by Christine Sine
Do we really choose between the world and Christ as between two conflicting realities absolutely opposed? Or do we choose Christ by choosing the world as it really is in him, and encountered in the ground of our own personal freedom and of our love? Do we really renounce ourselves and the world in order to find Christ, or do we renounce our alienated and false selves in order to choose our own deepest truth in choosing both the world and Christ at the same time? If the deepest ground of my being is love, then in that very love itself and nowhere else will I find myself, and the world, and my brother, and Christ. It is not a question of either-or but of all-in-one… of wholeness, wholeheartedness and unity… which finds the same ground of love in everything. Thomas Merton Contemplation in a World of Action. 155-156
Often when I talk about the concept of shalom and our need to work for the wholeness of others and of our world, people often ask me What about personal faith in Christ? Isn’t that more important? I love this quote because it sums up exactly what I feel. Becoming a disciple of Christ is not just about personal salvation, it is about reorienting our love towards God’s dream of shalom – of wholeness, and unity.
Salvation is about renouncing our false self – the self that is oriented towards self satisfaction and self centred living and grabbing hold of a dream for a world transformed by love. Theologian NT Wright sums this up well in his important book Surprised by Hope:
Love is not a duty; it is our destiny. It is the language that Jesus spoke and we are called to speak it so that we can converse with him. It is the food that they eat in God’s new world, and we must acquire a taste for it here and now. It is the music God has written for all his creatures to sing and we are called to learn it and practice it now.
Words without actions are nothing. Worship should not end when we leave the church building. It should be the driving force that energizes us for action out into God’s world. Unfortunately, this doesn’t often happen because we lack God’s shalom vision for our world and our lives. As Oswald Chambers said: It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. Perhaps part of the reason that people are not influenced by our evangelism is because we are not acting as representatives of God’s shalom kingdom. And perhaps part of the reason they are not attracted to the church is because our lives are virtually the same as those of non believers.
It grieves me that so many people who call themselves followers of Christ live in exactly the same way as their non Christian friends. It grieves me even more that the United States, a country in which most people consider themselves Christians, has the highest infant mortality rate of any industrialized nation and the second highest poverty rate. (Only Mexico has higher ) If we truly lived transformed lives like those early disciples who gave up homes, jobs and sometimes family, maybe our world would be a very different place. And if we truly lived as citizens of God’s kingdom, speaking the language of love maybe we would see our world transformed in the ways that we say we want it to be.
What is your response?
- Immerse yourself in the New Testament vision of wholeness
- Read Luke 4: 16 – 21, and/or Revelation 21:1-4 then sit in silence for 5 minutes reflecting on this beautiful imagery of God’s eternal shalom world revealed in Christ.
- What part of this imagery of shalom most inspires you?
- How has this changed your view of Jesus’ purposes on earth?
- What is one change you would like to make in your life to move closer to God’s shalom purposes?
- Read Luke 4: 16 – 21, and/or Revelation 21:1-4 then sit in silence for 5 minutes reflecting on this beautiful imagery of God’s eternal shalom world revealed in Christ.
This post is part of our October theme Living Into The Shalom of God.
I don’t know about you, but it seems like this year has been flying by! In just twelve days we’ll begin the month of November and turn our thoughts toward Advent and Christmas. I’m not sure I’m ready. But it seems I’m always caught by surprise by the last quarter of the year. It’s a bit like the gas gauge on my car; the first three quarters of a tank seem to go on forever, but as soon as I reach that last quarter-tank it’s gone before I know it!
This year we decided to begin preparing for Advent a month early. As we explored blog themes for the final quarter of 2016 we really felt that Advent, a time of waiting and preparation for Christmas, needed its own time of preparation. This is important because Advent kicks off the church year, yet we’re often so proccupied with parties and planning for Christmas that it’s difficult to settle down and enter in to the season.
To help us slow down and focus we’re breaking our monthly theme up into weekly mini-themes both in November and December.
November: Preparing Our Hearts and Homes for Advent and Christmas
- Week 1: Overcoming Consumerism — Resisting the drive for more.
- Week 2: Resting in Chaos — How to create space for rest when the world is whipped up into a frenzy.
- Week 3: Keeping It Simple
- Week 4: Making Space for Hospitality — Ideas for gatherings of welcome and moments of connecting.
December: Entering the World with Jesus: Looking for Jesus in all the right places
- Week 1: …in our home
- Week 2: …in our neighborhood
- Week 3: …in our city
- Week 4: …in our world
Advent Photo Challenge is Back!
