Their Minds Are Set on Earthly Things" - Prioritizing Empire Over the Kingdom
The Roman world valued power, wealth, and dominance-and Paul warns against getting caught up in that way of thinking.
But Jesus chose the cross over power, truth over comfort, love over control.
Paul reminds us: “Our citizenship is in heaven.
That means we don't live by the empire's values-we live by God's kingdom values.
C. The Call to Be Peacemakers, Not Peacekeepers
Peacekeepers avoid conflict.
Peacemakers step into it with truth, courage, and love.
The question is: Are we keeping peace in a way that protects power, or making peace in the way of Christ through truth and sacrifice?
(What Does It Mean to Be Peacemakers Today?)
A. Peacekeepers vs. Peacemakers
Peacekeepers say, "Don't stir up trouble. Just accept the way things are.
Peacemakers say, "This is not right. God's peace demands justice."
B. Examples of Peacemakers in Action
The Civil Rights Movement - Those who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge weren't keeping peace; they were making it.
Oscar Romero in El Salvador - A bishop who spoke against government oppression, even though it cost him his life.
Everyday Peacemakers - Teachers advocating for their students, pastors speaking truth to their congregations, community members standing up for the vulnerable.
(Jesus the Peacemaker: The Mother Hen Who Confronts Empire)
Jesus does not offer peace through dominance--he offers peace through sacrificial love.
Like a mother hen, he stands against the fox, not with weapons, but with open arms.
And ultimately, his way of peace leads him to the cross.
(Call to Action: Where Are We Called to Be Peacemakers?)
Where are we keeping peace when we should be making it?
In our families? Our churches? Our communities?
Three Steps to Becoming a Peacemaker:
1. Speak the truth in love. Don't avoid hard conversations.
2. Stand with the vulnerable. Where there is injustice, show up.
3. Refuse to settle for shallow peace. Seek God's shalom-fullness, justice, and healing.
(Closing Illustration & Benediction)
Jesus enters Jerusalem knowing what awaits him--but he goes
anyway.
He is the true Peacemaker, the one who refuses to bow to empire's version of peace.
Final Charge:
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9)
May we be peacemakers in our time, willing to stand for truth, even when it costs us.
Amen.
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