麻豆约拍

Good Morning. After the traumatic events of WWII, seventy years ago today, the United Nations was formed. Given the death and destruction of the war years, it must have been difficult for anyone to imagine a world living in harmony. Yet, peacekeeping, human rights and humanitarian aid have continued to be on the UN agenda. Of course, over the years the UN has had its critics, and at times it has struggled to balance the differences of opinion among member nations. Yet, it has continued to work toward reconciliation and concord throughout the world.

The vision of a world without war is at the heart of Christian teaching. In a surprising reversal of images, in the letter to the Ephesians, Christians are likened to soldiers who put on armour in order to go into battle. Yet, instead of guns or swords, a soldier鈥檚 kit includes a belt of truth, a breast plate of righteousness, a shield of faith and perhaps most importantly the text says: 鈥淎s shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

Dag Hammarskj枚ld, UN secretary general from 1953 until 1961 worked tirelessly to enhance the role of the UN as a peacekeeping force. For him, peacemaking was not just a political dream, rather, he believed that for every person peace must become a personal reality. In a speech in1953 he said:

Our work for peace must begin within the private world of each one of us. To build a world without fear, we must be without fear. To build a world of justice, we must be just.

O God, Let there be peace on earth and may it begin with me. Amen