Click to hide HTML preview
BIBLICAL/THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR AN URBAN
MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION
Compiled by:
Jack Kooyman, M.A.
President and CEO
Christian Camps for Inner-City Youth
DBA Camp Tall Turf
www.tallturf.org
[pic]
Reconciling and Equipping for Service
Ephesians 2:14-18; 4:1-13
For he [Christ] is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one
and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.
He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he
might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making
peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the
cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and
proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near;
for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father….
I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of
the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ‘making every
effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is
one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your
calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who
is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace
according to the measure of Christ’s gift…The gifts he gave were that
some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and
teachers, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry (diakonia =
serving), for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the
unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to
the measure of the full stature of Christ.”
Commentary
“Ephesians 2:14-17 is closely related to Ephesians 1:10, Colossians 1:20,
and 2 Corinthians 5:19, all of which speak of the reconciling uniting work
of God through Jesus Christ. In these passages we see that to unite all
things in Christ, to bring peace, and to-reconcile are all different ways
of saying the same thing. Reconciliation means making peace [shalom].
United under the headship of Jesus, everything in heaven and earth becomes
reconciled, coming for peace with God and with itself.” Howard Snyder, 1985
Proclaiming and Demonstrating of Reconciliation
2 Corinthians 5:14-2 1
Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all,
and therefore all died. He died for all, that those who live should no
longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised
again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we
once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore if anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 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. God made him who had no sin
to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Unity and Equality in Christ
Galatians 3:28-29
There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is
no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if
you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to
the promise.
God Desires Relationships of Shalom
Isaiah 2:2-5
In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as
the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the
nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us
go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that
he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of
Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning
hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they
learn war any more. O house of Jacob. come, let us walk in the light of the
LORD!
Isaiah 11:6-8
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will
lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down
together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play
near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the
viper’s nest.
Isaiah 25:6
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for
all peoples, a banquet of aged wine-the best of meats and the finest of
wines.
Commentary
The shalom of God has to do with being right relationships with God, our
neighbor and our environment. It involves enjoying life with others and
ourselves (Is. 11:6-8), a harmonious relationship with God (Is. 2:2-3),
harmonious relationships with nature (Is. 25:6). (Conn and Ortiz, 2001, pp
289-290)
“Shalom is the human being dwelling at peace in all his or her
relationships with God, with self, with fellows, with nature.”
(Wolterstorff, 1983)
God is concerned about the total person, including relationships and
environment. (Conn, 1982)
Seeking the Shalom of the City
Jeremiah 29:5-7
Jeremiah’s advice to the Hebrews in the city of Babylon was “to build
houses and settle down, plant gardens and eat what you grow…Seek the
peace [welfare] of the city where I have caused you to be.and pray to
Yahweh for it; for in the peace of it shall you have peace.
Commentary
The Bible is a book about cities, not just about sheep and vineyards. An
urban theme runs through Scripture…This theme is significant in its own
right, especially in this age of urbanization, but it also clearly links
with God’s rule or reign….The church [ community] is called to bring
forth justice in the city, to seek its shalom. (Jer. 29:7) (Snyder, 1985)
Jesus and Cities
When Jesus visited the cities and towns, He saw the harassed and helpless
ones (first century urban residents) as a ripe harvest – a rich treasure.
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in the
synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every
disease… When he saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they
were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to
His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his
harvest.’ Matthew 9:35-38
Jesus came to seek and save the lost in the cities and villages of Judea
and Galilee. Scripture gives us the powerful picture of Jesus weeping over
the people of Jerusalem.
Paul and Cities
The missionary activity of the Apostle Paul in the cities of the first
century indicates their importance to the spread of the Gospel and the
growth of the church of Jesus Christ.
Diversity of Cities Today
Only in the United Slates do the poor live in the city and the rich live in
the suburbs (and that reality is rapidly changing). Everywhere else in the
world, the closer you get to the city center, the richer you are-especially
in places like Paris. The old inner-city/outer-city paradigm does not work.
Nor does it work to say that the city is black and the suburbs are white.
Of course the biggest cities, like Tokyo or Mexico City, are neither black
nor white. But even in the U.S., cities are increasingly Hispanic and
Asian, not just black. – Ray Bakke
Last Updated: 10/16/2006
Click to see HTML preview
