Lent

Paul's thoughts on reconciliation, our situation

By John Craghan

	A Lenten series on Reconciliation

In Paul's thinking on reconciliation, the root meaning of his Greek is "to make otherwise." In its secular sense, it is a change of relationship in the social or political realm. In Paul's religious meaning it is what Jesus accomplished for humanity, namely, the restoration of humanity to a status of friendship, intimacy, and love with God, fellow humans, and the created world.

Basically it is atonement, that is, at-one-ment - the restoration of two or more persons at one with each other after a period of estrangement.

What are the causes of such estrangement or hostility? For Paul they are twofold:

• First, there is egomania, a condition in which humans focus solely on themselves and reject openness to God's Spirit. "The concern of the flesh (egomania) is hostility toward God" (Rom 8:7).

	L e n t
	• Other Everyday People, Everyday Faith articles
	• Other Lent articles

• Second, there is the estrangement of pagans from the legacy of Israel. Such pagans were "alienated from the community of Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise" (Eph 2:12).

How does God react to this ego-driven and alienated world? Paul replies that God sends the Son and thereby radically changes humanity's relationship to God, to each other, and to the created world.

This divine action involves at least three aspects:

• First, there is the death of Jesus. "... while we were sinners, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son ..." (Rom 5:10).

• Second, there is the destruction of all those barriers that isolate humans from each other. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28).

• Third, there is the cosmic dimension whereby the reconciliation of humans affects their relationship to the created universe. "... creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God" (Rom 8:21).

As we survey our modern world, we find ample examples of hostility and estrangement. We witness the fragile relationship of married couples, the devastating effects in internecine conflict, and the baneful results of neglect of our environment.

We are all too aware of Catholics versus Protestants in Northern Ireland, of Sunnis versus Shiites in Iraq. In our church we are also painfully familiar with the divisions between the laity, especially women, and the clergy. In the world of nature we are constantly reminded of the disastrous effects of global warming.

These horrific scenes demand a reaction on the part of believers. We must refuse to be numbed into insensitivity. Rather, we must become the agents whereby Christ impacts our entire world. In essence, we must become the apostles of reconciliation/at-one-ment.

Paul assures us that the challenge of reconciliation is committed to all believers. "... God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ ... and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation" (2 Cor 5:19).

Such a task implies the elimination of the barriers Paul mentions in Galatians. In terms of "neither Jew nor Greek" our work of reconciliation includes, among others, neither Sunnis nor Shiites, neither whites nor people of color, neither Jews nor Christians.

In terms of "neither slave nor free person" our challenge of reconciliation embraces, among others, neither First World nor Third World, neither haves nor have-nots, neither documented nor undocumented.

In terms of "not male and female" our ministry of reconciliation encompasses, among others, neither divorced nor married, neither ordained nor non-ordained, neither director of a parish nor pastor of a parish.

Once again, our encouragement for this demanding enterprise is Paul: "So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us" (2 Cor 5:20).

To be sure, we rightly speak of Penance as the sacrament of reconciliation. However, we can legitimately appeal to the Eucharist as a sacrament of reconciliation as well.

At Eucharist Jesus' means of reconciliation are clearly articulated - Jesus' self-giving in death. At Eucharist we witness our bond with the world of nature in that bread and wine anticipate the final transformation of the universe as Jesus' body and blood. At Eucharist we observe, ideally at least, the obliteration of all distinctions based on ethnicity, economic status, or gender.

Eucharist is thus the sacrament that empowers participants to become Paul's ambassadors of reconciliation for Christ. Hence to eat the bread and drink the wine is to be nourished and sustained for the ongoing task of removing all those barriers that isolate us from God, from each other, and from our created world. Eucharist is ultimately the challenge to "make otherwise."

(Craghan is a professor of religious studies at St. Norbert College, De Pere. He has a doctorate in theology from the University of Munich.)