Reflection on the theme “Revolutionary Peacemaking” for our October Gathering
by Debbie Baumgartner, Jesus People Chicago
As I sit down to write this today, I have just returned from a neighborhood rally for safer streets. Two children, aged 2 and 3, were killed by drivers in the past two weeks; the 3 year old girl’s death was witnessed by a friend on her way to work. What does the church have to say in the face of these tragedies? What is my response?
These questions have been coming to me again and again during this global pandemic as a war has started, countless displaced people worldwide search for food and safety, the climate has changed irreparably; the list goes on and on. How can I spend my time focusing on metaphysical topics when so many physical needs are not being met? The work that shalom demands is the work of making things whole and right and good. My commitment to shalom means that I will go through life with eyes open to the places where it is not a reality and do what I can to bring it about. I believe that pursuing shalom in my relationships with God and those around me can promote healing in our shattered world.
Art, in all its forms, evokes in me a prophetic, spiritual imagination that is essential to keeping in step with God, the Holy Spirit. It is deeply rooted in reality, but also transcendent. Makoto Fujimura, visual artist and author, explains this tension: “Fantasy is an escape from reality and therefore erodes true hope; but Godly imagination to dream is a courageous journey into the heart of darkness, into the imprisoned realms of our world, that can liberate us from our ‘bondage to decay into the freedom of the children of God’ (Romans 8).” . Faith to me is not an escape but a way to make sense of the world around me. Even at its most sorrowful and perplexing, reality when tethered to a loving Creator can be a place of beauty and restoration.
I do not desire firm answers, but the solid ground of relationship with God. Benedictine nun Joan Chittister describes the type of spiritual insight that I seek: “Life is not a mystery for those who choose well-worn paths. But life is a reeling, spinning whirligig for those who do not, for those who seek God beyond the boundaries of the past. All the absolutes come into question. All the certainties fade.” I want to pursue God in the uncharted depths of mystery. I am not afraid to let go of what I have previously thought or believed in order to stay close to a God of whom I can only hold flashes of understanding.
In the face of racism, inequity, homophobia, and war, I fear that we, in the western church, are in danger of “...saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” Too many times, the western church has been found celebrating the false peace of a manufactured and curated world, made possible by the human rights violations and greed of empire. This false dream that the western church maintains is one from which I would like to continue to awaken. Walter Brueggemann asserts that "Shalom comes only to the inclusive, embracing community that excludes none.” If this is the case, there is a lot of work to be done.
"Shalom comes only to the inclusive, embracing community that excludes none.” - Walter Brueggemann
Jesus himself “is our peace, who of both has made one, breaking down the middle wall of separation,” (Ephesians 2:14) and he desires that we continue the work of reconciliation which he began. I want to find creative ways to bring unity, or, at the very least, a greater degree of empathy between people who hold different political, theological or world views. I want to participate in the work of shalom and invite others along so that together, in ever widening circles, we can become “the repairer[s] of the breach, the restorer[s] of streets to live in.” (Isaiah 58:1).