CCDA Principle #2: Reconciliation

Growing up the middle-child of three, I occasionally found myself giving or receiving an insincere apology. One of us would cross our arms, roll our eyes and mumble “I’m sorry if you were hurt.” Unsurprisingly, these half-hearted apologies were not quite enough for reconciliation.

Earlier this year, our staff and volunteers had the opportunity to think more deeply about reconciliation in our community. Reconciliation is a principle of Christian Community Development because it is a biblical priority. Paul writes of the new creation in Jesus Christ: “the old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ…” We lived in opposition to God, but now by grace offered to us in Jesus, we are welcomed into God’s family.

Many of us rightly emphasize God’s work of reconciliation. But, if we’re honest, many Christians would prefer to stop here. Paul, however, does not. He continues that Christ  “...gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:17-18). The gift of the gospel is that we have been reconciled with the Father through Christ. The imperative of the gospel is that we seek reconciliation in all of our relationships: with God, our neighbor, and the world.

But how do we go about seeking reconciliation? In her presentation on the subject, Rev Dr. Hanna Broome pointed us to truth-telling and creativity.

Our reconciliation with God requires honest confession and repentance. Likewise, reconciliation with our neighbors requires an honest assessment of the divisions between us and repentance for the ways we have participated in these divisions. Here, we have something to learn from our friends in Alcoholics Anonymous. Men and women in this program commit to make “a searching and fearless moral inventory of” themselves. Only then do they list their fractured relationships and make “direct amends to such people wherever possible.” Following their lead, what would it look like to make “a searching and fearless moral inventory of” our communities? Then, where are the fractured relationships in our communities? With whom can we make amends?

Here, reconciliation involves our creative reimagining of our relationships. My insincere apologies to my siblings were often an attempt to just forget whatever happened. True reconciliation requires the creative work of building a new way of living together. Reconciliation honors the dignity and agency of reconciled neighbors. As Rev. Dr. Hanna Broome framed it “Not back to what was” but instead “building what should have been.”

Vulnerable communities rarely receive honest apologies from the people and institutions who have harmed and neglected them, much less been given the opportunity to participate in the creative rebuilding of their communities. As Christians, truth-telling, creative reconciliation is a necessary action within and across our communities. Who might God be calling us to invite into this work?