Ambassadors of Reconciliation

Last session, we started with the truth that our identities are established by the reconciling work of Jesus Christ. The Christian life is lived outside/ in, not inside/out. Two kinds of external connections define us as human persons. First, our relationship to God, restored, once and for all, by the reconciling work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Deity is entirely responsible for this reconciliation. The second consists of the reconciling and relational work we are called to carry out with others, in those vocations and locations where we find ourselves. We can say: I am an ambassador of reconciliation. Being reconciled to Christ makes me a reconciler, nurturing relationships that lead others closer to Jesus Christ.

Introduction

As contrasted with Christ’s reconciling cry from the cross, “It is finished,” this reconciling work with others is never finished. (Neither should we underestimate how exhausting these labors of love, literally, can be!) Whom does this include? Those we adore as well as those we’re indifferent towards. Those we’re related to by genes, by legal ties, or by civic associations, as well as those with whom we share no kinship or fellowship, both the givers and takers, the movers and the shakers, as well as the troublemakers and the heartbreakers

See this Irish poem by Arthur O’Shaughnessy who, though his life was short and difficult, wrote:

We are the music-makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams, Wandering by lone sea-breakers, And sitting by desolate streams; Yet we are the movers and shakers

Of the world for ever it seems.

Jesus goes so far to suggest that we should arrange our lives by intentionally going out of our way to be peacemakers and bridgebuilders prior to being worshippers. There are times when what we do with the alter (the other person) must precede what we do at the altar

Reflect

Read Matthew 5:22-24. Jesus is challenging us to repurpose our anger. When we are angry, we have an excess of energy.

• Why does Jesus invite us to use that energy in the work of intentionally reconciling with others rather than name-calling (“You fool!”) or retreating into religious rituals (“offering your gift at the altar”)?

• What specific relationships has God given me an opportunity to nurture?

WHAT-NESS AND WHO-NESS

What we are and who we are are precisely the categories that define us as persons The personhood of humans is discovered in the relationships of the WHAT-ness and WHO-ness We have very little to say about our WHAT-ness. That’s determined by the relational circumstances of our birth, our parents, our ancestors, our context, and our community. We can, however, make a substantial impact on our WHO-ness, namely, who we are relationally in Christ. One’s track record of reconciled relationships is definitive of our WHO-ness—not from whom we’ve become estranged, but with whom we’ve restored a relationship. That’s what kind of persons we are Sin, however, seduces us to be turned inward, to focus on our WHAT-ness apart from other relationships. Sin separates us from God, from ourselves, from the creation, and from one another. Sin keeps us from becoming the persons God has destined us to be (WHOness) When we turn away from others and turn toward the false gods of our

WHAT-ness to define our identity, we disobey the First Commandment

Martin Luther observes in his Large Catechism that false gods include “money and property” (p. 6), and even “great learning, power, prestige, family, and honor” (p. 10). For example, our loyalty to our family or tribe can prevent us from being full participants in the human family or in the family of God. Our pursuit of education or employment, if this interferes with or contradicts our primary relationships, can turn positive pursuits into spiritually negative problems. When we are more interested in material things than in other persons, when we are so preoccupied with our accomplishments that we don’t have the capacity to be concerned about others, when we are possessed, as it were, by our possession—this is inconsistent with God’s desire for us Not only that, but these otherwise virtuous pursuits—when they impede worship of God or love for others—can become sinful vices .

Reflect

• Read Nahum 1:2 and 1:6. What picture do these verses give us about the personality of God regarding false gods?

• God judges us fairly and squarely. God loves us in Christ Jesus overflowingly and immeasurably. How does our awareness of that judgment and of that love motivate us to take action in the lives of others? continued

• Recall 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 from the video. How can these words from Paul give us a less “cultural preoccupation with race”?

• Dr. Nunes references Ephesians 2:14-15. How does Jesus allow us to “check just one box” when it comes to our identity?

An Example Of Reconciliation

Read John 4 (especially focusing on verses 19-26).

Jesus’ relationship with the woman from Samaria is a great example of this intentionality. First, think of the barriers Jesus had to overcome to be in a reconciled relationship with this woman. The Samaritan people were especially despised because they were a hybrid, or mixed, people group. Both their religious practices and their genealogical background was hybridized—part Jewish, part other traditions. They were outcasts. The irony is that Jesus makes Samaritans the heroes in many of His parables, such as the leper who returned to give thanks (see Luke 17:11-19) and the stranger who helped the stranded, beaten traveler (see Luke 10:25-37).

Five times married. The Samaritan woman whom Jesus meets, therefore, has many factors working against her, for example: her gender, ethnicity, moral reputation, and religion. Oftentimes, the “other” with whom we have the greatest difficulty is the one who is a proximate other—enough like us to be similar, but not enough like us to be the same

• What were the practical steps that led to reconciliation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman?

Reflect

• As we ponder reconciliation in our U.S. context—where the fastest growing ethnic group is “mixed”—how might this story apply to us?

Reconciliation is a spiritual process that can be applied to many aspects of our personal life and closest relationships. A primary covenantal community into which God has called us is marriage. That so many marriages struggle provides us with another example of the sin we’re in. Reconciliation, not separation, is the goal of marital relationships (see 1 Corinthians 7:11). Divorce, while sometimes a tragic necessity, is not God’s design. We are not called to rupture but called to peace (see 1 Corinthians 7:15).

Clothed in righteousness and fed with the Father’s forgiveness, reconciled ones extend a hand with candor; we speak “the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15b) to our sisters and brothers of every race and in every place. One of the principles of Martin Luther King’s vision of the civil rights movement in the mid-twentieth century was known as the “beloved community”—a civic association grounded in brotherly and sisterly love. Of course, only those who confess by faith the saving grace of God in Jesus are able to fully realize such love. Yet, this goal may apply also to our time. It is good for the functioning of society that all people seek reconciliation with the other and not the overthrowing or the conquering of the other

In the current social and political environment in the U.S. and in much of the world, we are challenged by aggressive partisan, highly vocal, and divisive forces. These often do not have reconciliation as their goal. Instead, their aim is winning, of getting and keeping power. While Christians should be diligent in putting their faith into action in the civic realm, our tone is always predisposed toward reconciliation and making peace.

Reflect Reflect

• What does John the evangelist and apostle say is the power source of that reconciling love? (See 1 John 4:10-11.)

• An important word in understanding this is “propitiation” (1 John 4:10b) or in the Greek, “hilasmos.” What might be some synonyms for this concept?

• Considering the place where I live, in what ways am I called to participate in building “a beloved community”?

Conclusion

Only what God has done for us in Jesus Christ can deliver the reality of reconciliation to our lives. We tend to hold on to our grudges, our wounds, our animosities. What Jesus does on the cross makes enemies into friends, outsiders into insiders, strangers into sisters and brothers. If it were left to us and our ability to love others, we would utterly fail. We, who are deeply loved by God our Father, are called and sent by the Spirit to be builders of a beloved community According to our vocation and location in life, we turn from our anger, and we turn toward our neighbor. No matter what circumstances we have come from, as Christians, this is who we are.

Father, by the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus the Christ, You have made us instruments of Your peace. Now by the power of the Spirit, help us to embrace this reconciling identity in Your Name. Amen.