Establishing and Restoring Shalom

The Heart Cry of God - Part 2 of 2
by Sam Barkat

This is the second half of The Heart Cry of God; to view the first half click here.

Note: This is a shortened version of an address given by Sam Barkat at the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Global Briefing, October 1999.

Exploring Shalom, A Gift Vandalized
I developed an interest in this issue of shalom by looking at my own life and at my relationships with other people. A few years ago I was asked to speak to the General Assembly of the United Nations. I entitled my talk, In Search of Peace. The whole theme of my talk centered around the Biblical concept of shalom. Well, some people asked if by using the word shalom I would create any problems. Will Arabs, for example, like that word? I had some diplomat friends from Arab countries and so I went to them. Of course, they're not Christians, but I said, "Listen, this is what I'm going to be talking about and I'm going to be using this word. Tell me, will this create any problem for you?" I knew them well enough that they would tell me if that were the case. But I was very encouraged by them. They said, "No, you use that word because you are using it in a certain context. You are not using it in a political sense. And this is a Biblical word and you're basing your talk on that." So I've had freedom in using that phrase and word.

Then, not too long ago, I called our local rabbi and said "I'd like to meet with you. I really want to learn something from you." So, we got together and I told him, "I want to come to you as a student because I want to learn from you very deeply the Hebraic thinking about shalom." And I think once he realized that I was serious, that I wasn't simply there in some disguise to preach and win him to Christ, that I was not going to play games with him but that I really wanted to go as a student, that I was serious about the Old Testament and the whole concept of shalom, he started talking to me. He said he wanted me to come to their services. Before he became a rabbi of the local congregation, this man was a professor at the New York Jewish Theological Seminary which is the seminary in this country. So I said I'd like to take some courses. I'd like to learn. So we are working on that now.

This whole issue is changing my own life, my relationships, not only with people outside my family and friends, but with my wife, with my children. That's where such change has to begin. Shalom is more than just a word, more than just a concept. It is a very deep Biblical message.

The gift of shalom in creation, tranquility, peace, harmony, inter-relatedness, and communion with God is very quickly vandalized. Shalom is vandalized in the fall. Genesis 3 tells us this whole story of disobedience, broken relationship, deception, lies, blaming each other, anxiety and hiding from God. That is the result of the vandalism of shalom.

Have you ever talked to somebody who has been raped? Have you ever talked to somebody who has been vandalized? Such happenings are so devastating that victims can no longer trust. When vandalism takes place, instead of trust, there is doubt and suspicion. Instead of truth there is lies. Instead of openness there is hiding, sadness instead of joy. Instead of acceptance of others there is blaming of others. Instead of tranquility there is disequilibrium Instead of wholeness there is brokenness. Instead of well being there is anxiety. Instead of fellowship there is alienation. Instead of flourishing, there is death. Indeed, harmony is lost and shalom is vandalized.

We have a tendency to think of this vandalism, this breaking of shalom, the fall - or whatever terms we want to use for it - we think of it only as a particular event in time and space. We treat it just as an historical happening that happened "way back then." All too quickly we blame Satan, Adam, Eve and act as if we have nothing to do with it. We forget that in actuality we keep on breaking and vandalizing shalom. We directly take part in this vandalism.

So before we get too upset about Adam and Eve, we need to remember that we too are culprits. Because it is through our insensitivity, inactivity, our silence, our participation in this vandalism that shalom is lost, is broken in this world, in the spiritual, in the economic, in the relational, in the political, social, emotional realms. And it is good to be with what I call "agents of shalom" who work in all of these areas, in restoration of shalom in spiritual, economic, relational, political, social and emotional areas.

Examples of Vandalization
in Scripture & in Life
There are many examples of vandalized shalom in Scripture. Take a look at Genesis 16 and 21, the story of Hagar, Sarah and Abraham. Sarah realizes that she cannot bare children. Therefore she comes to Abraham and says I have a servant, a maid servant from Egypt. How about you take her and hopefully have a child? And Abraham agrees. He takes her, Hagar, and she has a son. But read the whole story very carefully, looking at it from Hagar's point of view. Sarah used her. Abraham used her. And when they're blessed, she is thrown out. Who is really at fault? Why should she be thrown out? But the God of shalom, even in Hagar's situation, provides water for her and for her son when she runs out of water in the desert and thinks that Ishmael is going to die.

Do we see examples of people being used and then thrown out in our present day? Women are used. The poor are used. They are used and then others turn around and blame them for their own problems. We don't acknowledge that we in some way bring these conditions upon people.

Rich nations use poor nations, developing nations, and then they blame them for the difficulties of the world. Whether it be wanting oil or something else, they first give poor nations equipment and bombs and gases while they are considered friendly. But then the rich nations turn around and bomb them while calling them "evil." Henry Kissinger said one time that, "Nations don't have friends, they just have interests." For us in the United States, we get into a tangle with some other political system, especially in the Middle East, it is always our interests we protect. It's our economy we protect.

