Kahlil Gibran, was an incredibly gifted writer, who has provided us through his writing with beautiful insights to go along with his inspiring wisdom. In his book, Jesus the Son of Man, Gibran reads the Beatitudes and paraphrases a particular sentence of it, as follows: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for their spirit shall dwell above the battle, and they shall turn the potter’s field into a garden.”
When it comes to Holy Scripture it is important for us to be able to read such in a way and manner that not only renews and reinvigorates scriptural passages for us, but also when done astutely, to thus take us to a different level of insight into what has so been written for our edification and for our benefit. The Beatitudes so stated by our Messiah, are not meant to be quickly glanced at or read in a rote-like manner, thereby to be pretty much forgotten when we soon get back to our everyday activities and routines; but rather these Beatitudes are provided to help inspire us to become better people as well as to aid us in getting a renewed perspective about that which we so see, hear, and look upon.
The thing about war, seemingly justified or not, is that the killing and the destruction so done in battle, is a terrible thing; and further to the point, often the closer that we are to that war, the more that we have an inclination to thereby get caught up in the drama of the battle, and thereby to become susceptible to forgetting not only our own humanity, but also the humanity of all those that are in the pitch of that battle. To believe, somehow, that the best or the most appropriate way to resolve difficulties between ourselves and other societies and people, is to actually have a physical fight, or a sanctioned war, is inhumane and also misguided, on every level. Those then, that believe, that out of war, it so follows that there will then be a lasting and just peace, don’t have it right. In actuality, only those that rise above the cacophony of the madness that entices human beings to do battle against one another -- that has been so occurring for eons, represent the only possible personages that have the perspective and thereby the wisdom to understand, that all that sound and fury, really does signify nothing.
We are all meant to be peacemakers, so that, rather than to give in to our worst nature which leads to destruction, hatred, hurt, and the like; we are meant instead to maintain our good character, by our willingness to be the suffering servant, to bite our tongue, to show consideration, and to always keep in our mind’s eye that behind the mask of war, that each of us is in actuality, the very same creation, with the very same unalienable rights as the other. No battle, lasts forever, and nothing negative can sustain itself over a long period of time; for even those that are the most bellicose, have their moments of normality. Long after the battle is over, the aftereffects are still there, but those that do their good part to bind the wounds, to heal the brokenhearted, and to uplift those that have seemingly lost hope, have created, in effect, a new garden, seeded with the blood, sweat, and tears of those so lost to us, but this garden, should it be faithfully tended to with love and care, is quite capable of eventually growing into the most beautiful and bountiful harvest.