Agents of Reconciliation

It is only the people who have completed the ‘circle of relationship’ with themselves, with their neighbors, with the creation and with God, who would be able to recognize their call to be agents of reconciliation. “We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us” (2 Cor 5:20), and Paul’s words come to us to take it to others, “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God”. This is a great privilege given only to the people who have experienced the peace and joy of being reconciled, and even more than a privilege, it is a responsibility given to everyone who is in tune with God’s plan for the world. There is only one condition that we need to fulfill in order to undertake this responsibility together with God : that we are at home with ourselves, our neighbors, with the creation and therefore with God. This is perhaps the most important ministry of the Church, and every person who feels deep within, an urge to set things right in the world.

But what can I do to reconcile the world to God? Here we shall discuss in brief some of the ways how we could be part of this great enterprise of God, which may take a little longer than our entire lives. We need to begin with the first level of relationship. It is possible for me to help those who are under my care to delve deep into their selves, to heal the wounds of discord at the core of their being, accept themselves as they are with all the light and shadows, see the image of God imprinted in every part of their bodies, minds and spirits, keep the light of hope burning even in the midst of darkest clouds and stormy nights, recognize God’s plan for them unfolding in and through the different events – both sweet and sour – and be ever grateful to him. We are being agents of reconciliation of people with their inner selves, and if we are able to achieve this, we will witness miracles happening at our courtyards, and great things beginning to take place in front of our noses.

It is not impossible to build bridges between people, and bring together the warring parties through tact and friendship. Here we are launching on the second level, reconciling people with those who might have done harm to them, or hurt them. The Shack presents the lovely picture of the Holy Trinity taking a lot of trouble to help Mack reconcile with those who had caused him harm; this is a laborious and may even be an ungrateful job; we should be prepared for some uneasy questions and confrontations, even if we have nothing to gain out of the entire process. We may also have to bear the brickbats in the process of bringing people with different viewpoints under one umbrella, and it is possible that they may question our own authenticity and credibility. It is in a sense an unpleasant job, but if we are not prepared to undertake this responsibility, then we are failing in our call to be agents of reconciliation. History is witness to the people who had to lay down their lives while entering seriously into this second level of reconciliation, and therefore this poses a greater challenge for us, as ambassadors for Christ.

Our conviction to leave the world better for our next generations than we found it, should impel us to enable those who are living with us to look at creation with respect and reverence, and contribute towards ennobling it, rather than plundering it. This necessarily implies that we ourselves will have to set an example, in our life style, that we do not do anything which may give wrong signals to the people living with us, regarding how we look at the whole of creation. There is a lot of things that are within our capacity to help people view the creation with awe and wonder, as if they have entered the world new, and like a child looking at everything with new eyes and vision. This is a matter of educating people about the need for a new life style, where we behold the creation with respect, knowing that every atom of the creation is presenting to us God, just as God has filled our body and mind. We need not think of great things in this regard, but we could start off with something that is easy and possible, and within our capacity. We also will have to find innovative ways of helping people to find God in all of creation.

The fourth level of reconciliation does not necessarily mean it is meant only for believers; but is a basic attitude in our approach to life. This could be the ultimate goal of everything that we see, hear and experience. There are people who cannot forgive God for certain things which could have taken place in their past, and they may be carrying the grudge against God for years; they may stop going to the Church services, or to temples or mosques, as a reaction to their experiences. It may be impossible to revert these experiences, but we may be able to help them heal the wounds that they think God had inflicted upon them. To look at God as the loving and caring Father or Mother, may be hard for some who had gone through painful moments, but pointing to the areas where God was present in their lives, even in the most painful of experiences, silently suffering with them, may open their eyes. We could thus be catalysts of change in them, and this could be a great service we may be doing.