Reconciliation - healing the wounds of the past

But you will be called the priests of the Lord; 

you will be spoken of as ministers of our God.

Isaiah 61:6

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ 

and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, 

not counting men's sins against them. 

And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, 

as though God were making his appeal through us. 

We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20

Last year, my children and I studied the Crusades of European Christians to the Middle East and the horror that ensued...wholesale slaughter of Muslims and Jews under the banner of Christ, called for by Church leaders. This year we studied the history of the Native Americans, learning about their forced removal from their lands to the desolate reservations...the promises made by our American government and then revoked time and again. In addition, I live in Charleston, South Carolina, a city of much beauty but also, of much historical ugliness. At one time there were four African slaves for every one white person. Here, much of the land was darkened by the blood, sweat and tears of men, women and children, forced into incredibly hard labor because of the color of their skin. The realization of what was done by my ancestors and by the leaders of my country, has grieved me and my daughters. 

"How do we respond to such deep, gaping, sometimes ancient wounds? The simple answer lies in the humility of Jesus expressed through His Body, the Church," (Healing the Wounds of the World by John Dawson). 

It was 1993 and I was watching a video called The Hard Truth about the atrocities of abortion. Since Jr. High, I had always been outspokenly pro life. I knew the truth about abortion and it grieved me. But after watching this 9-minute video, I found myself suddenly, unexpectedly, on my face before God, wailing in grief over the sins of abortion, asking God to forgive "us." 

Why "us?" I have never had an abortion? I have never encouraged a friend to have an abortion. I have, in fact, worked in three different crisis pregnancy centers, encouraging women not to have abortions. But at that moment, in light of the horrible truth of the mass slaughter of babies, something deep inside me identified with the sin...with the sin of the human race that I am a part of. The Holy Spirit allowed me to open myself to godly sorrow and confess before Him the sins of the land. This is what Christian reconciliation is all about. 

"In responding to the broken heart of God, we need to identify with the sins of the nation in personal and corporate repentance. Even though Nehemiah was apparently a very righteous man and innocent of the specific sins that the nation of Israel had committed, when he prayed for the restoration of Israel he prayed as a member of the guilty nation, identifying with their sins, saying, "I and my father's house have sinned" (Nehemiah 1:6-7). Ezra went even further when he said, "Oh my God: I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens" (Ezra 9:6).

Both Ezra and Nehemiah were righteous men, but they so identified with the people that they were interceding for that they considered themselves guilty with them. You may be a righteous person who is not involved in any direct way with the vices present in your nation, but there is no temptation which is not common to humanity (1 Corinthians 10:13). We can all identify with the roots of any given sin, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)," (Dawson).

Today we live in a wounded world. Many of those wounds have strong, historical roots. These wounds often prevent the Gospel of Christ from healing a person's heart. As Christians, we can take two approaches to this problem. We can look at a situation, like the Crusades, or the Native American land grab or the forced slavery of Africans and say to ourselves, "I didn't do this." "I had nothing to do with it." If we take this stand, nothing will ever change. 

Or we can take another approach. An approach that I was privileged to be part of after watching The Hard Truth. We can seek forgiveness for ancestral sins. While we honor our righteous ancestors (through remembering and teaching ourselves and our children about the history of America...the wonderful things done by this country), honesty dictates that we embrace both the grandeur and the guilt. 

"Have you ever attempted reconciliation (with someone) while the painful memories still tormented you? There will be no reconciliation with anybody until we bring our broken hearts to Jesus first. Healing begins when we honestly confront the past. Before we can even contemplate forgiveness, we need to face what really happened and bring it to the foot of the cross," (Dawson). That is what Christian-led reconciliation is. That is what it means to be the "priesthood of Christ." 

"God does not put guilt on the intercessor. We are not individually guilty for what our group did or our (nation) did, but He is waiting for the 'royal priesthood,' which is the redeemed in Christ, to openly confess the truth of the matter before Him and before people, just as the ancient Hebrew priests once did over the sins of Israel.

You see, it is very difficult to forgive if you have never heard an open acknowledgment of the injustices that wounded you or your people. On the other hand, such grace for forgiveness is released when we are asked for forgiveness by those who identify themselves in some way with the identity of those who contributed to our suffering," (Dawson). 