We will also have a daily meditation and photo/art challenge again from Jean Andrianoff. Jean has worked hard to make these reflections fit into our mini-themes while also following the story of God coming into the world as it unfolds in scripture. We’ll have the Advent photo challenge up and ready to view the week before Advent begins.
Be sure to join us on this entire journey by reading, commenting, reposting and even writing for the blog.
Speaking Engagements
Christine and I had a mutually inspiring visit with our friends at A Rocha in British Columbia. We led a garden workshop focusing on creating sacred spaces that are inviting to both God and neighbor. I know we both left feeling deeply blessed and enriched.
From there we scurried south to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Tacoma, WA where Christine presented a workshop on Celtic spirituality for their Celtic Faire. After the workshop we were invited to stay for their Celtic dinner and the “piping in of the haggis”. What a wonderfully rich weekend!
While we were traveling the Pacific NW, Tom was busy in the Twin Cities at Colonial Church connecting with their exciting program, Innove, a community entrepreneurial competition for young folks to “create social and cultural betterment”. Tom will be in Birmingham, UK for the New Parish UK Conference Nov. 10-11, and the New Wine Urban Forum Nov. 17-19. Tom and Christine will be speaking together in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia Dec. 6-9.
Featured Authors and Books in October
- Leroy Barber and his new book, Embrace
- Brenda Salter McNeil and her new book, Roadmap to Reconciliation
- Soong-Chan Rah and his newest book, Prophetic Lament
In case you missed it before, we’re always looking to expand our community of writers. If you think you might be interested, or maybe just want to try writing one post to see how it goes, please check out our writer’s FAQ page then drop us an email to find out more.
Please continue to pray:
- For our board of directors as they help us walk through this important time of transition and discernment.
- For Gil George’s continued healing following a bicycle accident in July.
- For upcoming travel and speaking engagements.
- For Christine and Tom as they navigate the changes in their lives.
- And for me as I continue to adjust to my new role as Director.
Together creating pathways of Shalom,
Andy Wade
Director
Mustard Seed Associates // Godspace
Leroy Barber’s new book Embrace: God’s Radical Shalom for a Divided World inspired me. Though I usually read through a book in a few days, this was one that demanded much more of my time and my attention. Its call to reconciliation across race, gender and social strata is both a challenging and an essential one. I am still grappling with statements like: Standing up for your enemy changes the rules in the room. It makes people rethink situations and give an opportunity for love to rule the moment. (116) It is easy for me to respond in words alone when deep down I know that action and engagement is required.
Leroy Barber does not just write about the need for reconciliation, it has been the center of his life journey. I love the way that he shares stories out of his own journey as a framework for challenging all of us to engage more fully in God’s bridge-building work of love and reconciliation.
The uncomfortable questions Leroy asks often had me rethinking how I engage the important issues he raises. The following passage in particular is one that I know I will be grappling with for a long time:
So can we create traditions and practices that are both kingdom focused and inclusive? Are there practices that we – as followers of Christ – might do to include our brothers and sisters that happen to look, talk, act, and worship differently than we do? Can we establish traditions that might bless those around us who are not followers of Christ, practices that might help us grow to know our neighbors and other members of our communities? Can we be intentional about creating opportunities for just being friends with the folks around us, even if they are not the people we would have chosen or the place isn’t where we’d really like to be?
What, I wonder, are the traditions I need to create and enable others to create in order to be more inclusive? How do I add new people to my sacred spaces so that those I have previously excluded become more human to me?
The call to be inclusive, to stand up for those that are different and to seek to bring true peace and unity to a world that desperately needs it is indeed a call to radical shalom living. This book is an essential read for anyone who takes the call to follow Jesus seriously.
This post is part of our October theme Living Into the Shalom of God and was sponsored by InterVarsity Press.
by Cynthia Helton
Today is my birthday. Because I’m blessed with a large family and many friends, I’m inundated with messages, loving gestures, etc. Even my “computer” wished me Happy Birthday when I logged on this morning – and I have to admit it was quite nice! An airline I’ve used in the past sent me a message too; as well as my insurance company!! Whew!!
But it made me start to think: there are some, perhaps many, people whose only acknowledgement of their “special day” comes from a computerized list – an automatically generated message based on info stored in their massive data banks. For these folks, who’s to say that in some small way, this too is the Shalom of God?
