Peace is a person

In his letter (Eph 2:14), St. Paul calls Jesus Christ “our peace”. In the Hebrew language peace is shalom. So what does St. Paul mean by naming the person of Jesus as shalom?

The person of Jesus is shalom because out of love He united or reconciled everyone by His suffering and death on the cross. In other words, love for others made Him take upon Himself on the cross all the sins and crimes of human beings in order to humanize them and make them one.

He could do it because in His person there was total wholeness or unity and total moral integrity or sinlessness. This is what shalom means in Hebrew.

Therefore, to be an effective peacemaker an individual has to be a shalom person or a person of peace. Also following this reasoning, a peacemaker group or community should be composed of shalom persons, high in moral wholeness and integrity.

In the language of Christian and Islamic spirituality, the shalom person and community is one where there is peace of soul or peace of heart. And this is why St. John Paul II had to say, “the peace of the heart is the heart of peace.”

Sadly, heartlessness is what we find in many of those who claim to be peace negotiators, peace-makers, peace-builders, and peace advocates as well as those so-called promoters of the culture of peace.

To experience real, authentic and genuine peace, it is not enough to stop bombings; not enough to bring in more troops and more police personnel; not enough to eliminate the Abu Sayyaf and Maute Group. And yes, not enough to have many so-called peace agreements on paper or organic laws created by Congress and signed by the President.

What is urgently needed is a good program for the formation, education and character building of shalom persons and communities in the public and private schools. And this kind of persons must be found in the Churches, Academe, Business, Government, Military and Police.