Blessed be the peacemakers…
King David cried out to Yah that He sought for peace, but his enemies sought for war.
"Too long have I dwelt
among those who hate peace.
I am in favor of peace;
but when I speak, they want war." Ps. 120:6-7
In the current racially divided political and social climate, many of us feel exasperated after having or seen activists work for peace and racial harmony for over a century, but it seems the pendulum is right back where it started - for many at least.
The battle between good and evil, light and darkness justice and oppression, peace and war has been going on since the beginning of time. Yet, prophets wrote that in the last days, there would be perilous times and that hatred and bloodshed would increase - brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor - and the love of many would grow cold.
Even still, it is also written that there’d be some - striving for righteousness - who would be identified by their works of peace and love for one another.
Rabbi Yahoshua shares this precept in one of his most famous speeches, noting that it is not the religious, rich, educated, nor those of royal blood who the Almighty holds dear. But it’s the pure and simple everyday servants, the peacemakers, who will earn the right to be called the sons and daughters of YHWH. So, what is a peacemaker anyway?
Peace - shalom in Hebrew, salaam in Arabic, Paz in Spanish, La Paix in French, and Alaafiya in Yoruba - is defined as ‘a condition of serenity, a place where there’s no war, suffering, or oppression.’ So, a peace maker is a person who works to alleviate pain and suffering in the world through kind deeds (tzadekah). Peacemakers serve those who are most in need - the poor, the sick, the oppressed, usually the most forgotten and despised populations. So, it’s our service that brings us into the family of Elohim’s elect and not our religion. Therefore, I challenge you to ask yourselves, ‘Am I a peacemaker?’ ‘What am I doing to bring more healing and peace in my family, community, in the world around me?’
It is my hope that the songs on the new Peace Process album would inspire more peace across religious, racial, national, tribal, economic, and social boundaries - preparing for the age of peace to come. We are one humanity, on one earth, under one Father and we must learn to work together for good - for our own survival and for future generations.
With Yah, all things are possible, but without Him we will all perish. This album is dedicated to the youth of today who are born at a time such as this. Peace is a process that begins here and now, with you and me, each day planting seeds.... If we plant the seeds of peace today (seeds of mercy, justice, truth, righteousness, brotherly love, kindness, compassion, charity), little by little, they will begin to bear positive fruit - to blossom into the kind of world we all want our children to live in tomorrow - a world free of war, poverty and oppression.
(Excerpt from the Peace Process Album Lyric E-Book free to all VIP Patron subscribers).
Buy the Peace Process album here.