Reconciliation in a Hostile World
I know many of you, like myself over the years, have given something up in this season of Lent. You might have done the 40 hour famine, maybe fasted even longer? Nowadays we might just give up our phones, the internet, or some other comfort as a way of engaging more deeply with God. What I like about fasting is that as Lent deepens and the effects of our sacrifice go from rumblings to deep pangs of withdrawal, we might experience a profound sensitivity to the need in the world, the seemingly relentless conflicts and wars, the terrible abuses of humanity on humanity.
In our lectionary passage this week, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Paul reveals a particular way of being and of serving which goes against our proclivity for conflict, this is what Paul calls a “ministry of reconciliation.” This may seem a radically different endeavour for us to engage in, because often tensions arise from the human tendency toward satisfying ourselves at the cost of caring for others. And so with Easter looming, this passage is a deafening profession against conflict in our various divisions.
Paul implores us to stop seeing people the way that the world sees people. Paul is saying that those different from us should not be viewed as enemies but rather those that God created, that God loved, that Christ died for. Rather than seeing others by the distinctives with which the world divides us, Paul is placing everyone in one of two camps, those who know Christ and those who don’t, but all whom God loves.
This should be a recognition of the new creatures that we are, if we are in Christ. The sacrifice that we might make during this period of Lent draws us deeper into our understanding of our unity in and through Christ, and the Easter narrative validates it.
As Easter approaches, and wars, conflicts and divisions continue to rage across the world and at home, we come to this passage from Paul and we might ask, “what does this mean for us? How do we live this out?” This Sunday we will explore how, in the mess and the visceral carnage of conflict, we might find peace in the mysterious ministry of reconciliation.
Take a moment to read our passage and meditate on it.
May God bless you all in the name of Jesus the Christ.
Josh
