Peace MAKING

I've always found the term to be a little bit, how shall we say, oximoronic? How do you make peace? If you make peace by force, are you not engaging in an act of violence? And therefore, by very nature, not making peace? I was reminded of my own personal questions on this when we recently did a devotion for staff from Matthew 12:15-21. The exact part is Matthew's quotation of Isaiah, one of the suffering servant songs, when he claims this servant will proclaim justice to the nations. And I thought - just proclaim justice? What does that even look like? He's not enacting justice, just proclaiming it. He's not making justice, just saying it. And then the question remains, does the act of saying or proclaiming justice, does that do something in and of itself? Is the mere proclamation efficacious? That would certainly fit in nicely with John's reference to Jesus as the Word. It also is an amazing reminder of the effectiveness of gentleness...