Peacemakers
In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
neither shall they learn war any more.
O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
Isaiah 2:2-5
STORY
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari was born in 1937 in the city of Viipuri in the Karelia region of eastern Finland. While he spent most of his career as a diplomat, he entered the political fray in 1994 when he was elected as Finland’s president, serving a single six-year term. After leaving politics, he entered the field of being a peace negotiator.
Ahtisaari is mostly associated with the long-running and tortuous negotiations to end the guerrilla war between Namibian insurgents and apartheid-era South Africa, which ruled Namibia, a sparsely populated southern African territory, in defiance of the United Nations. When Namibia secured its independence in 1990, Ahtisaari was given honorary citizenship and it was widely reported that many Namibians named their children in his honor. He also played a central role in advancing the cause of peace in the Balkans.
With his endeavors in South Africa to end apartheid he joined an illustrious group of international figures known as “The Elders,” which was comprised of five diplomats, including Jimmy Carter, who supported and guided Nelson Mandela.
With the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, when Martti was 2 years old, the Soviet Red Army began attacking the Karelia region, sending many residents fleeing. In 1941, Finnish troops, allied to Nazi Germany, retook Viipuri. After Germany’s defeat, Viipuri was part of territory ceded to the Soviets. In 1952, his family moved from Kuopio to Oulu in northern Finland where he qualified in 1959 as a teacher. He spent time in the early 1960s as an aid worker in Pakistan.
On his diplomatic travels many years later Ahtisaari once said he had been able to identify easily with the displaced people he met, saying. “In the midst of war they are obliged to leave their own homes and live in the corners of other people’s.”
Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008, he shared that his wartime experiences “explains my desire to advance peace and thus help others who have gone through similar experiences as I did.”
DEVOTION
The Book of Isaiah opens by setting forth themes of judgment and subsequent restoration of the righteous. God has a plan which will be realized on the “Day of Yahweh” when Jerusalem will become the center of worldwide rule. On that day all nations of the world will come to Zion for instruction. Jerusalem is the city in which the royal shrine for Yahweh was built by Solomon and where the ancient religious symbol, the ark, was to be found. As such, Jerusalem is the center of the world. This being the case, all nations will make a pilgrimage to the city to receive a divine blessing, and in so doing, world peace will be established.
The name of the prophet Isaiah name means “Yahweh of salvation.” As the appointed mouthpiece for God, the prophet was able to declare that the Divine Creator of the Universe will establish a new world order where “they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.”
Beyond the message, this verse is memorable because it is so poetic. As with all inspiring poetry it paints a restful picture of tranquility. Societies will dwell in harmony. Individuals will reside in serenity. Nations will no longer be disrupted by war and individuals will no longer be disturbed by gossip. Acceptance & Fellowship & Understanding will prevail.
This will transpire when we can comprehend the magnitude of displacement caused by suffering, which will be alleviated by our being peacemakers.
The traditional altar in a Roman Catholic Church has inspiring symbolic meaning. The altar represents the table on which Jesus celebrated the Last Supper. The cross on the altar represents his sacrifice on our behalf. The table is made of natural stone, for Scripture reads that Jesus “is the living stone, rejected by men but in God’s sight chosen and precious.” On the altar are engraved five crosses representing his five wounds on Calvary Hill.
Stigmata: This is how we will bring peace along the paths that we walk.