Peace Has Broken Out Lyrics
Words and music by Shaun Groves
I woke up like every day before and read the news
It was there in black and white with all the whats and whos
A headline so hard to fathom it just might be true
It claimed on every thoroughfare and avenue
Chorus:
Peace has broken out
In every heart
In every house
Peace has broken out
It started small
It drew a crowd
Peace has broken out
Well, they say it all began right down on Fifth and Main
When somebody thought of pushing back but walked away
Somehow the people gathered 'round just weren't the same
And as the crowd dispersed somebody heard 'em say
We'll watch the lambs and lions play
We've got no more flags to wave
All our rockets aim for stars
And the way things always should have been
Is just the way things are
No one's sure what happened next but on and on it went
From cubicles and classrooms to the president
Headed west and east and on to every continent
The whole world woke up to read how things are different
(Since)
Story Behind The Song:
MATTHEW 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."
Then Jesus tells the gathering of Jews, forever under the thumb of violent oppressors and abusers, "Blessed are those who make peace." Later in the Sermon on the Mount He elaborates, adding that we should pray for our accusers, meet their needs, carry their load farther than they've commanded us to, not punch them back, and allow them to strike and humiliate us without end if we can't get away. And for three centuries after these words were spoken, the Church believed Jesus meant it. They believed and taught that this command to be nonviolent and even kind to those who harm us and hate us applied as much to the treatment of an irritating next door neighbor or schoolyard bully as it did to Roman soldiers intent on raping, torturing and killing the innocent.
Jesus has the audacity today and in his day to remind His battered and oppressed followers to love their enemies as we were loved by God. He reminds us that those who live by the sword die by the sword, and He promises a day when lions will lay down with lambs, there will be no more flags to wave, when eternal peace breaks out. Until that day He teaches us to pray for and serve the backstabber in the office, the smart-mouthed teenager in our house and the candidate from the other side of the aisle. I was an enemy of God deserving to be punished with death, but instead He met my greatest need and calls me His friend. Doing the same, when I want to hate and hurt, is righteousness crucial to following Jesus.
©2005 New Spring Publishing, Inc./ASCAP (all rights administered by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)
