“Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called Children of God.” This is one of the Beatitudes we encounter on Remembrance Sunday.

When I read the Beatitudes, I am reminded of a scene from a comedy. In the movie Jesus stands far away. He is preaching the Sermon on the Mount. At the back of the crowd are Gregory and Mrs Gregory and a few other people. They are finding it hard to hear Jesus’ words. There is no PA system, no amplifiers, no nice clip-on mics.

Gregory says: “What was that?”
Man replies: “I think it was ‘Blessed are the cheesemakers.’”
Mrs Gregory: Ahh, what’s so special about the cheesemakers?
Gregory: Well, obviously, this is not meant to be taken literally. It refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.
Then a man says: “Did you hear that? “Blessed are the Greek!”
Gregory: “The Greek?”
“Well, apparently, he’s going to inherit the earth.” The man says.
Gregory: “Did anyone catch his name?”
Someone turns round… Oh, it’s the meek! Blessed are the meek! Oh, that’s nice, isn’t it? I’m glad they’re getting something.

Then there is a little squabble and a few wander off.  

The sobering thought is that we are sometimes like this. The words of the Beatitudes fade and get lost. We sense they are important. But we wander off. Distracted by our everyday concerns, we forget about them.

What do we make of the Beatitudes?

The Sermon on the Mount can be described as The Magna Carta of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Constitution of God’s Kingdom. A Declaration of Kingdom Life. And the Beatitudes we read today capture its essence.

In Matthew 4, Jesus talks about the Good News of God’s Kingdom. People were beginning to wonder what this new Kingdom would be like. They were excited. Why? Because Jews were expecting a Messiah and King who would overthrow the Romans, and bring freedom.

But Jesus gives them a completely different Kingdom. A Kingdom that overturns all that they know. All that we know.

The Beatitudes are revolutionary. They undo the wisdom of the world we live in. God’s way and Kingdom sit uncomfortably beside the way of our world. We follow the norms of our world easily and happily enough, but we find it harder understand God’s ways. That is why they are worth thinking about. They are worth discussing at Bible studies and in our homes. As the collect we used some Sundays ago says, “we should read, mark and inwardly digest” them.

The Beatitudes clash with our world and our self-centred lives.

For instance, it’s startling to consider that the poor in Spirit inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and the meek inherit the Earth. Why startling? Because poverty of spirit and meekness are seen as weakness in our world, where the rich, the assertive and the overbearing are the ones who inherit. Jesus’ statements are revolutionary!

The Kingdom of the World is often about revenge rather than mercy. Being hard hearted and tough. Seeking vengeance. Jesus highlights the merciful – those who show compassion to those in need – even when they don’t deserve it. In Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Miserables,we encounter a Bishop who understands this. A young man released from prison steals to survive. When the Bishop invites him in, provides dinner and a room, the young man responds by stealing some silver. When caught and brought back, the Bishop looks at the young man and then tells the police that the silver was a gift. The police are shocked. But the bishop goes on – he also gives the young man a pair of silver candlesticks telling him that he had left them behind accidentally.

The world teaches us to hunger and thirst for many things – position, power, money – because that will bring us satisfaction. Jesus says that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness – for justice and the right – will be filled. As the leaked Paradise Papers show, the world often functions through deception, deviousness and corruption – not pure hearts. The world teaches us conflict and violence. The Beatitudes call us to be peacemakers.

Today – on Remembrance Day – we paused to remember the sacrifice of those who gave their lives. Each year we remember that “For our tomorrows, they gave their today.”

“Blessed are the Peacemakers”, says Jesus, “for they shall be called the children of God.” In Jesus’ time the Jews hated the Romans and wanted revenge. To be peacemakers with the Romans might have felt impossible. Yet Jesus extended peace to the Romans – he even healed a centurion’s servant.

Here in Northern Ireland, we too are called to be peace makers – between individuals and even our divided communities. And with God’s help, it is possible.

A Sri Lankan Christian friend worked as the Psychosocial Director of the Asian Women’s University in Bangladesh. There were 40 young Sri Lankan women there. They were from the two warring ethnic communities in Sri Lanka. They managed to completely ignore each other’s existence. Then in 2009 the 30-year ethnic war ended suddenly and brutally. The atmosphere between the young women grew explosive as they heard about the deaths of family or friends. My friend was asked to deal with the situation. She believed that God wanted her to bring peace between these girls, even though most were not Christian. She prayed for some days. Then she brought the girls together for a week. It was hard going, but she talked about their shared humanity and pain, about listening, about kindness, about mercy. Then she asked them to tell each other their stories. The girls broke down and wept as they listened to one other. It was God’s Spirit at work, she said. The women even cooked meals and looked after each other. They then decided that they wanted to make peace in their fractured communities back in Sri Lanka. So they raised funds to send teams back home.

We heard of Dinis Sengulane, the Mozambique bishop who had a vision for building peace and we saw the saxophone and tree of life made out of weapons.

A child of God, following Jesus’ call to be a peacemaker, really can make a difference.

Jesus lived out the Kingdom. He was meek. He mourned over Jerusalem. He showed mercy. He was also ridiculed as a false prophet and persecuted for his righteousness, and crucified.

The Beatitudes call us to live as children of God and citizens of his Kingdom. The book of Acts describes the disciples as turning the world upside down. Seeking God’s righteousness, William Wilberforce and Abraham Lincoln overturned their world to bring peace between two races. It wasn’t easy. It never is. Wilberforce and Lincoln were reviled and persecuted for their righteousness. Yet they persisted and changed our world. One person taking the Beatitudes seriously can change our world. We should never doubt that.