…and peacemaker

Today is the feast day of St. Hilda, the 7th century abbess who founded the monastery at Whitby in the north of England. There’s much to be said about Hilda. At Whitby she ran a double monastery where she oversaw the spiritual and temporal lives of not only nuns but monks as well. She helped to negotiate a crucial change in the English Church when the decision was made to adopt the Roman calendar and customs over and against some of the older, much-loved Celtic traditions. But this week, I was struck by one thing in particular when I read her biography on an Episcopal website: on this page, she was called “Hilda of Whitby, Abbess and Peacemaker.”

What a thing, to be called a peacemaker. What a title, what a mark of purpose and calling. There are many saints we describe by their roles— bishop, prophet, evangelist— but calling someone “peacemaker” is a rare and wondrous thing.

I’m wondering if that is a mantle too rare these days. For it is surely something God calls all of us to. In a world where irritation, disgust, and even hatred are far too often right below the surface, one of the greatest gifts the Church can offer is a community of peacemakers. Not people who give over and let others have their way, not people who privilege “niceness” over faithful conviction and honest love, but people who seek, at all times and in all places, to be makers of peace. “Makers” may not be quite the right word; maybe we are more midwives than makers. For the peace of God which passes all understanding is already blowing through the world, and you and I are called to help that peace grow and thrive, to make that peace known to all people.

So today I invite you to add “peacemaker” to your CV. Teacher…and peacemaker. Lawyer and peacemaker. Student and peacemaker. Nurse and peacemaker. Retiree and peacemaker. Parent and peacemaker. May we all have, as the collect for today says, “the justice, prudence, and strength” to live that holy calling and to claim that title—“peacemaker”— for ourselves.

The Very Rev’d Erika L Takacs
Rector

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I asked and received Mother Takacs’ permission to post her reflection on St. Hilda and peacemaking. See below. Recently I have been drawn back into an awareness of the relationship between peace, truth, and justice. In the Office we daily pray,  "guide us in the way of justice and truth." Erika's thoughts reminded me of how peace plays into that both in the process and as an outcome. Peacemaking, truth seeking, and justice advocacy are interdependent activities. There are two criminal justice trials underway as this is posted that illustrate that interdependence. We might pray for all involved in those cases and all our political leaders. May they seek peace, truth, and justice.   

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