So what does reconciliation on the part of the Christian Church look like? How do we go about doing this? Here is one Welsh Christian woman's story.

"Rhiannon Lloyd holds trauma recovery classes for both Hutu and Tutsi survivors of the Rwanda genocide. If you were in her shoes, what would you say to these devastated people? Many have experienced rape or maiming or witnessed the murder of their family members.

This is what she does: in the shelter of a church house they meet for three days. Dr. Lloyd first persuades her grieving flock to write down on a piece of paper the worst experience that they had. When the awful facts have been confronted in this way, she has them come together in small groups to tell each other their stories. This is often the first trembling step towards trusting other people

Finally the terrible atrocities are listed on a large sheet of paper for all to see and the group is asked "What does God feel about this?" She then draws a big red cross through the list of hurts, symbolizing the cross of Christ. "This is the only place we can bring our sorrows," she tells them. "This is one of the reasons Jesus came to earth; not only to take upon Himself our sins, but also the sin of those who have sinned against us. Stand and tell God of the pain in your heart," she tells them. "What you saw, what it did to you. If you're angry, tell Him. If strong emotion comes, don't hold it back, because God will be weeping with you."

At first there is silence, but sobbing and wailing soon overcomes the cultural reserve of the Rwandans as people pour out their grief, anger and hopelessness before the crucified Christ. A long time later, when quiet returns, they sing softly the old chorus "What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear." Eventually Rhiannon brings in a big, rough wooden cross and positions it on the floor with a pile of nails. One at a time, believers begin to slip forward and taking their tear-stained piece of paper with its record of horrors, they kneel and nail it to the cross of Jesus. All afternoon the hammer pounds, echoing the agony of Golgatha, a reminder of Jesus' complete identification with our sufferings.

On the third day an amazing thing happens. People begin to testify that in the midst of genocide, God was at work in the darkness. They talk of heroes, Christian reconcilers who were the first to die. Anger at God begins to turn to empathy for God as believers contemplate His heartbreak over the way we humans treat one another.

With grief now resting lighter upon many, talk of forgiveness begins to emerge. Jesus is seen, not only as the innocent and suffering Lamb of God, but also the resurrected and righteous Judge who will uncompromisingly administer justice. Even now His hand of vengeance is stretched out toward the wicked, the very persons haunting the memory of survivors.

"If they repent, is it all right with you if God forgives them?" Rhiannon asks. Each person contemplates this question, weighing their own testimony of cleansing against their grief, many finally concluding that if God forgave them, they must eventually forgive others. Truly this is "beauty for ashes", the promise of God.  Isaiah 61:1-4 " (Dawson)

Today, throughout the world, other such movements are taking place. And they are taking place amongst Christians. 

"Identificational repentance is proving to be the key to opening doors that have been closed for centuries. 

One of the most significant examples is the Reconciliation Walk, coinciding with the 900th anniversary of the Crusades. European intercessors have walked the routes of the Crusades from west to east, carrying proclamations of repentance to Muslim and Jewish communities for the slaughter done in Christ's name. The response has been mind boggling...I don't know why we waited 900 years to repent for the Crusades, but I'm glad the breakthrough among Islamic peoples is coming in our lifetime!

In the United States, people are taking prayer journeys where American Indians were oppressed or massacred. In addition, there are prayer journeys to the historical slave ports of West Africa where black and white Americans weep together, learn together and find an intimacy that has eluded less radical believers, (Dawson).

Listed below are some other examples of recent reconciliation movements: 

1. Re-enactments

In Sydney, Australia, united Christians dressed in period costume gathered near the Opera House to remember the violent mass rape of female convicts by male convicts shortly after the arrival of the first fleet. An account was read publicly, Christian men asked forgiveness of their countrywomen and then escorted them ashore with the affection and dignity that they should have experienced the first time. Now, whenever the first story is told the action of Christians in the "90's must be told with it, thus sowing a healing memory into the story of the land.

2. Conciliatory Giving Celebrations

In California, a large suburban church bussed its members over to a struggling African American church. They surrounded the building and surprised the Sunday morning worshipers when a delegation entered the service and presented a $25,000 gift for the building fund.

