The Peacemaker of Life

by Timothy Tin

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, our nation was stunned by the killing of George Floyd by the police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25! Thousands of people around the world were out in the streets for protests of Black Lives Matter. What we are facing here in the U.S. is “wave after wave”: the threats of more outbreaks of Coronavirus, economic crisis, conflicts between police and civilians, and racial conflicts.

Amazing things did happen despite the rapid growth of protests in many states… When the police and mayors humbled themselves by taking a knee, the angry protesters began to calm down and ended with handshakes and hugs.

On a rainy day of May 31, a touching moment of peacemaking took place at Cuney Homes in Houston, Texas. A group of white people took a knee before a group of black people, begging for forgiveness. Both parties sobbed and kneeled and prayed for reconciliation. Since it was the Christian holiday of Pentecost, which means the bestowing of the Holy Spirit, many churches reopened that day for celebration and witnessed this act of God’s Spirit.

Another touching moment landed on Miami’s Edgewater. Renita Holmes, a fearless black activist, marched into a fiery protest after parking her scooter in front of a line of armed troopers, with the intention to defuse friction between the police and the protesters. Roger Reyes the trooper, whose mother had just passed away a year ago, was greatly moved by her kindness. He asked for her permission to hug her right there! She kept saying, “They (the police) all have moms.” This video has been uploaded on Local 10 news.

Taking a knee can have such a huge difference in different contexts. One police officer kneeled to kill while one did it for peacemaking and prayers but not being a coward! A soldier can kneel to shoot while a criminal may kneel to be executed. How about someone in history who also took a knee for the purpose of prayer which brought victory?

During his visit to Warsaw, Poland on December 7, 1970, Willy Brandt, as the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, spontaneously took a knee for prayer on an icy stone tile in front of a monument! This monument, located in the German occupation-era Warsaw Ghetto, was built to remember the victims of the Holocaust.

This greatly touched the hearts of the Polish and Jewish people whose ancestors were brutally killed by the Nazi party. He received a Nobel prize of peace in 1971. So his act of kneeling down enabled the German race to rise! Not only did the Germans establish a Jewish foundation fund of USD$89 billion but also earned the unity of the East and west of Germany!

Who else took a knee for peacemaking? Jesus Christ did! He kneeled down for prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane about 2,000 years ago, agonizing in the expectation of death yet deeply determined to complete His mission of reconciliation between God and mankind.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in 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.” (Ephesians 2:13-17)

(Author: Christian Alliance Bible Church in Los Angeles, CA)

Source:

1. Layron Livingston, Andrea Torres. “Miami Activist ‘Touches Hearts’ Of FHP Trooper, White House During Protests Against Police Brutality”. WPLG, 2020, https://www.local10.com/news/local/2020/06/01/watch-as-trooper-breaks-the-line-to-hug-miami-protester/.