Horizons: March/April 2023

Reconciliation. This 14-letter word may bring with it 14,000 thoughts and questions.

What does it mean to reconcile?

Is an acknowledgment of a wrong sufficient for reconciliation? How many wrongs?

How do we as Christians grapple with and actively address the consequences of wrongs from our actions, inactions or carelessness? How about wrongs that we may be unwittingly complicit in, such as the violations committed by previous generations that continue to benefit some and hinder others? How do we grapple with our own complicity in systems that we did not build but still benefit from (even if unaware)? How do we as Christians who have not benefited from unjust systems respond to calls to reconcile when our own wounds are unhealed and our concerns for safety are just? Do we trust? What does genuine reconciliation look like for us?

Building a beloved community (see our PW Purpose) takes purposeful work and prayer and commitment —and sometimes, oftentimes, discomfort. But working toward the wholeness of all people is our charge. “Go and do likewise,” Jesus tells us (Lk. 10:37). Like the Good Samaritan we are to live in such a way that we actually notice our neighbor and respond to their hurt or plight with kindness, compassion and genuine care—even if there is a cost to us. The first stanza of the hymn, “Today We All Are Called to Be Disciples,” sums it up in this way:

“Today we all are called to be Disciples . . . , to help to set the captive free, make plowshare out of sword, to feed the hungry, quench their thirst, make love and peace our fast, to serve the poor and homeless first, our ease and comfort last.”*

Reconciliation, alas, is uninterested in our ease and comfort. Reconciliation requires us to open our minds and hearts and ears to the truth of the world, to confess, and to commit to the difficult and arduous work required toward healing and wholeness. “Our ease and comfort last.” Or as Amanda Barbee says in her article, “In order to be reconciled, we must die to self, die to allegiances to political parties or citizenship, and surrender our hearts and minds to the goodness and rightness of God. It’s not easy being Christian.” Reconciliation requires us to acknowledge a wrong and move toward a unity of the church that is “a sign of God’s grace and a beacon of hope to those outside the church,” suggests Cynthia Holder Rich. In her article, Cynthia directs us to a confession, the Belhar Confession, to “move toward faithful change” as the church acknowledges and repudiates the Doctrine of Discovery and its cruel and lasting impact on Indigenous peoples. “We can turn to live in new obedience, opening new possibilities for life for everyone made in the holy image of God.”

* “Today We Are Called to Be Disciples,” Glory to God, #434