On 6 August 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima and then three days later on Nagasaki. As global tensions continue to develop around the world, it seems an apt time to reflect on both the nature of war and the art of peacemaking and what the Christian faith has to offer.

Last Saturday I went to the Vic/Tas Synod Justice convention on peacemaking and heard Dr Nida Shoughry (a Palestinian woman) and Dr Tsameret Levy‑Daphny (an Isreali woman) speak about their peace building work. Both Nida and Tsameret are part of a Steering Committee focused on implementing the UN Security council resolution 1325 on women and peacebuilding. A core part of their advocacy work is embodying the work of peacebuilding amongst themselves; to keep talking even when they did not agree, to see each other firstly as human, as mothers, as daughters, as well as their cultural identity, to speak the truth of their experience, to listen and be willing to apologise. 

What struck me was the similarities between what they were asking for and what our First peoples have been advocating for; having a seat at the table in order to have a say about the decisions that affect you. For women to be involved in peace negotiations is to ensure half of the population is not excluded from looking at solutions. A Treaty with First Peoples ensures they have a say about their future. An imposed solution can be yet another form of violence.

As my grandson approaches the age of two, he is beginning to embark on imaginative play and conflict resolution. He is learning he cannot just grab the toy he wants from another child because that ultimately makes both him and the other child upset . He is also learning what happens when a child refuses to share, or takes his toy and refuses to give it back. But imaginative play also allows the possibility for other solutions. Sometimes the other child is happy with a different toy, or they can take it in turns, or he finds a different toy. But this doesn’t always work first time, and because it is hard work, it’s easy to conclude that maybe it doesn’t work at all.

The disciples must have had similar thoughts when Jesus was crucified at the hand of the chief priests and Roman soldiers. How could this man who talked about loving your enemies possibly mean it when this was the result? And more to the point, how could he be God? And yet Christianity endures while the Roman empire has collapsed. Power over is always fleeting, because it brings with it resentment and rage that eventually builds and resurfaces if it is not addressed. Power over means you have to keep exerting this power in the face of possible resistance which is energy and time consuming.

In our Gospel readings for August, Jesus will invite all to the feast and feed them with baskets left over. He will be a calm presence amidst the storm, while the disciples are afraid. He will talk about the importance of our hearts being right with God, and the power that comes when we realise truth for ourselves. He will talk about the cost of discipleship. Each of these readings has something to say about how Jesus embodies being a peacemaker. It is a daily walk as disciples.

The attacks three years ago on October 7 by HAMAS and the resulting retaliation by the Israeli government that the UN is now naming as Genocide continue. It seems peace is further away than ever. Perhaps some of the hardest work of peace building is managing our anger and underneath that our sadness and being willing to stay with things even when they’re hard.

While the path of peace building is slow and hard, the alternative is an ever-escalating cycle of violence. The practice of making paper cranes for Hiroshima day is a symbol of hope filled work. It began with a young girl Sadako Sasaki, who contracted leukemia from the long lasting effects of the bomb that was dropped. Even though she died something of her hope lives on in this symbolic act of longing for a different way, that we can all participate in.

Jesus says: “Blessed are the peace makers for they will be called children of God” (Matt 5:9). Peacebuilding is part of living in the kingdom of God. It invites all to have a seat at the table, to be open to changing our hearts and minds so we can embody peace in ourselves. It is being willing to keep having the conversation even when things get hard and to remember that each of us is made in the image of God.

Rev Cath James, Minister of the Word
First published in the August 2026 Olive Branch

Photos from 1000 Paper Cranes for Peace at the Dalton McCaughey Library