The Path to Peace

The path to peace leads to final restoration (shalom)—yet it is only reached through millennia of personal, communal, and cosmic growing pains in God’s unfolding creation.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city, for these days are the time of punishment when all the Scriptures are fulfilled. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

Luke 21:20-28

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The Path to Peace is Paved with Pain

From alpha to omega, Jesus’ ultimate goal is shalom. Yet nothing noble and worthy in this war-torn, weary world is achieved without growing pains. Creation itself groans like a woman in labor to give birth to the fullness of Christ (Romans 8:22). Reflecting on Jerusalem’s destruction in A.D. 70 following the explosive expansion of the Church post-Pentecost, Luke recalls Jesus’ warning of chaos and upheaval before his return. 

While many Jews and Gentiles reconciled as brethren in the early Church, the Judeans as a whole separated from the Christian movement, clinging to their traditions. Yet, “the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable,” and Israel will eventually fulfill her Abrahamic mission as the “father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5; Romans 11:29).

During the “times of the Gentiles,” people of every tribe and nation continually pour into the Church with her Redeemer’s promise of the new Jerusalem “not of this world” (John 18:36) but face persecution and the cross, which was guaranteed by Christ to every true disciple. However, he also promises ultimate redemption and restoration in himself for the whole human race—a cosmos in which “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Guided by Christ’s light and pledge of salvation, we can persevere through darkness and temporal turmoil with faith, hope, and love.