Learning to be a Community of Reconciliation (1)

 

"So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)

 

I. Required readings

           

            Psalm 51

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

            Galatians 3:26-29

            Colossians 1:1-29

           

Christian Biography for the Day: Desmond Tutu

 

Sermon, “The Ministry of Reconciliation”
(Copyrighted article through Angel; see Course Resources)

 

“Reconciliation as the Mission of God: Christian Witness in a World of Destructive Conflicts.”

             (Copyrighted article through Angel; see Course Resources)

Desmond Tutu, Speech at Marquette University

 

 

II. Quotation for the day

 “When will we learn that human beings are of infinite value because they have been created in the image of God, and that it is a blasphemy to treat them as if they were less than this and to do so ultimately recoils on those who do this? In dehumanizing others, they are themselves dehumanized. Perhaps oppression dehumanizes the oppressor as much as, if not more than, the oppressed. They need each other to become truly free, to become human. We can be human only in fellowship, in community, in koinonia, in peace. Let us work to be peacemakers, those given a wonderful share in Our Lord's ministry of reconciliation.”

                        --Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Lecture, 1984

 

III. Journal prompts

 

1. At the center of the good news (gospel) of God’s reign is that God is reconciling all things in Christ (Colossians 1:19-20).  How do the readings for today broaden your understanding of the biblical notion of reconciliation?

 

2. The readings for today remind us that the church does not simply have a message about reconciliation, but that God has also given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). As Desmond Tutu elegantly reminds us in his speech, this means that we are also partners and agents with God in the work of reconciliation.  Do you think most Christians understand themselves as being part of this ministry of reconciliation? In what ways do you see the church carrying out this ministry of reconciliation?

 

IV. Links of possible interest

  

            Desmond Tutu on Compassion  A brief interview with Tutu about compassion, justice and forgiveness that appeared in Psychology Today (March/April 2005).

 

 

 

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