To be clear, “shalom” is a Hebrew word meaning peace, used as a greeting and a farewell. Actually, I had to look this up. It’s one of those words that you “think” you know, but that can also have some embedded meaning. Not wanting to misspeak prompted me to the dictionary. And glad I did because it opened up to me a bit more depth than a casual statement. For instance:
- A word meaning peace. What is peace? In a world filled to the brim with angst, fear mongering is the “soup de jour” for most everything we see and hear! It’s almost an addiction …it’s like we’re afraid NOT to hear about the worst, the most dreadful, the most ugly! Some think it’s the only way to “protect” themselves: be on the alert …know your enemy …SEE your enemy before you are harmed. Is “peace” somehow hiding your head in the sand? Is peace a brand of “Pollyanna naivety” that leaves you vulnerable?? …..OR is “peace” allowing yourself to be awake to the fact that “in this instant,” you’re okay, knowing that the “what ifs” of the future don’t exist. Even IF “in this instant” you’re suffering, peace allows you to remember that nothing lasts forever. Peace reminds you to stay in the moment, sit still and listen. Even your suffering can be your teacher if you can be calm enough to let it speak. This truly takes “God’s” peace to achieve – and that’s what Shalom means.
- A word meaning greeting. Just like my birthday messages, a greeting of hello says “I see you.” It says you are visible …you are worth being met at the door and led to the front row. It says you “matter;” you mean something to me; it says the world wouldn’t be the same without you. And if you think there’s no one to speak this to you …look at the sunrise! Listen to the birds! Feel the wind blow across your cheek! ALL are gestures of greeting – and that’s what Shalom means.
- A word meaning farewell. Bittersweet describes many a goodbye. Things change, and sometimes it’s hard to accept what once was wonderful or comfortable is somehow different now. Farewell, broken down, means may you “fare well” …may you “do well” until we meet again – and that’s what Shalom means.
As I wake this morning to my birthday, Shalom is hovering around me. It gives me peace in saying farewell to my 68th year, and greetings to what the 69th will bring. Shalom, then, seems to be much more than a word. It’s an embrace, an invitation, an opportunity in every moment to dance in the circle! What if that waltz could circle back and next year I’d be 68 again, then 67?? Maybe not chronologically, but in mind-set, in spirit, in anticipation of “what’s next” and never in dread of “what no longer can be.” That, too, is Shalom. And in that meaning, I wish Shalom to all of you.
This post is part of our October theme Living Into the Shalom of God.
“Cultivating Pathways of Shalom”. If there’s a theme God’s been working on in my life the past few years, this is it. This phrase first came to me when I redesigned our front yard with neighbors in mind. But as I’ve sat with this phrase it’s really blossomed in meaning for me.
Focusing originally outside myself, I was asking, “What does it mean to create new avenues for God’s shalom to flourish in the home, in the neighborhood, in various encounters and relationships along the way”. When I looked at my yard I realized there were all sorts of barriers to community: pathways locked behind fences, shrubbery blocking access to my yard, and generally a design that made clear what was “mine” and where you could stand.
So what does it mean to create new pathways for God’s shalom? It’s a good question and it’s been a fun and enlightening journey. Meandering this path, however, God began to reveal to me how many paths within myself are not really pathways of shalom. I needed to look inward. I needed to bring my attitudes, my assumptions, my “righteous indignation” before the Lord and listen to that still small voice of God.
God was beginning to reveal those places in my heart and mind which, quite contrary to what I voiced, were obstacles to the flowing of God’s shalom through me. Cultivating pathways of shalom requires internal change. The good news is that we don’t have to figure out all our internal issues before we embark on the external journey.
What are some typical internal barriers to shalom?
Fear: In many ways fear is the root of just about all the other obstacles we face. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of persecution and danger. Fear arising out of past traumatic events. The list goes on and is often crippling. Shalom is the opposite of these fears. In fact, God’s shalom is the antidote to them! One of the key aspects of God’s shalom is flourishing. Fear robs us of our ability to flourish and negatively impacts our ability to work for the flourishing of others.
Take time to honestly sit in God’s presence and ask, “What am I afraid of?” Invite the Holy Spirit to embrace you. Sense God’s love and protection. Imagine the Holy Spirit as God’s protection before and behind, above and below, to your right and to your left, and deep within. Whenever you sense fear beginning to take hold, bring this image of God’s surrounding presence to mind.
Unforgiveness: This bitter root often grows up right in the middle of the pathways we travel, tripping us up again and again. Unforgiveness can be a tough one for some of us. It can be difficult because we know exactly where unforgiveness is lodged in our lives, and we’re still so angry that we do not want to let it go. But it can also be difficult because we see ourselves as forgiving and accepting but at the same time have buried some past hurt deep inside where it festers, only to erupt at very surprising and unexpected times.
