Lausanne World Pulse – Themed Articles – The Culture of Peace and Evangelism
When the General Council of the Mennonite World Conference met in Guatemala in 2000, I noticed something striking during the discussion of global mission. When less affluent Christians spoke, it was clear they were not hampered by a split between peace and mission. They could discuss the Church’s mission in the same breath as the problems of racism, street children, hunger, prostitution and war.
It was clear that in the hearts and minds of these people, there was no division between mission and peace, or between the soul and the body. For them, the gospel of Jesus Christ addresses both body and soul, and it calls Christians equally to both the ministry of proclaiming the good news and to living out the new reality of God’s kingdom of peace.
One Integrated Mission
Unfortunately, for much of the Church in recent history, evangelism and peacemaking have been seen as separate tasks. The Church’s witness to Christ has been clouded by the myth that we have to choose either/or; either evangelism or peacemaking. The two are not seen as one integrated witness that the Church must undertake simultaneously and holistically.
In the face of such a mythic dualism, we need to recall that the good news of peace that Jesus has brought includes, indeed starts with, reconciliation with God, but also encompasses reconciliation and wholeness in our relationships with other people, both interpersonally and collectively. Jesus’ messianic peace has to do not only with the forgiveness of sin and guilt, but also has a vital social dimension.
The Church’s witness to Christ has been clouded by the myth that we have to choose either/or; either evangelism or peacemaking.
The Bible’s understanding of peace is much broader than an absence of violence or conflict. Shalom—the Old Testament word for peace—and its New Testament counterpart, eirene, encompass material well-being, just relationships, moral integrity and spiritual wholeness of humans and all creation.
The peace-giving power of God’s salvation becomes clearly visible when individuals and people groups who are enemies, like the Jews and Greeks at the Church’s birth, become reconciled, and when our communal relationships are marked by justice and integrity where there was once oppression, exploitation and broken relationships. Jesus’ messianic peace is indeed both deconstructive and constructive. It is deconstructive in that it breaks down human barriers that have divided people. Yet it is also constructive because it establishes a new community consisting of former enemies with a new way of life.
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Paulus Widjaja is secretary of the Mennonite World Conference Peace Council. He is a professor in the theology department at Duta Wacana Christian University in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. |