3. Solemn Assemblies

Common around the world, these events have multiplied alongside the vision for seasons of united prayer and fasting. In Hawaii, 27,000 people gathered in a stadium to worship God and to seek forgiveness and reconciliation over the way elements of society had wounded one another in the story of the Islands. At the end, a Japanese leader knelt before the crowd and asked forgiveness for the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

4. Commemorative Ceremonies

Significant dates related to such things as genocidal atrocities arc becoming reconciliation events when believers gather to memorialize these painful memories in annual observances. German Christians have led the way.

5. Interactive Citywide Musical Events

Heal Our Land, a contemporary musical written for united church choirs has toured American and UK cities. Repentance and reconciliation prayer dealing with the wounds of America is featured. Similar events using the arts have emerged in several countries.

6. Justice Action Forums

In New Zealand and Australia, Christians are beginning to work with government agencies dealing with injustices in land use and the tribal claims that have been ignored. If there are unjust laws in your nation that perpetuate division, Christians cannot remain silent.

7. Country to Country or Regional Student Exchanges

Christian families are using the student exchange organizations as a way of sending young ambassadors or hosting foreign children in order to build bridges of love between cultures.

8. Appreciation Tours

Korean, Japanese, North American and European Christians moving beyond the traditional tours to the Holy Land and exploring the cultures of other nations in order to empathize with and appreciate the diversity of God's redemptive gifts within the peoples of the world. Reconciliation is a featured part of many of these journeys.

9. Representative Leadership Forums

Around the world Christians are acting as peacemakers by bringing together the leaders of opposing sides. Private Christians have taken surprising initiative in doing the diplomatic work required to get factional leaders or even heads of state to talk to one another.

10. Contextualised Issues Forums

In Durban, South Africa there has been estrangement and fear between Zulu people and Asian Indians stemming from the politically inspired violence that occurred in 1949. In 1997 Christian leaders began to call together the leadership of both communities and healing is beginning to take place. Mapping the wounds of a city quickly leads to the need for forums in which we listen respectfully to the grievances of others.

11. Diversity in Unity Celebrations

Old wounds are eventually put behind us and unity can be celebrated as an accomplished fact. Recently a Los Angeles city councilman visited a block party put on by a neighborhood filled with believers. "If the city was like this block, LA would have no problems," said the amazed politician after observing the obvious harmony between a great diversity of cultures.

12. Receptions, Banquets and other Hospitality-Based Gatherings

Eating together remains one of the most effective ways of bringing together elements of society and Christians with a ministry of hospitality will always be at the forefront of the ministry of reconciliation. This is an activity that begins in the home and the church dining hall and extends all the way to the convention center.

13. Student Culture Exchange Programs

In post Apartheid South Africa 'African enterprise' takes students from one culture and visits another culture with a view to bring understanding, reduce fear and increase admiration for the 'otherness' of the other people group. In some countries Christian schools are seen as an agent of re-segregation so cross-cultural interaction programs are imperative.

14. Cross-cultural and Denominational Interchurch Hosting

It is increasingly common for pastors to exchange pulpits or for whole congregations to visit one another for combined services and fellowship. Congregations have specialty ministry gifts and the division of labor that God has created becomes evident when believers really begin to explore and 'see' one another in the life of the city.

15. Joining with Feast Days and Cultural Celebrations

Chinese, Mexicans, Filipinos and most other groups with an international Diaspora have special seasons of celebration on the calendar. Events often take place in city parks and are open to all. When an invitation is given to celebrate somebody else's unique gifts and good fortune, Christians should be the first to rejoice with them.

These are just some ways that reconciliation can begin; ways that we can be in obedience to the call of Christ to be ambassadors of reconciliation. To read more about this issue, you can visit John Dawson's Reconcile website.

"What an exciting time then to be a believer in Jesus, an intercessor involved in Christ's ministry of reconciliation! We have the answer! (See 2 Corinthians 5:18-20.) It is only when we are reconciled to God the Father that the "otherness" of another gender, race or culture becomes an attraction rather than a source of insecurity and division.

This is why Jesus gives the ministry of reconciliation to the redeemed in Christ, the living church. The pagans will never succeed as peacemakers. There is only one Prince of Peace." (Dawson)