Take time to sit with God and ask, “Where is there unforgiveness in my heart?” Invite the Holy Spirit to revisit with you those times of broken trust, hate-filled words, and disagreements and to bring healing. As you pray, imagine Christ standing between you and the one(s) you have not forgiven, inviting you to join hands with them and to begin to walk together down a new road paved with shalom.
Prejudice, racism, and other forms of us vs. them thinking: I like to think of myself as a pretty open and accepting person. But when I really think about my actions and reactions I have to admit that I struggle in certain areas. We don’t need to beat ourselves up about this. What we need to do is to be honest with ourselves and with others and ask God and those around us for help to change.
Here’s the challenging point for most of us. I think the majority of us are really accepting in some areas. This can make us feel proud, or at least self-satisfied, in our openness. Perhaps I’m very accepting of different races and cultures and, since that’s such a hot topic, I feel pretty good about myself. But then maybe when a woman gets up to teach I stop listening, thinking her ideas have less merit than a man’s. I may even not realize I’m doing it! I doubt there’s a person alive that doesn’t have some area of prejudice lurking within their thinking and actions. God would like to bring shalom into these areas and heal us.
We all need to sit before God and listen, asking, “Lord, reveal to me the areas in my life that betray attitudes that separate me from those around me. Show me how shalom remains not fully formed because I have counted others as somehow less deserving, less able, less capable.” Invite the Holy Spirit to tear down the dividing walls within your heart and mind and to nurture love that transcends those things that separate you from others.
Self-doubt and self-hate: Jesus commanded us to love others as we love ourselves. I’ve often been somewhat puzzled by that, since there are times in my life I’ve not loved myself very much. If I loved others the same as I feel about myself that would not be good at all! Self-doubt and self-hate trip us up along the shalom way because we bring into relationships an unhealthy perspective of God’s vision of us.
If my attitude is that God can love you but certainly not me, then my natural expression of that is to not fully enter into healthy relationship with you. I hold back a part of me, that part that I see as broken and unlovable. God’s vision of shalom is that of reconciling all things together in Christ. God’s shalom is for flourishing, healing, and a deep sense of community and belonging that we can have together in Jesus. When I am unable to love myself I exclude myself, and I’m actually refusing to join with the body of Christ. This can have a huge impact, hindering the work of God’s shalom in my family and community.
Take time to sit with God and listen. Ask God to reveal those areas of brokenness and doubt that make you feel unworthy or unacceptable. Invite the Holy Spirit to touch each of these places and bring healing and wholeness.
The Radical shalom of God is intentional. We see this play out throughout God’s story as we read scripture. God has a plan and unfolds that plan with deliberate precision. Then God calls us to walk into that shalom, to integrate it into our lives and to bring it with us into the world. It is now up to us to be intentional about this mission. Shalom is both an inward and an outward journey. Sometimes we travel these pathways of shalom internally, sometime externally, and sometimes both internally and externally at the same time. What does this look like for you? What does this look like for your community? These are questions that lead us to intentionality, to well thought out and deliberate steps to cultivate God’s shalom both within and without.
Next Thursday I’ll explore the external journey of cultivating pathways of shalom. I hope you’ll join me!
This post is part of our October Living Into the Shalom of God series.
by Shelby Selvidge
by Shelby Selvidge
That first month my dog curled at my side as I cried myself to sleep holding your sweater every night until your scent had faded from it. The second month I lay silently in the hammock watching the birds each morning as the tears slid down my cheeks. Seven months have past now and somedays I still grieve.
I lost something when you drove away that day. Our dreams that so perfectly seemed to fit together. The way when you spoke of your ideas it gave me hope that my dreams would come true too. The swing you promised to make me out of the old tree in you backyard. That you would be by my side if I ever decided to visit my Dad whom I have never known. Our dreams of getting married you spoke of with a twinkle in your eye and an excitement that was catchy. My dreams of having a forest wedding and walking down the isle to your loving gaze staring at me. Your promise that we’d marry someday and that ‘everyday you choose me’. Dancing to music when no one was around, water gun fights, sitting by the fire talking for hours, long walks in the park being silly, our favorite crackers and cheese, and all the romantic words that somehow flowed naturally out of your mouth without even trying, and just the way you looked at me and your eyes seemed endlessly full. I lost many things that day but mostly I lost the person I felt truly knew me and understood me, and still loved me. Someone who believed me to be capable of all of my wildest dreams. I lost my best friend, who saw me for who I truly am flaws and all and still believed me to be amazingly beautiful beyond comparison. I lost something that I am not sure I will ever get back.
