We are living through momentous days. I think everyone has the same conviction. Change is in the air. I come to this topic believing that we all want the world to be a better place. We want happiness, but we mourn past sins, aggressions, loss of life, and other disappointments.
This raises an issue for us all. How do we approach societal, moral, and ethical changes? What is our first reaction? When we do respond, what kind of language do we use?
I see a dramatic difference between these two poles. One might be called "Laying Blame." Another response could be named "Finding a path to reconciliation."
Much of what I see on the TV, in print, and on social media reveals dark things.
There's lots of horrible stuff happening, to be sure. To blame another person almost invariably means looking at the PAST. We seek to bring a distance between ourselves and the person or persons who caused such outrage.
Laying blame means asking a series of questions? What happened? Who did it? How much abuse was there? What can be done about it? Will the police charge someone? Why did people get away with it for so long? How much has been covered up? How high up the ladder are those protecting the ones who were caught? I call these investigative questions, and they must be asked. However, it's all too easy to stay stuck in the past, digging further and further, distancing ourselves, creating social and relational distance, and saying, "You are to blame!"
I have deliberately defined this as a polarization because in later blogs I hope to tease out some of the more subtle nuances we face in decision making. So, the one side tends towards laying blame.
At the same time, there is another aspect to our lives. We have to work towards the future. If we go beyond laying blame, we will seek reconciliation.
Reconciliation has to do with another set of questions. Each question brings us into the FUTURE.
In the Gospel, I find a marvelous truth. God was in Christ Jesus finding a way to reconcile the world to himself. Mercy trumps judgment. Finding the path to reconciliation has as its goal to live in peace with one another. (2 Cor 5:18) I don't see Jesus coming to lay blame. He comes into a world, recognizing evil, but showing how to form an entirely new approach to life.
People who seek to live out the demands of the Kingdom of God will ask additional questions.
Reconciliation involves the difficult but necessary conversation between people who have been at odds. Maybe punishment must happen, but there's a deeper foundation. It's based on agape love.
Yes, conflicts happened. But now what? The path to reconciliation asks a relational set of questions. How can our relationship be restored? What kind of a world do we want to live in? How can we change things so that this abuse doesn't happen again? Do the laws need to be changed? Will private or public acknowledgment of guilt be sufficient? Is it possible that we might even learn to love and appreciate one another?
(I will write more on "Reconciliation" in my next blog post.)
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