So, yes, it happened with Hagar, but there are plenty of present day examples. People are used by others to increase their pleasure, their profits, their prestige and power. And then when those folks finish giving, they are thrown out and they become enemies. The struggle between "haves" and "have-nots" is always present.

I remember as a young boy I saw one of my uncles working in a brickyard. We lived in a city and my uncle and his family were from a village. Every so often, for several months, he and some of his very strong friends would come and work hard in this brickyard in one-hundred-ten, one-hundred-fifteen degree temperatures all day long. People wanted them to produce because they wanted so many bricks by the end of the day.

I see a similar example in Scripture. We read that as slaves the Israelites were forced to work in the brickyard. Moses comes, brings a message from God to the foreman, to Pharaoh, and says, "Let my people go." This is what God says and Moses keeps on asking Pharaoh to let His people go. Instead of letting them go, Pharaoh brings so much pressure upon the slaves, the Israelites, that they even have to go find the straw, the materials to make the bricks, but the production has to be the same.

Before, when these materials were given, x-number of bricks were expected at the end of the day. Now, the Israelites must go look for the material and still x-number of bricks are expected, thus breaking people's backs, spirit, motivation, desire to live. The brickyard is a place that demands production, competence. But the brickyard is also a place of coercion and profit. The brickyard is a place of hopelessness and we live in a brickyard. Look around us. You know plenty of present day examples of brickyards. Recently somebody related to me that about 50% of all apparel used in the US is made in sweatshops, either in this country or abroad. Think of child labor for the sake of business. Think of child prostitution and slavery. We knowingly continue our dealings with countries that practice these.

Let's move to the book of Micah. Micah was very familiar with the conditions of the poor, the disenfranchised, the vandalized and oppressed. Look at Micah, chapter one, verse seven: the dominance of images and idols. In 2:2 people covet things and take them by violence; in 2:8, they fraud the peaceful people; in 2:9 they harm women and defenseless children, and on and on it goes. In multiple references, he talks about the breaking or the vandalizing of shalom that takes place.

When you read that book, your mind might go "Yes, Micah, yesterday that happened. Yesterday, Micah." In vandalism of shalom there is destruction of property, destruction of another space, destruction of what is dear to another, destruction of what is necessary, displacement of equilibrium, disorientation of an extreme kind, death of the innocent. But all of this happens today.

A Mission of Redemption
But again, thank God who created the universe, who gave us the gift of shalom. He has seen these conditions but does not leave human beings alone. He does not turn his back on his people in the brickyard in Micah's day, and he does not turn his back on Hagar. He stays on his mission, in his purpose, not only establishing and creating shalom, but in the restoration of shalom. The God of creation is the God of shalom and thus he becomes the God of redemption. And shalom has to be experienced in concrete reality, not just in an "up there" kind of approach.

Likewise is restoration. Restoration of shalom is not merely an intellectual exercise, an abstract idea or dogma. One writer has written that this is what we mean in the Christian faith when we talk about incarnation, that God's true shalom is always embodied in such a way that people know it is happening in their historical experience. The question is, through your life, through my life, through our ministry is that happening in concrete realities?

Let me move through three examples. Let's go back to Micah. Yes, there's the first three chapters, then five, six and seven, but right in the middle of Micah comes chapter four. I would call Micah the prophet of hope on the basis of chapter four. The prophets proclaim that hope of the restoration of shalom will be realized not in part, but in all of its fullness. Micah offers hope for an oppressed people, the people of Judah. His vision of the restoration of shalom is a state in which there are no wars and there is plenty of food and security. Everyone enjoys the fruit of his labor. No one is taken advantage of, nor looked down upon. That's the summary of chapter four.

He speaks of a rebuilding of Zion, after having talked about it in verse 10 of chapter 3 where he indicates that Zion will be built with bloodshed and destruction. Then he comes to 4:1,2. It will become the center from which the Lord's teaching will emanate. In 11:3 he condemns the religious leaders for judging and teaching for selfish purposes. And in 4:2,3 he proclaims that in the new Jerusalem the Lord will teach the nations his ways and judge between them and they shall not learn of war anymore. There is hope, there is restoration of shalom. God's mission has not left us hopeless and helpless.

Jesus' Mission
Another example is the mission of my Lord and Savior himself: the mission of Jesus. I think that the centerpiece of God's efforts to reestablish shalom is found in the redemptive work of the Messiah, Jesus. Scripture points out that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. God so loved the world, his creation, that he sends his only Son as the spotless lamb that would pay the price so that we could have our shalom reestablished, our connections reestablished, our vandalized shalom reestablished.

One thing we need to remember is that within our "acceptance" of Jesus, our "regeneration" - whatever term you want to use - the redeeming work of Christ in us is but the beginning. This is just the first step on the ladder in our spiritual formation. That is not the whole story. All of the broken places must be mended, thus God calls us on a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage of the transformation of our minds, hearts and actions in the context of all of our relationships and in all realms of existence.

