Mission of Reconciliation: The Courage
Notes
Transcript
What do you think of when you think the mission of God? Some folks may think about evangelism. Speaking of Jesus to our neighbors. Spiritual conversations. Others may think of service. Bring peace and goodness in the way we love our communities. To contribute our gifts to building each other up and the work of the church as it participates in spreading the gospel message. Supporting and working with missionaries.
What about….. Honey, I’m sorry I said those things, will you please forgive me. What about… Son, I know what you did was wrong, thank you for saying your sorry, I forgive you. you’re still my son, you’ll always be my son. What about.. hey friend it’s been a while, I feel like we’ve been growing apart, drifting from each other with busy schedules and just distractions.. you wanna grab some coffee next week. I would love to reconnect. Or asking the question together how do we bring people together; who are have been driven apart?
Reconciliation. The reestablishment of a broken, estranged, or even interrupted relationship. Reconciliation is oftentimes a overlooked layer of God’s mission to the world. But it is actually central to the gospel and central to our Father’s heart and is at the center of His mission. Reconciliation is manifested in many ways. It’s about joining people together in unity and harmony. Between friends, family members, and even whole communities. IF you look at all the fighting of our culture today, the past years, what we’ve been through, what we’re going through we desperately need reconciliation.
And we need to be people of reconciliation. Not with a foundation of empty promises or human power either; But true reconciliation finds it’s foundation at the cross of Christ and the empty tomb and in the hope of the new creation that is to come. True reconciliation looks back to the cross and resurrection of God reconciling all things to Himself. But it also looks forward to the new heavens and earth that will clothe us in eternal life. Each work of reconciliation in the name of Jesus is the kingdom of heaven breaking through in our lives.
And it’s not easy. Reconciliation is hard work. Things may get worse before they get better. But reconciliation is the purpose of the gospel and so it is a precious and worthy gift for us to participate in together. So for this series, I will be focusing in on the mission of reconciliation founded in the gospel of Jesus, which invites us into a story of hardship but also of beauty as God is making all things new.
We will be going through 1 Corinthians 5:6-6:13. Where Paul talks about being ambassadors of reconciliation for the world. To show the world the reconciliation God has brought to all of us through Christ. How it is difficult, but how it also changes everything. And we also want to expand our view of reconciliation can be. It goes beyond just our one on one experiences and shapes how we approach our community and neighbors. For reconciliation is an invitation to experience a fresh new world and new creation; we’re we are closer together, more intimate, and open, supportive and understanding, and devoted to each other’s flourishing and benefit. That extends from our relationships here out into the world. A beautiful picture of God making all things new.
Prayer:
So today, we start at the beginning of going deeper and further into the mission of reconciliation. And we start by examining courage. It takes courage to reconcile. It’s not easy. Because true reconciliation means calling a thing what it is. Exposing a need for reconciliation. So, what shapes our courage for reconciliation?
Angelina Atyam was a mother in Northern Uganda. In 2004, the united nations described the situation in Northern Uganda as the worst and most neglected humanitarian crisis. There was civil war between Commander Joseph Kony against the Ugandan government and travesty ensued for over the past 18 years, over 300,000 people killed, and 26,000 children abducted by the resistance, held as prisoners and slaves. One of those daughters belonged to Angelina. Each night she would gather with other parents and lament and long for God to do something about this. To come down and fix this mess. To settle this atrocity of war. That God would give them their children back. They would pray the Lord’s Prayer… Our Father who are in heaven, they would continue to forgive us our trespasses… but then they would break down crying. They could not forgive what the rebels had done.
One night Angelina came to the parents at a prayer meeting crying out; how can we pray for the release of our daughters, if we will never forgive our enemies? I know the Jesus who can free our children from captivity; I want to know the Jesus who forgives my enemies and helps me forgive my enemies, the Jesus who reconciles enemies together. Through tears and long nights, the parents of those captured children started praying for the ability to forgive their enemies. And eventually they did. What happened next will shock you. You see forgiveness does not settle for the way things are.
Forgiveness leads to the journey of reconciliation. And that journey is full of courage. It was courage that night that overwhelmed the men and women. They organized protests, advocacy groups to get the word out of the atrocities that had taken. In the face of weapons and death. They were monumental in exposing the Ugandan resistance army to the world. So much so that a commander from the rebel army took Angelina into his house. Looked her dead in the face and said if you stop these protests and spreading this news to the world; I will give your daughter back tonight. And it was with courage, that Angelina stood up and said, every daughter son and child you have in your camps is my child. Instead of leaving her advocacy group she stayed and fought for the freedom of the all the children She did not receive her daughter back; and continued her advocacy work for 7 years until finally her daughter and the children would be free. And then Angelina would work to reconcile even the rebels with the rest of the community. To join them all together in harmony. That her part of Uganda would be together again. Through a process of justice, reparations, but most of all reconciliation.
What shaped her courage for reconciliation? What shapes our courage for reconciliation? To live a life that’s all about reconciliation. Her words are beautiful and yet utterly challenging yes? I know the Jesus who is my deliverer, help me to know the Jesus who forgives and reconciles my enemies.
