November 30, 2009

The Ministry of Reconciliation

by Andy Ryskamp

“And He has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation.”
~ 2 Corinthians 5:19

This verse isn’t often an advent favorite. But to me, it’s perfect for this season. As we wait in hope for the coming of the light of Christ, this verse reminds me what that light is all about in the first place. We sing of a Jesus born on a “Silent Night” in Bethlehem – but we know that in the shadows of that seeming peace there was deep brokenness brewing. People were suffering, leaders were scheming, violence was boiling. During advent, we pray for peace, and we work for reconciliation.

Let me give you an example of what I mean by reconciliation.

In late December of 2007, violence broke out in Kenya. Three communities where CRWRC works were especially threatened, and we had concerns that the partnerships we had long relied on, with the Anglican Church of Kenya and the Reformed Church of East Africa, would not be able to withstand the strife. I feared that the forces of anger and hate – ethnic fighting fueled by the ugly legacy of colonialism – would undo the reconciliation we’d worked so hard to achieve. As we lit another advent candle to herald Christ’s light overcoming the darkness of the world, I began to envision more and more darkness enveloping Kenya – the real world. That advent I understood that the root causes, the reconciliation, hadn’t been addressed, so the veneer of peace was easily stripped away in that region I’d come to assume was so peaceful.

But the coming of Christ reminds us that “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:5). The country began to return to a relative calm. I was able to board a plane and visit the field – encourage our staff, survey the damage, consider our next steps. While walking through a camp filled with people displaced by the violence, I saw uplifted spirits, coordinated aid, organized responses to suffering. I saw hope – even among tents filled with people who had been totally uprooted and unraveled. I walked with the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya that day, and mentioned how impressed I was with the outcome. “Maybe our work in Kenya is coming to a close,” I mused. I was happy that I wasn’t seeing violence – and I quickly forgot about the tougher work of deep reconciliation. That veneer of peace felt good enough to me.
The Archbishop quickly corrected me. “Our work is far from over,” he said. It was true: the absence of conflict was a gift for which we should give God thanks. But God called us to do much more: to reconcile what was really broken in the lives of the Kenyan people. The Archbishop told me he was counting on us to continue to strengthen the foundations of that reconciliation – he needed us to keep training leaders in a biblical worldview. He needed us to move communities from a basic level of development to the kind of self-sufficiency that comes with successes like competing in the marketplace. And he needed us to continue to build trust and good faith among the ethnic groups where violence had sparked in the first place. Without those pieces in place, what looked like peace restored was merely a time of calm in the midst of the storm.

Christ has committed us to the work of reconciliation – the foundation of the peace that we pray for during this advent season. This advent season, may we have eyes to see the great need for reconciled relationships, reconciled finances, reconciled spirits, reconciled homes. That’s another way to think about biblical development. May we be people who commit ourselves to working for this reconciliation in our own lives, and in ministry to others. And may this ministry of reconciliation prepare us to welcome into the world one who makes real, reconciled peace possible. Come, Lord Jesus.

Prayer
As we prepare for the birth of the great reconciler this advent season, call us to a deeper path toward peace. May we desire not the simple absence of conflict, but instead a lasting foundation of true reconciliation through Christ. Help us to be reconcilers, Lord. Amen.

Pursue Peace
As one called to be a reconciler, consider the places in your life that need reconciliation. How can you pursue a reconciled relationship today?

Andrew Ryskamp is co-director for CRWRC in the US