You will recall that in the beginning of Jesus' ministry, some people around him were impressed by him, some were perplexed, some were angry, but all wanted to know who he really was and the nature of his mission. And in his inaugural speech, in his inaugural address, he very clearly spells out his mission. Luke 4:18,19, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." He is the good news for sinners, the poor, the tax collectors, the sick, the broken hearted, the lonely, the captive, the blind and the oppressed. He is the good news. He is the shalom and rebuilder, reestablisher of that shalom. He is the sanctuary in which, in whom, all oppressed, the poor, the weak, spiritually lost, can come and find shalom. He is the creator. He is the redeemer. He is the reconciler. He is the liberator. He is the advocate. THAT is being a shalom maker.

Moses, too, as an advocate, wanted to bring shalom in a concrete reality. He did not sit there and appoint a committee and say "Okay, what can we do about it? Can we study this for two years, whether the ethnic minority folks should be included in this or not, whether folks from a certain social class should be part of this or not, whether it should be only the Gentiles, or the Jews?" He wanted to do it in a concrete reality. What if he had not been persistent, if he had not even struggled with God and not struggled very definitely with the foreman and with Pharaoh? "Exodus" is not only that they came out of Egypt, but it is the whole journey and ultimately the Promised Land, which Moses himself did not see, but, through his faithfulness, he led other people there.

The Pilgrimage of Shalom
One section of Scripture that has meant a great deal to me in my recent studies is Psalm 85. There's one verse that I would really like to leave with you, which I'm sure most of you know by heart. But it has meant something very different to me than it did in the past. Psalm 85:10: "Truth and mercy will lead. Justice and peace will kiss each other." This is what you and I are involved in, in bringing that kind of shalom, that kind of restoration of shalom and thus becoming partners in the mission of God. To create shalom in creation, restore shalom in redemption, that's the mission of God.

Therein we see the beauty of four concepts: truth, mercy, justice, peace. These concepts, these words don't necessarily meet each other, kiss each other. It's people who kiss. Maybe some of you have read this in Lederach's The Journey Toward Reconciliation. It's a very beautiful concept.

But take these four ideas and treat them as people, not just concepts. They are meeting, they are kissing each other. Take for example "truth." Let's call her "Sister Truth." I turn to Sister Truth and I say, "Well Sister, tell me something about yourself. What is your function in human relationships? In all that God has wanted you to do? What is your mission?" She gets up in front of us and she says something like this: "I am like light that is cast so that all can see it. In times of conflict I want to bring forward what really happened. Putting it out there in the open where everybody can see, not a watered down version of what happened."

Then I turn to Brother Mercy. I say, "Brother, tell me something about yourself. What do you say to that, and what are you all about?" He gets up, somewhat shy and somewhat hesitant. "I am the new beginning. I am concerned with people and their relationships. Acceptance, compassion and support stand with me. Sister Truth knows that her light can bring clarity, that's true. But Sister, please remember that too often it blinds and burns people. So I must come along with you by your side. Then we embrace others, the two of us working together."

Then I turn to Uncle Justice and I say, "Uncle Justice, can you tell me something about yourself?" And he says something like this. "I'm concerned about making things right. I consider myself a person who looks beneath the surface and behind the issues about people, things about which they fight. The roots of most conflicts are tangled in inequality, greed and grumbling. I fear that my children, Mercy and Peace, because they're younger, see themselves as parents, yet they are actually the fruit of my labor."

Well Sister Peace, how about you? What do you say? "I am the child to whom they give birth, the mother who labors to give them life, and the spouse who accompanies them on the way. I hold community together with the encouragement of security, respect and well-being."

If you take any of these by itself, it is not the complete story of God, it is not the complete mission of God, it is not the complete purpose of God. But, for a moment, see the flowing robes and beautiful colors that clothe these four. They come in front of us and they wrap around each other. They embrace each other and then you see those colors going in and out, in and out, and that is the picture of God's shalom. That's where the purpose and the mission of God is, when you put all of that together and make it a complete story.

May God help you to be partners with God in his mission and his purpose, to establish shalom in his creation, to restore shalom in his redemption, in his redemptive work. May we be partners with God in that pilgrimage.

My brothers and sisters, my fellow travelers, fellow believers, may you consider the claims and invitation of Christ seriously. May the shalom and peace of God transform you. May it give you the faith of Abraham, the patience of Job, the wisdom of Solomon, the determination of St. Paul and above all the sensitivity, care, love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ as you engage in your task in search of peace. And to you in search of bringing shalom to the broken hearted, to the lost, and to the poor, may this be true of us as individuals and as a movement. May God help us to do that and to be partners with Him in His mission of shalom.

This is the second half of The Heart Cry of God; to view the first half click here.

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Establishing and Restoring Shalom

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December 27-31, 2009