Courage for reconciliation starts with communion with Jesus. The apostle Paul knew this. He wrote to the Corinthian church a second time. It was well within his missionary journeys. Life had beaten Paul up and then some. He experienced shipwrecks, sleepless nights, beatings, imprisonments, bruises from those he tried to share the gospel with. The message of reconciliation he dearly loved, was often met with resistance and hardship. But Paul in the midst of it all, all his hardships could never be robbed of his communion with Jesus. Nothing he says could separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul spread the news of reconciliation with courage and worked for reconciliation with courage, knowing in heart that is was the love of Christ that held everything together. That in Jesus all his sins were forgiven, and that God was busy in the life death and resurrection of Jesus reconciling all things to Himself. Communion with Jesus freed Paul to know he was no longer living for himself, but for Him who died for the world and was raised.
When we’re feeling too weak to go those places in our lives where we feel betrayed by people, hurt by others. Where we feel estranged from others because of personality differences or the way they see things. Or even just in life being drifted away by circumstances and losing touch with the people around us. We start the journey of reconciliation to them always with Jesus. Knowing that it is Jesus who has reconciled us back to the most important relationship of all, and that gives us courage to handle the complexities of our relationships and hardships with other here.
It is the heart of Jesus and our time with Him in prayer and in His Word that shapes our courage to reconcile. For communion with Jesus brings us to the cross. The cross where Jesus in true courage stretched out His arms for us. His very life. As Mark said, when the centurion saw the way in which Jesus died upon the cross. The way in which Jesus gave up His spirit to reconcile the world. The centurion couldn’t help but proclaim truly this was the Son of God. When we see in our communion with Jesus the way in which He died for us; it shapes our courage for reconciliation. To know and receive the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us recreate our hearts in courage.
Courage for reconciliation starts with communion with Jesus at the cross. But as Angelina Atyam’s story and Paul’s own words teach us, our courage for reconciliation is also shaped by lamenting our conditions and longing for more. Angelina lamented her small view of Jesus. Paul longed for Jesus to make all things news again. Paul longed to put on the heavenly dwelling. He longed to see Jesus come back and fulfill the renewal of all things. Paul longed for this cursed world to be swallowed up by the life of heaven. And that gave Paul courage to know that the Day was coming, and shaped his courage in the present knowing that the reconciliation he proclaimed would be fulfilled in Christ. And that would give the world glimpses of what was to come. Paul aimed all things in his life to please Jesus. Not in fear of the world; but of courage because of the one who was coming back.
To lament and long for more is to learn how to speak the truth about the brokenness in us and around us. Lament is about learning to see clearly; that things aren’t what they are supposed to be and that opens up possibilities for more. We lament in a way that does not lead into despair, or in a way that doesn’t lead to cheap solutions. We lament to God; and we know His answer is in the cross of Jesus which is not cheap grace but costly. The love of Jesus that reached down to the lowest hell for our sake. But lament also does not lead us into despair, because we have hope that God is making all things new. That His Yes to our laments are bound up in the crucified and risen Jesus And it gives us courage because we know we are part of God’s answer to our world in desperate need of reconciliation. He includes us in the work of reconciliation as we extend the love of Jesus to all. To fill all things with the essence and beauty of bringing ourselves and others together in harmony.
And lastly after communion with Christ, and lament and longing… it is identity that shapes our courage for reconciliation. An identity of being known by God. Rod Rosenbladt is a theology professor in California. He tells of a story reconciliation between him and his dad. Rod spent the night with his buddies smoking and drinking whiskey. He had the crazy idea of driving the car his dad helped him purchase. He was drunk and wrecked it. Rod was terrified, called his dad, told him what happened. And Rod remembers going into his dad’s study, just weeping and weeping, feeling ashamed and awful. But he’ll never forget that moment of reconciliation. That glimpse of the kingdom of God. His dad held him up and said, we’ll talk more tomorrow, but right now, right now… I want you know I love you son, I forgive you and you’ll always be my son.
This echoes Paul. He says we try to persuade others of this message of reconciliation. We do so with courage with the fear of the Lord, for what we are… is known to God. An identity of being known by God and belonging to Him shapes our courage. Because it’s the greatest identity in the world. An identity of rest, knowing that we belong to the Father through Christ, and courage because He has sent us for this very thing. The wounds, the sins, what your’re inclined to do at times. Your story, your life, all is known by God, and He sees you now covered in the radiant love of Jesus. The blood of Christ that reconciled you to the Father, and made you known to God. Who you are, and whose you are is known to God. Preparing you to participate in His work and mission of reconciliation. Nothing can separate you from that and that gives us courage to dive into reconciliation knowing who we belong to and the work He accomplishes in us and through us.
So as we begin this deep dive into reconciliation in our lives and how we are to always work for it, we no we don’t work for ourselves but for God as our Good Father. And we do so with courage. Courage that is shaped by communion with Christ, lament and longing for more, and an identity of being known by God. Courage for reconciliation to give a glimpse of the new creation that has broken through in Christ and fills our lives. Amen.