“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14

 

I want to understand what this means…and live it.

 

Two words.  Peace.  Holiness.  Are they worlds apart?

 

Does international disarmament, interpersonal nonviolence, racial reconciliation, and pursuing peace have anything to do with personal piety and Christian holiness?

 

My name is John Hay, Jr.  I’m a Christian minister in the Wesleyan/holiness tradition seeking to explore peacemaking as a lost spiritual and ethical heritage.

Honestly, I find hardly anyone within my “holiness” faith tradition talking about peace other than a “Jesus gives me peace” personal experience.  We don’t talk about it as a social imperative of the Gospel.

 

 

I was raised in a faith tradition called “holiness.”  We talked about peace of heart but not about peace in the world.  Our outlook could be summed up with a bumper sticker: “No Jesus, No Peace; Know Jesus, Know Peace.”

 

We thought it possible to live in peace with close relationships and local toughs because of inward grace.  We just didn’t think that applied on an international or global scale.  In fact, we were suspicious of those who talked about world peace; we linked such talk to anti-Christ.  Following the declaration of “peace and safety” sudden destruction could be expected.

 

Sound macabre?  Welcome to the theological milieu of my upbringing.  It was not uncommon among evangelicals.

 

I think we sold ourselves short.  We were onto something.  The holiness part, that is.  But we thought only in personal pietistic terms.  We didn’t let our hearts range far from our little experience.  We asked for peace in the midst of our personal storms, but that was far from expecting peace in the midst of international conflicts.  We surrendered everything but our politics and prejudices to Jesus.

 

The experience of holy love filling one’s heart is no mere illusion.  At times it has translated into an outgoing, collective, fervent love that transforms social fears and hatreds—holy-fired folk advocated for the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, labor relations, and rights of the poor.  Donald W. Dayton and Timothy L. Smith make this clear.  Holiness of heart can translate into holiness of life at both personal and community levels.

 

They say there is a peace tradition within my own Wesleyan/holiness theological and church tradition.  They say it’s there, somewhere, I just haven’t yet found it.  If it’s there, whatever significance it had in history has apparently not translated into contemporary faith and practice of any Wesleyan/holiness churches or associations of which I am aware.  If it is there, I will find the strain and amplify it.

 

But it is possible to explore the implications for peace and witness as part and parcel with the holiness ethic without having historical precedent.  We are not called to be mimickers of the ways of our forebears so much as we are called to be witnesses to present grace as it intersects the issues that confront our generation.

 

There may not be a more critical witness of holiness in this generation than that of peace.  Perhaps this is a test of the relevance of the ethic for the present and future.

 

I don’t know much about peace.  But I am going to learn.  You’re welcome to look over my shoulder as I do.  I must learn quickly.  There is urgency to learning and applying what I discover.  Think of this as a project in process.  I will post what I am discovering about peace and holiness.  You’re welcome to contribute what you know and discover.

Project and website initiated: February 2003.

Project and website updated: December 2004.