By Phil Wood
Love and Loyalty now meet,
Righteousness and Peace now embrace;
Loyalty reaches up from earth
and Righteousness leans down from heaven.
Yahweh himself bestows happiness
as our soil gives its harvest,
Righteousness always preceding him
and Peace following his footsteps.
Psalm 85:10-13 – The Jerusalem Bible
Thoughts from The Reservoir, a Spiritual Formation Devotional, from Renovaré:
Shalom is not just the absence of conflict. It is the profound presence of wholeness, health, and vitality that characterize a world that is in harmony with God and God's design for his creation. Shalom is the realization of all the glorious potential God built into the world at creation; it is the state of serene concord and orderly creativity that allows the full, unhindered flourishing of all things – individually and collectively.
As I read these words from Psalm 85, and these thoughts from The Reservoir, I was overwhelmed with a sense of God's peace, and I thought, this is it. This is what we all want, is it not? Shalom. This is what God has always wanted for us. And this is the deep longing he placed into each of our hearts. This is the kingdom Jesus came to bring. Shalom.
But the sense of peace was short-lived, and lament soon took its place as I realized what an immense gulf lies between this perfect state and the way things are in our country and the world today. And I prayed to God to show me the way from here to there. Short of dying and going to heaven, what is the path to shalom and real social justice? What can I do? What steps can I take that could possibly make a difference?
Then I came across these words by Ruth Haley Barton in her newsletter, Beyond Words. It's from Part 1 of a series entitled A Spirituality of Racial Justice and Healing. I strongly recommend reading the whole article at the link below, but the following words, in particular, struck me.
Psalm 44 concludes with this faith-filled request to God: "Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your love." Such faith-filled prayer comes from recalling past experiences of God's love, faithfulness, and redemptive work even in the midst of all that seems so unfixable. A spirituality of racial justice means we turn our hearts towards hope in God rather than merely trusting in what we ourselves can come up with. We acknowledge the rich partnership that exists between God and humankind, going all the way back to God's mandate to the first man and the first woman to do good and fruitful things with all of God's creation.
For some reason that's hard to fathom right now, God chooses to partner – and even at times be limited – by us, his human creation. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks to this reality in a complex statement containing this soaring truth: "Neither God nor man will individually bring the world's salvation. Rather, both man and God – made one in a marvelous unity of purpose through an overflowing love as the free gift of himself on the part of God, and by perfect obedience and receptivity on the part of man – can transform the old into the new and drive out the cancer of sin."
To me, this statement by MLK is the perfect expression of how God intends his kingdom to operate in the world. And I'm feeling a strong sense of urgency to do whatever I can to be a part of this kingdom work.
Our culture has lost sight of God. Great worldly philosophers have tried to show us other routes to social justice, peace and harmony, but without God I believe there is little hope. If our land is to be healed, turning our hearts towards hope in God is the only path I can see.
That's why I think our church's upcoming workshop is so important and so timely. It's called Living in the Kingdom of God on a Daily Basis and it's happening on October 17. How can I help manifest the lovingkindness of a good God in this world? What can I do to bind myself with God in this "marvelous unity of purpose"? How can I be more obedient, and more receptive to God's direction in my life? How can I be more tenderhearted and mindful of another's pain?
As Ruth Haley Barton said, "Let us be good partners with God in his transforming work in this moment of our human history."
And as the Renovaré writers said in The Reservoir, "God is constantly, actively, zealously in pursuit of loving communion and shalom with his beloved image-bearers. In turn, God's redeemed image-bearers are called to be hands and feet of shalom in the world."
Lord, help me to see what you are up to in the world today, and to join in your work. Amen.
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