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Our Ministry of Reconciliation

By Lonnie Valentine

Paul writes that we have all been given the “ministry of reconciliation” by Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18). I find this surprising, given how strongly Paul appears to hold his own views in his epistles as well as how difficult the Corinthian congregation was for him. Might Paul be providing a way for us to live in reconciliation with one another, even when we disagree on fundamental issues of faith and practice?

Paul has often been read, as I have read him too, as giving specific teachings on specific issues that are to be taken as permanent for the Church from that time forward. That is, we tend to think Paul is giving us his position on issues such as the place of women in the Church, how to relate to the governmental authorities, homosexuality, Jewish-Christian relations and so on. If so, then we think that we must make others agree with what we think Paul says or else reject any relationship with them. Here, I want to lift up a view of what I think Paul is saying that is more fundamental to his thought than any position on specific conflicts in which we are now engaged. Reconciliation is Paul’s fundamental teaching and so reconciliation provides the foundation for addressing all our conflicts.

Reconciliation is most fundamental for Paul because he sees that Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection is our ultimate reconciliation with God. No matter what we have done or what we may do in the future, this ultimate reconciliation has been made. Our task is less taking specific positions on issues than entering into Paul’s “ministry of reconciliation.” More startling, Paul not only says that we church people are to be reconciled to one another, but that “God was in Christ reconciling the world” to God which makes Christians “ambassadors for Christ” presenting the “message of reconciliation” to everyone (2 Corinthians 18-20).

This message and service of reconciliation is more than taking positions we see as biblical on particular issues. It is a deep abiding in Christ that can maintain relationships even when we disagree on what we think are absolutely fundamental issues. After all, Paul was in a very conflicted situation and would meet his death at the hands of the Romans, just as Christ did. I doubt that he thought conflict in the world or in the Church would cease and all would agree on everything. Rather, in the midst of conflict, we are to remember that God through Christ is in the world reconciling us. This may mean that we come to agreement, but that is not necessary in Paul’s view. What is necessary is to remember and live that all — not just those who agree with us — are reconciled already to God. In the midst of difficult fights in both church and world, this reconciliation is what we are to offer to others.

In Colossians, Paul speaks again of reconciliation and states what I would understand as that which makes us need Christ’s reconciliation. Paul writes that we “were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds” (Colossians 1:20). It is the estrangement and hostility that are the core problem for the human condition. This is what sin is: hostile estrangement from God and from humans that are made in God’s image. We continually “miss the mark” in our relationships with God and others and it is this which leads to our hostility to those others and to God. It is from this estrangement that our evil deeds arise.

What might this reading of Paul on reconciliation mean for our debates on specific issues that are tearing at Friends today, as well as the whole church and the larger world?

First, I do not think Paul expected us to come to agreement in all things. The unity in reconciliation he talked about is deeper than unity of positions. In this, I believe early Friends were right to see that our unity comes from the Spirit of Christ and not by agreement on what we think the Bible or some statement of faith says. Indeed, such efforts often miss the deeper level of reconciliation or may become the occasion for us to destroy that deeper level of reconciliation.

This is not to say I can always sense such unity. I have at times wanted to break relationships based upon differences, and I have felt that estrangement and hostility that Paul talks about.

Second, I do not think that Paul expected us to work together in all things where we have deep disagreements. This sounds as though it contradicts what I just said, but I do not think so. It may be that a meeting or yearly meeting needs to separate from others in order to do what the members believe they are called to do on specific issues. For example, I am concerned to be with others who are committed to being Quaker and Christian and trying to further the Peace Testimony in Church and world. So, I would seek out a meeting that does these things. Though I may put forward the argument that such a position is core to what it means to be a Quaker, I see no need to be hostile to other individual Quakers or meetings or yearly meetings who disagree with my views.

Finally, if we can release one another into God’s care to do what we sense we are called to do, then we may be able to maintain our relationship at a deep level, even if we are working for different goals. We may not formally be working together, but such outward connections need not prevent staying connected in other ways. The Gospel of Christ is deeper than our specific callings or our specific ways of organizing ourselves. Indeed, if we can envision that Christ remains at work in ways we do not fully understand, then we may be able to live with our differences and understand that even those that disagree with us on our vital issues remain in God’s care.

Paul’s vision of the “ministry of reconciliation” provides a way to both disagree with others and be in relationships with them. Even if we go our separate ways to take up specific concerns, we can we still see ourselves and others as reconciled in God through Christ. Paul provides the magnificent vision of how we remain in relationship with one another, even with our profound differences: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Implicit in this is that our differences will remain; it is not necessary for such differences to disappear for us to experience Christ’s reconciliation.

Lonnie Valentine is Professor of Peace and Justice Studies at Earlham School of Religion, Richmond, Indiana.