by David Phelps

“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” - Mother Teresa

March, 2001

One day last year, our eight-year-old daughter, Monica, was wondering out loud about what her next Halloween costume might be. “Maybe if I’m tall enough, I can be a female Goliath,” she said, “except I wouldn’t fight Jews because I go to school with Jewish people, and I wouldn’t use war weapons.”

“What kind of weapons would you use,” I asked jokingly, “peace weapons?”

“Yeah,” she replied, “peace weapons.”

“What kind of weapons are peace weapons?” I asked, intrigued.

“My voice,” she answered.

Smart girl. We can use “peace weapons” too, weapons that heal rather than hurt, weapons that build rather than destroy. We have a voice to proclaim the Good News of Christ (Rom. 10:18). Paul wrote to the Ephesians about “the full armor of God” (Eph. 6:11a, 13a NIV): “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:14-17 NIV). These are our “peace weapons:” truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, and the word of God.

We follow one who has promised a new age of peace, when “They will beat their swords into plowshares . . .” (Isa. 2:4b; Mic. 4:3b NIV). Christ has reconciled us “. . . to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” (Eph. 2:16b NIV). When our inner hostility has been put to death, the peace of God can dwell within us, and it will show itself as peace in our lives and in our dealings with others. Jesus told the people, “‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.’” (Matt. 5:9 NIV). Let us pray with St. Francis of Assisi:

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
. . . where there is injury, pardon;
. . . where there is doubt, faith;
. . . where there is despair, hope;
. . . where there is darkness, light;
. . . where there is sadness, joy; . . .”

These are more of our “peace weapons:” love, pardon, faith, hope, light, and joy. Whenever we are in a situation of crisis or conflict, we can respond by escalating the conflict or we can respond in peace. Let us go forth and wage peace, transforming the lives of everyone we meet.


“For he himself is our peace, . . . His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” (Eph. 2:14a, 15b-17 NIV.)
Copyright © 2001 by David Phelps