The Theology of Reconciliation

The following are notes from the Door Creek Stewardship Board, from the first few of a multi-part overview and study of the Bible. The study is focused on what scripture has to say about people of different economic means, abilities, races, ethnicities, nations, marital status, genders, ages, classes, and perspectives. Our aim is to learn more about what it means for Door Creek to become a church for all people by seeing what God has to say.

To see the final study document, completed in September 2010, click here.

Part 1: Torah

Just as sin entered the world in the Garden; divisiveness and nationality and separation entered the world at Babel (Genesis 11, 12).  It is a very unique event in that way.  Just as God’s original model was a relationship with humans without sin, God’s model was for us to be a united humanity, with one purpose and tongue.  However, just as with the first fall, our pride and distance from God destroyed this model.  Also interesting is the fact that the story of the Tower is immediately followed by the call of Abram.  God’s command for Abram: “Leave your country, your people.”  It was an injunction to break ethnic and linguistic ties, ties of nationality and of family.  It was a call to “leave.”  Promise: “I will make you a great nation … and all the people on earth will be blessed through you.”  Again, there’s a parallel with the first fall: just as God immediately set in motion a plan to re-reconcile humanity to himself, through Christ, he set in motion after the Tower a plan to re-reconcile humanity to itself, again, through Christ.  God’s design is for us to be reconciled with one another; his modus operandi of that reconciliation is through Christ; so the church must be his vehicle, taking a cue from Abram: “leave.” 

Starting with Adam and Eve, there is a recurrent pattern throughout the five books: sin, victim (who hurt from the sin), fear, blame, consequence, promise of reconciliation (serpent’s head crushed).

Aaron and Miriam’s debate over Aaron’s wife, who was a Cushite.  Racism comes into play early.  There’s “a new normal” in the family and they don’t like it.  They don’t address the issue (racism) they let something else surface.    

Identified two types of reconciliation: of sin and when God calls someone.  Call: fear of call, God’s assurance of provision, deliverance and covenant (e.g., Moses, Abraham).  There might be a believers side of reconciliation and a non-believers’ side.  Reconciling to God vs. reconciling oneself to God’s call.

Fear is a problem.  It’s an obstacle to reconciliation.  Is not fear one of the roots of discrimination?  We need to deal with the fear issue as a Board. 

How many church leaders do you know that have murdered somebody?  Only to be redeemed by God as Moses was?  How does it feel when your sin is found out?  There’s a lot in our path that would disqualify us from a lot of things.  Moses wanted to right thing (freedom of people) but he went about it all the wrong way.

Galatians 3:18, connections to promise to Abraham.  Gospel linked to all the families.  Pursuing this reconciling goal is a part of the Gospel. 

  • Great leaders of the faith broke decidedly with racial boundaries: Moses, Abraham, Daniel.  
  • The more we’re like the world in these things, the less “light to the Gentiles” we will be.
  • Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.  Exodus 23:2

Care fore the poor and alien is built into the law; shows that God cares for these people.  Also shows our neglect of the poor.  Provision of alien’s to worship.  What is the definition of alien? Someone who’s not part of the covenant community.  Our modern-day refugee would be close. 

Israelites in the wilderness: complaining, etc.  When we are living in sin, we tend to bring others in with us as well. 

Our understanding of who we are as created in the image of God, and that is universal, no matter skin color, age, etc.

People that are physically disabled may come near, lists of defects (Leviticus 21).  Today, we think we’re enlightened about this, but there are other ways we don’t “touch.”  This was for the Levites.  They couldn’t go into the holy presence of God.  And what we know about people with disabilities is that they don’t go to church  95% of deaf people, for example, don’t go to church.  Who do we consider our “untouchables”?  Gays? Criminals?  Sex offenders?

If we’re down this path—of reconciliation—we’re going deal with issues of justice: Ex 23:6: Lev. 19:15; Det. 15:7.   When the society is more integrated, the problems are more in your face.  You don’t give money to an agency, you give it out of your own hand.  Now, we can choose when to engage.  Same with racial issues (e.g., white privilege to engage when we wish).  Cf. missionaries living among the poor.  Abraham had to leave his comfort zone.  God often calls you to discomfort.  The mission of reconciliation from the beginning has required sacrifice; so why would we be surprised that it requires it from us?  (A lot: say, so I want to bring this on my family?)

 

Part 2: History and Wisdom

Joshua: cities of refuge.  Why in the world?  Joshua 20:1-9.  These aren’t free zones; they’re to prevent vengeance.  (Numbers 35 too.)

God has called the Israelites to come into Canaan to kill all the people.  But the battle for Canaan is similar to the battle for people’s souls until true reconciliation will take place. 

The disabled cannot come before the Lord; they can’t be disabled.  In the Levites.  This doesn’t sound like the God I know; lack of understanding of God’s holiness.  Disability was sometimes a consequence of sin, sometimes not. Sin cannot be in the presence of the Father; all this as a kind of metaphor for God’s Holiness. 

God’s justice and holy judgments: doesn’t discriminate between Israel and others.  The city of refuge is to be a place where justice is upheld.  Abraham blessing all people of the world; how?; by being not like the world.  What is the city of refuge today?

