I love being the Chaplain at such a large, fast-paced, and complex organisation like Kennedy Baptist College, helping to maintain and grow our community culture. In all the complexity, there are times when tension and disagreement happen in the day-to-day. I find myself drawn to this part of college life, finding ways to mend the fractures that inevitably happen between people. Thankfully, we can turn to the Bible to help us through these difficulties, such as the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5-7. Hopefully, we can all recognise that Jesus knew what he was talking about in this sermon, and that he was laying out the truth in every sentence. The line that I have been pondering lately has been,
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
What does it mean to be a peacemaker? Peace is a highly desired commodity that can be difficult to find and even harder to maintain. Jesus understands that everyone who has heard this sermon, from the moment He delivered it to today, recognises that peace remains in high demand. In our very human pursuit of peace, Jesus points out that some people, somehow, ARE ABLE TO MAKE peace happen. Nothing compares to the feeling I get in my chaplaincy work when a conflict is completely resolved and those involved experience peace.
So how do we become peacemakers? It begins with finding out that we are ‘poor in spirit’, without Jesus the King in our lives. In a relationship with Him, He guides us on a personal journey until we understand that we are made for peace and that we can help others find it. Jesus says that if we do this, we will be called the children of God!
My prayer for our community is that we all find this peace with each other and within ourselves, through Jesus.
Peter Chase
College Chaplain
