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Article Excerpt
Abstract
Stimulated by the theme of the 2008 International Association for Mission Studies' general conference on "Human Identity and the Gospel of Reconciliation", the article first screens the respective biblical terminology and texts and then ponders general theological considerations of the topic. In a third part, missiological implications that arise are shown and conclusions drawn for an appropriate contemporary missionary attitude. Reconciliation and identity are oftentimes mutually exclusive since the quest for national and cultural identity has the potential to turn into violent clashes. However, the new identity in Christ taken on in baptism and faith implies the realization by people of their reconciliation with God by God and, by this, with everyone else. The implications of this new identity challenge established perceptions of justice and call everyone to live accordingly. Since Christian faith will only be known when it is shared, mission today has to be lived advocacy for the spirit of God as embodied in Jesus Christ and carried out in a truly kenotic attitude that is also prepared to endure marginality and vulnerability as expressions of its eschatological nature.
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Humans have been in desperate need of reconciliation ever since Paradise was lost. Envy and hatred took their deadly toll among the first siblings. Cain, the older son, slew his brother Abel: the farmer slew the shepherd or, if you like, the settler killed the nomad. (1) And on it went, as seen in Lamech, who only five generations later boasted: "I have killed a man for wounding me ... If Cain is avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold." (2) Thus, the earth became "corrupted ... and ... filled with violence" causing God "to make an end of all flesh", saving only Noah and his extended family along with the animals. (3) Yet, when establishing the covenant after the devastating flood had receded, God not only promised "never again to curse the ground because of humankind" but also acknowledged, if somewhat resignedly, that "the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth". (4)
Do we need further proof of the opening statement? Do not the wars currently waged in the world and the daily atrocities committed in our immediate surroundings reaffirm the biblical insight of old? (5) They certainly do. Just listen to radio broadcasts, watch television or study the newspapers, all of which are not about something new at all. They are about variations of the old and obviously never-ending story of human viciousness and its appalling impact on individuals, peoples and the overall environment.
This being the case, reconciliation is of vital importance for the survival of humankind. It is the only means of survival because, otherwise, the species Homo sapiens would not only annihilate itself but also the entire ecosystem of planet Earth, including all its living beings. Without reconciliation life is truly at stake and this makes it a genuine topic of religious concern.
Another point of serious apprehension, especially in these days of globalization and extreme self-determination, is the quest for national, cultural and personal identity. Many fear they will become lost by being immersed in an ever-changing and ever-growing anonymous mass that keeps fluctuating at an accelerating pace. (6) In an effort to maintain identity, numerous people tend to shun contact with society at large and revert to petty group affinities and fundamentalisms. Thus recoiling from the challenge to authenticate a genuine identity of their own, people fuel tensions that oftentimes have the potential to turn into violent clashes at national and international levels. (7). Therefore, conjoining reconciliation with identity is not without contradictions; the two appear to be mutually exclusive.
However, when addressing these issues within Christianity things look somewhat different, if not quite the opposite. The new identity in Christ, which from the church's beginnings was taken on in baptism, was actually understood as the reconciliation of humans with God by God and, as a consequence of this, with everyone else. Turning to Christ and receiving baptism meant becoming an entirely new being, as indicated not just by often very elaborate baptismal rites and taking on a new name but by speaking of this process as becoming a "new creation". (8) Having thus been recreated was and is believed to be strong enough to put the vital force of aggressive compulsion at bay and to overcome the fear of loss of identity. Yet, as known all too well, there does exist an embarrassing discrepancy between the claim of having a new identity and day-to-day life in the real world. It frequently is a religious concern which leads to violence not only among people of different religions but also among Christians. In this regard, just think of Northern Ireland (9) and Rwanda. (10) Of course, oftentimes it is politics that avails itself of religion as a means to its ends. Since religion seems to be prone to such abuses and incapable of preventing them from happening, any study of Christian identity and reconciliation has to take this into account if it really wants to arrive at some meaningful insight and avoid furthering pious self-deception.
In order to better come to grips with as complex and intricate a subject matter as this, it is advisable firstly to analyze the respective biblical traditions of reconciliation and the new identity in Christ. Secondly, we must ponder general theological considerations and finally draw missiological conclusions.
I. Exegetical clarifications
The explicit exegetical material on reconciliation is surprisingly small. The term in its various forms is used only twelve times within the canon and, with the exception of Matt. 5:24, exclusively in Pauline and Deutero-Pauline literature (Rom. 5:10-11; 11:15; 2 Cor. 5:18-20; Eph. 2:16; Col. 1:20, 22). (11) Since the material basis is so limited, the eminent New Testament scholar Ernst Kasemann (1906-1998) once stated that reconciliation received far too much attention in theological studies and argued that it is neither a central concept of the New Testament or even within Pauline literature. (12) This prompted quite a debate and gave rise to some insightful studies. (13) As to be expected, Kasemann's opinion also caused others to declare the opposite, viz. "The entire content of the New Testament could be called a message of reconciliation." (14)
Whatever the case, the fact is that while there are narratives of reconciliation in the Old Testament, such as those relating to Isaac and Abimelech at Gerar, (15) of Laban and Jacob at Gilead (16) and, most famously, of Joseph and his brothers in Egypt, (17) there is no single term or concept to be found to describe reconciliation as such. The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is known, to be sure, as is the need for expiation at the temple mediated by a priest and cultic means such as sacrifices. (18) However, any such cultic connotation is missing in the Hellenistic notion of reconciliation, which is rooted in the secular realm of politics and interpersonal relationships. (19) Represented by compounds of [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] ("changing", "exchanging") with [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (or a combination of these), the terminology refers to a tangible alteration for the better in strained, hostile relationships of humans, such as from hatred to acceptance, from enmity to cooperation and from war to peace and brought about by the voluntary and conscious efforts of those involved. (20) However, some Hellenistic authors do use reconciliation in a religious context when they speak of it as an act on the part of pious, believing individuals, who want to be "reconciled" to God through penitence and prayer. (21) Contrary thereto, Paul and those emulating his theology avail themselves of this concept in a pointed way to denote a unilateral act by God and do so when they relate it to the salvific event that happened on the cross and in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which in the epistle to the Colossians are understood as having truly universal significance: "God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of [the] cross" (Col. 1:20). To the Romans, Paul writes: "[W]hile we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his son" (Rom. 5:10). (22) This makes it unmistakably clear that "in Christ, God was reconciling" the entire "world to himself", and not only just a selected few (2 Cor. 5:18-19). (23) Ephesians speaks of God having created "one new humanity" by reconciling Jews and Gentiles "in one body through the cross" (2:15-16). At the same time, Paul reminds the Colossians that they who "were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds [are] now reconciled [by God] in his fleshly body through death, so as to [be] holy and blameless and irreproachable...
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