On Palm Sunday we should renounce war and embrace peace | Opinion

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” These words from Jesus are not sentimental; they are a summons. They name both the identity and responsibility of those who would follow him. And they become especially urgent when a nation turns toward war — particularly when that war is unjust.

Palm Sunday reminds us of this call. Christians remember Jesus’ humble entry into Jerusalem, lowly and riding on a donkey, not a war horse. The crowds shout, “Hosanna! Save us!” They long for deliverance, for liberation. Yet in the Gospel of Luke, the moment shifts quickly. Jesus weeps over the city, saying, “If you had recognized on this day the things that make for peace.”

Palm Sunday was, in truth, a peace parade. Yet the crowd experienced it as a political moment. They longed for a conquering hero, not a suffering servant. They wanted victory, not vulnerability. They desired power, not peace. In doing so, they missed the heart of Jesus’ message — to love our enemies, to reject violence and to embody a different kind of kingdom altogether.

This same tension confronts Christians today. When nations wage war — especially wars that conscience, reason and tradition call unjust — believers are asked to discern where loyalty lies: with the state, or with the God whose kingdom subverts earthly empires.

Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas taught that for a war to be just it must meet strict criteria: just cause, right intention, proportionality and legitimate authority. When these are absent, Christians cannot bless violence or confuse patriotism with obedience to God. Moral clarity requires resisting euphemism: “pre-emptive strikes” and “limited interventions” rarely are what they claim. Calling evil by its proper name is not arrogance — it is faithfulness.

History shows the cost of remaining silent. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemöller remind us that complicity begins gradually: first silence, then acquiescence, then blessing, then participation. Faithfulness may demand saying “no” when the nation demands “yes,” refusing material support for aggression, speaking publicly against propaganda, and standing firmly with the vulnerable, not the powerful.

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem models this prophetic witness. He shows that God’s kingdom is built not through conquest or retaliation, but through love, humility, and solidarity with the oppressed. He weeps over those who misunderstand peace, calling us to embody a kingdom that is costly, countercultural, and often misunderstood.

An unjust war inevitably creates victims: civilians displaced, soldiers traumatized, families fractured. Christian solidarity must extend to all who suffer, regardless of nationality or allegiance.

A refugee child is not an enemy. A grieving mother across a border is not less precious to God. To follow Christ is to make peace where the world makes war, to love where the world hates, and to refuse the seductive call of power and vengeance.

Palm Sunday reminds us that the kingdom of God subverts the kingdoms of this world. War may reveal a nation’s soul, but our response reveals the soul of the Church. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. And if we would truly bear that name, we must be known — not for blessing war — but for making peace.

Rev. Duane Anders has been an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church for over 30 years. He has previously served as district superintendent in Ohio. He has served as the lead pastor at the Cathedral of the Rockies for 13 years.