Abstract / DOI
Blessed Are the Peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). The beatitudes are a self-portrait of Jesus and an invitation to discipleship. Jesus promises the poor an eschatological change from misery to the richness of the heavenly kingdom which can be experienced yet on earth. The protagonists of that change are the peacemakers. They do not only receive God’s grace; called by God they are active (or: activated) in overcoming the wars in the world, beyond neighbours and in the human hearts. Jesus himself is an emissary of peace – in his service of salvation. The Sermon on the Mount is a witness of the inner coherence between the faith in God and the service to peace in the world.