April 22nd

Pacifist, Not Passive-ist

To my dear TFMC family,

I have a poster that I’ve regularly hung in my office. It was part of a push by Mennonite Church Canada a number of years back to remind the constituency that we are a peace church.  On it is the phrase, "Pacifist not Passive-ist.” 

I appreciated this distinction very much.  For many folk, the moniker of pacifist suggests someone who is disengaged, passive, and non-participatory.  Which couldn’t be further from the truth.  As I understand it, pacifism is about choosing not to engage in or participate in violence.  And those choices sometimes require a great deal of engagement, participation and action.

As I read and listen to the news, as I watch reports of escalating tensions between world powers, as I hear about military alliances, and as I hear renewed talk around mandatory military service south of the border, I wonder how far away we are from having to ponder and articulate what it means for us to be a peace church.  

I have thought about this a couple of times recently.  With Canada building up its military presence in the Arctic and other places, the government increasing its defence spending, and with a new defence policy change titled Our North, Strong and Free, Canada is moving away from its traditional role as a “peacekeeper.”

In my reading this week, I came across this quote, which suggests that the “Church thrives when it comes into conflict with the world around it.”  As a peace church, we are, naturally, in conflict with the powers and principalities of war and violence.  And, as a peace church, we are called to not be passive in our engagement with these powers.

To do so means that we choose peace each and every day.  We choose peace by making small decisions each moment of each day.  Peacemaking doesn’t need to be earth-shattering.  Rather, peacemaking is choosing to make a million little decisions, over and over and over again.

One little practice that I saw in one of my early churches was a simple candle lighting each Sunday.  Each week, a candle was lit, and the congregations recited this simple prayer, “God of peace, Christ of peace, Spirit of peace.  You are calling us to be peacemakers.  We light this candle as a reminder of our calling.”  A simple practice, a simple prayer, a regular reminder of what our calling is in the world.  I wonder if perhaps this is a practice we could embrace.

Jesus does call us to be peacemakers each day. Jesus calls us to choose peace each day.  Whether it's seventy times seven, or a million times, we are called each day to be peacemakers.  And it’s these little acts of peace, when done a million times, which change the world.

I haven’t yet hung that poster in my office here.  But I am becoming aware that I need to find it, and hang it somewhere prominent in the days ahead.

Yours,

Craig Janzen Neufeld, Pastor