CHRIST IS OUR PEACE
Jesus did something astonishing when He called His disciples. He did not choose men who naturally agreed with one another or shared the same worldview. Among the Twelve sat Matthew, a tax collector who worked for Rome and benefited from the system that oppressed his own people (Matthew 9:9). At the same table sat Simon, called the Zealot, a man whose very identity was shaped by resistance to Rome and its collaborators (Luke 6:15). In any other setting, these two would have despised one another. In the presence of Christ, they were brothers.
Matthew represented compromise in the eyes of many Jews. He collected money for the empire and had likely enriched himself along the way. Simon represented revolution, a man willing to upend the system by force if necessary. Their political instincts ran in opposite directions. One leaned toward accommodation, the other toward confrontation. Yet Jesus did not moderate their views before calling them. He called them first, and then reshaped them by His presence.
This is where Christ reveals Himself as our peace. Paul teaches that Jesus Himself is our peace, the One who breaks down dividing walls and reconciles hostile parties into one body through the cross (Ephesians 2:14-16). Peace is not achieved by pretending differences do not exist. It is achieved when deeper allegiance replaces lesser ones. Matthew did not stop being Matthew, and Simon did not stop being Simon, but both learned to kneel under the same Lord.
The comparison to our own moment is hard to miss. Today, Democrats and Republicans often speak as if the other side is the enemy, not merely mistaken but dangerous. Political identity has become moral identity. Churches are not immune. Believers can be tempted to choose sides before choosing love, to value victory over unity. But if Matthew and Simon could walk together behind Jesus, then surely modern Christians can sit together at His table without treating one another as threats.
Jesus prayed that His people would be one so the world might believe the Father sent Him (John 17:21). Unity does not require uniformity, but it does require submission to Christ. When He is central, politics take their proper place. When He is Lord, peace becomes possible. The church is called to display a unity the world cannot produce, not because we agree on everything, but because we belong to Someone greater than everything that divides us.
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Lord Jesus, You are our peace. Rule our hearts more deeply than any ideology or allegiance. Teach us to love one another as those who share one Lord, one faith, and one hope. Make Your church a living witness to Your reconciling grace. Amen.
BDD
