We continue a brief walk with some material on reconciliation by Walter Wink.
True reconciliation can be subverted by a government propaganda apparatus that equates reconciliation with compromise, the toleration of injustice, and obedience to the higher power… Reconciliation can be even more grossly perverted when religious leaders in a revolutionary situation call for “peace,” meaning that the oppressed should not disturb the false tranquility of a society built on violence...
“The duty of the churches is to be agents of reconciliation. That means we must avoid taking sides and be neutral.”
When church leaders preach reconciliation without having unequivocally committed themselves to struggle on the side of the oppressed for justice, they are caught straddling a pseudoneutrality made of nothing but thin air.
To hear about reconciliation on a national or international level may seem to be quite removed from our everyday lives. It is not. First of all, we can reduce what Wink puts forward here and apply it to the actions within this day. In place of the “church”…let’s put ourselves. Do we act as agents of reconciliation when we see and hear of the injustice that so often takes place within our own lives? Are we able to “avoid taking sides and be neutral”…and yet work for justice for all? Then, do we settle for a “peace” that is simply a false tranquility within our lives, but is really no peace at all? When we look at the world and national scene we are called to be a people who side with the oppressed and seek justice so that the status quo does not simply push on with a life agenda that is assumed and beneficial to only to some. It is only a small step to apply the same discipline to our daily lives.
Connection: In the midst of name calling it can be difficult to press for reconciliation and peace that actually brings warring parties together for the sake of the healing of all people. It is worth pausing during this day to see when and where such peace making can guide our ordinary lives.
Healing Lord, you long for the establishment of Your peace in the world. Make us instruments of your peace so that justice and peace may kiss and your Reign shines through our lives so that we are a witness to your new world. Amen.
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