Peace in Troubled Times

I was baffled when then President, Barack Obama, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. The United States was still deeply involved in Middle Eastern wars and the reasons given for bestowing the prize on Obama seemed tenuous. It was easy to point to previous recipients such as Ang Sun Suu Kyi of Burma, or Myanmar as it's also known, as truly deserving. She was awarded the prize for her brave humanitarian and civil rights work in a country under military rule, and for choosing the path of non-violence. She spent some time in relative exile as well as under house arrest for 15 years, and her life was threatened repeatedly. She drew upon her Buddhist disciplines to sustain herself spiritually through these dark years.

When she was eventually released Ang Sun Suu Kyi ran for parliament, despite poor health, and was elected in 2012. This remarkable turn of events was celebrated by President Obama and other leader of democracies. In many churches, including the one I served, there were prayers of gratitude after years of prayers for justice in Burma.

Now some are wondering if Suu Kyi's Peace Prize should be rescinded, something that has never been done, for legitimizing genocide. Another peace prize winner, Malala Yousafzai has called out Suu Kyi for failing to protect Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims from the Buddhist majority in Burma and for turning a blind eye to the army’s well-documented campaign of rape, murder and destruction against Rohingya villages. At least 90 thousand Rohingya have fled to nearby countries in the past two weeks to escape the persecution.

We live in such a troubled and troubling world, don't we? It may be a worthy endeavour to name those who work in the causes of peace, often with great personal vision and sacrifice. Yet we live with our human frailties and naming some as heroes of peace ignores the efforts of others who are equally committed. And those who are today's champions of peace may fall victim to the vagaries of politics at another time.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace, we claim as Christians, and we hear his call to be peacemakers. The blessing is that the meek and the poor of spirit may forge shalom in every day, through personal relationships, in global causes, in the discipline of prayer.

Today we may pray for peace in Burma/Myanmar, on the Korean Peninsula, for the "Dreamers" of the United States. There won't be a prize or accolades, but this is our calling.