If we care for the poor, we can’t just be charitable; we cannot just sit ideally by and say “no politics.”  We need to attack the very sources of injustice.   Hannah’s prayer (1 Samuel, chapter 2): equality for the poor. 

Ruth the despised Moabite.  Is there an equivalent for us?  Ruth is part of the lineage of Christ.  Her character stood out.  Boaz crossed cultural lines.  God chose an outsider to be David’s grandmother. 

Job 31: This guy was deeply involved in the marginalized poor. 

Including in the courts; maintain the rights.  This seems to be a calling the church has neglected, equality within the legal system.  These are bigger point.  These are clear injunctions.  Psalms 82: 1-4. 

Where’s the outrage for the racial disparities?  Why does the evangelical church expend so much energy spreading the gospel but virtually none defending the rights of the powerless? 

Blind v. wise generosity.  (God loves a hilarious giver.) 

Study of Esther: Esther 3:13.  “That Jew Mordecai at the Kings gate.”  (bigoted statement)  

God uses cross-cultural, cross-economic relationships to advances his purposes.

Joshua 2: Rahab the prostitute

Rahab is Boaz’s mother

                  (Maybe this made him more likely to look at Ruth.)

Ruth 2:10-12: Ruth and Boaz

Tamar with Juda

Moses marries Zipporah

Samuel 9:21: Saul from Benjamin (least important tribe)

Proverbs 13:23: Injustice sweeps it away.  This is not pointing the finger at the poor, this is saying poverty is because of injustice.  Proverbs 29:7: The righteous care about the poor. 

Is there a teaching moment for the recession?  Will it bring more empathy in general? 

The Biblical pattern: in times of success and peace, you forget God. In these times, you don’t care about your neighbor. 

Spokesperson to right justice: Nathan goes to David; Judges go to Israel.  God raises up leaders.  “Who will stand in the gap?” (Ezekiel 22:30). 

Categories haven’t changed from law:

Alien – racial and ethnic divide

Widow – women

Orphan / Fatherless – children

Poor – poverty

What is the contemporary white church community’s attitude toward undocumented immigrants? 

Generous to poor, kind to the Lord—flip that one around.  (cf. loving God and loving your neighbor);

What would it mean to non-Christians if Christians we more social-justice oriented?  That could become offensive.

Proverbs 28:27: he who closes his eyes to the poor receives many curses. 

Kindness to outsiders: 2 Kings 6: 22

Joshua 23:12: No intermarriage with people from conquered lands.

Part 3: Prophets

People can sin, and greatly, without recognizing that it is sin.  This is a sin that runs throughout Jeremiah (e.g., Jeremiah 4:22).  Could this be how the white church views multiethnicity today?  Segregated worship appears “natural” and innocuous, but perhaps it is a grave sin that offends God, one that the church is practicing without recognizing it as such.

We are instructed to defend the rights of the poor and powerless, the oppressed (Jeremiah 5: 27; 6:6); God loves justice and hates robbery and inequity (Isaiah 61, 62).  “And what does your Lord require of you>” (Micah 6:8).  Themes include justice and righteousness; and trust and righteousness.  Justice is a command, and injunction.  “Administer justice and true compassion”  (Zechariah).

God’s plan is for everybody, and the salvation was designed to cross ethnic lines.  “I will make you to be a light to the gentiles.” (Isaiah 49:6).  This ties into the multisite and church for all people.

Jonah: see God’s heart for others; Jonah’s racism a sin. 

Perhaps we are being too abstract and not concrete enough.  There is a cost, a trade-off to opening doors.  Jill brought up the example of homeless kids at school.  How would this work out in church?  How do we move it from head to practice?  Throughout the prophets, you keep running into the theme of idolatry.  Perhaps the antidote is that if we have a radical love for God, we are able to reach out in a serious way.  There is a connection in the prophets between the two great sins : idolatry and not loving one another.  The former begets the latter.

Ezekiel and Daniel: God showed no tolerance for those who worship foreign or alien gods.  How does religious tolerance or pluralism influence our mission?  Do we lower our character to be “all things to all people” and does that water down the gospel?

Amos: God is completely intolerant of inequality; he rails against luxury and fancy living at the expense of the poor.  What is it worth to us to have a relationship?  Are we willing to align our lives to our values?  Money can be an idol and a great barrier.

Let us never be like the rich young ruler, who went away sad because he wasn’t willing to let go.  Sometimes what God asks us to do is not that comfortable. 

Throughout the prophets, there are condemnations against individual and systematic-sin (e.g., unjust legal and economic systems).  We are hardwired to think about what I, individually, can do.  But we also need to bear in mind how we collude with systematic sin.  How might the NT deal with systemic injustice? 

What about confession?  If we confess our sins, God is faithful.  Verbs that go before the poor, alien, widow:

  • positive: defend, rescue, encourage, seek justice, administer justice, loose the chains of injustice, share, cloth, preach the gospel, lead, exercise kindness, show mercy, show compassion
  • negative: oppress, unconcern, rob, extort, mistreat, deprive, think evil of others, cheap workers of their wages

Do we want to meet other people only on our own terms?  We like to help the poor—the deserving poor.   

How can we defend the rights of the poor if we don’t even know them, know their struggles?  The whole thing rests on relationships.