Whether you have lost some one to death, moving, falling out of touch, divorce, breakup, whatever the cause of the loss of relationship you have lost something and that is hard. Sometimes it may not be someone but something- maybe a loss of childhood, a season, or a piece of yourself. Grief is the natural reaction to loss. And grief can not be rushed, jumped over, skirted under, or walked around. Grief must be walked through and the feeling of the loss must be felt to continue life. Feelings and wounds not dealt with will inhibit us from growth, healthy relationships, new opportunities, and most importantly fully experiencing and dwelling in God’s love. As uncomfortable and time consuming it is “the best way out is always through” as Sarah Dessen wrote in one of her novels in which a young girl was dealing with depression. Her words are true the best way out is always through.
The beautiful part of going through the hurts of loss and sitting with it is God’s grace and goodness amidst those times. He is so gentle and loving towards us. Upon remembering a particularly challenging time I had as a child I asked Jesus to reveal his presence there in that moment to me. I saw him holding my small child body as his wings covered me with his comfort and protection. This is a beautiful image of what God is doing as we go through the pains of grief. He is there with his wings over us and his arms surrounding us with comfort and strength. When I remember God’s goodness in my hardest times I am in awe of the simple yet extraordinary care he took in giving me just what I needed. I challenge you as you go through the loss, grief, and the challenges of this life that you don’t rush it. Sit with it and allow the feelings to come-God won’t allow them to crush you. Give him the opportunity to meet you in those moments of grief. Ask him to reveal his Shalom to you in those moments- what he is doing and what he is speaking.
I leave you with a quote from Andy Raine and then a prayer from Shane Claiborne’s book of Common Prayer.
“Do not hurry as you walk with grief; it does not help the journey. Walk slowly, pausing often: do not hurry as you walk with grief. Be not disturbed by memories that come unbidden. Swiftly forgive; and let Christ speak for your unspoken words. Unfinished conversation will be resolved by him. Be not disturbed. Be gentle with one who walks with grief. If it is you, be gentle with yourself. Swiftly forgive; walk slowly, pausing often. Take time, be gentle as you walk with grief.”
Lord, as the seasons turn, creation teaches us of grief, patience, and renewal. Make us good students of these rhythms that we might not hurry the work of grief but receive the gift of your presence in our time of need. Amen.
This post is part of our October theme Living Into The Shalom of God.
Q&A with Brenda Salter McNeil
You have been tackling reconciliation issues for a long time. What brought about the idea for this particular book, Roadmap to Reconciliation?
Brenda Salter McNeil: This is the book I wish I had as an emerging reconciler. There are many who have been doing this work of reconciliation but don’t have a resource for how to define what it is or how to do it. There is also a growing sense of motivation in the church, but a lack of direction, tools and guidance.
Who is Roadmap to Reconciliation for?
Salter McNeil: This book is for established and emerging leaders in the realm of reconciliation. The divisions in our society across race, class and gender are more substantial than ever, and our world is in desperate need of thoughtful, credible, Spirit-led reconcilers. I see young leaders across our country who have heard the call of God to step into this void, but are consistently frustrated by the lack of viable resources for them to grow and succeed as leaders. My prayer is that Roadmap to Reconciliation will become a gift to those leaders.
What is the main idea you hope to convey to readers?
Salter McNeil: Roadmap to Reconciliation is a one-stop resource to inspire, equip and train an emerging generation of leaders. Reconciliation leaders will walk away from this book with a clearer sense of vision based on a proven model, a deeper theology to teach and lead from, a more coherent language with which to talk about it, a guiding set of principles from which to orient themselves along the journey, numerous real-life examples to be inspired by, and a comprehensive plan for approaching this call from a Christ-centered, missional perspective.
What do you hope readers learn or take away from Roadmap to Reconciliation?
Salter McNeil:
- to inspire those who have heard the voice of God calling them to the ministry of reconciliation to proceed boldly with courage and conviction
- to equip reconcilers by deepening the theological roots for reconciliation while also developing a concrete model with applicable tools for the task ahead
- to frame reconciliation as an ongoing journey, and develop language that can chart progress and name landmarks as reconcilers progress down this path
- to increase the capacity of reconcilers to fuse both personal relationships and structural justice into a comprehensive approach
- to see that reconciliation is a deeply spiritual endeavor, and encourage them as they learn to be led by the Spirit and renewed daily by the power of God
This post is part of our October series Living Into the Shalom of God, and was sponsored by InterVarsity Press.
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