Emphasis Preaching Journal

Some memories seem never to fade away. Such is my memory of the ministerial association meeting where we set the Lenten Luncheon Series for the year 1986. We had earlier settled on The Beatitudes as being the topic. Now it was time for each minister who had agreed to speak to select the one he/she would speak on. Instead of using the word "blessed" we had agreed to use the word "happy." Happy are the mournful, happy are the poor in spirit, and so forth. I chose to speak on "happy are the peacemakers." I shall never forget the process of preparation for that community-wide service in which I would be speaking for about fifteen minutes on peacemaking. Two years before that I had taken some specialized clinical pastoral education training. I had found out firsthand that I wasn't exactly the world's greatest peacemaker. I had been told I had the Messiah complex, and I didn't exactly like that phrase being used about me. It had been pointed out that I had a control problem. In my study I had to come to terms with what a peacemaker really was. Was I really going to be a peacemaker? I read in Paul's letter to the Romans where he told the church at Rome to make every effort to do what leads to peace. It sent a charge through me. Could I possibly do everything that I did with an eye leading toward peace? Each Wednesday the crowd grew. We had to move to a larger church fellowship hall. As I prepared my speech I remembered that Roger Palms, editor of Decision magazine, had once said to a group I was part of, "God can only use you to the extent he can trust you." Needless to say, I plead with God to refine me into the peacemaker he wanted me to be. Then I could talk from the heart about peacemaking.
-- Shearer