LIVING INTO HOPE 

Psalm 46, Romans 8:18-25

New Testament scholar Walter Wink writes:
History belongs to the intercessors, who believe the future into being....
Hope imagines its future, and then acts as if that future is irresistible.
(Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers (Minneapolis, MN, Fortress Press 1992)

Years ago I came across a sketch which depicts beautifully what he means. (The sketch shows a gardener watering a small sapling. Attached to it is a large hammock with the other end around a large tree.) What I love about this character is the way in which vision for the future and practical action in the present connect. His ability to visualize the future enabling him to live into it--in the present.

Northern Ireland is moving out of over 35 years of conflict--hopefully into a stable and just peace. But that movement is slow--frustratingly slow--and it is very difficult to muster much energy or enthusiasm for the kind of efforts in the present that will help to speed the process--precisely because few people can see and greet any new reality from afar and allow their present to be shaped by it. One of the most common remarks made when reporters ask people on the streets in Northern Ireland for their views about the future is, "I can't see things ever changing here." And so, unlike this gardener--or the farmer who goes out in winter to prepare the field, then sows seeds for the autumn harvest, then continues through the spring and summer to water and care for the growing shoots--they do nothing to bring about a positive future.

For the past four years my main ministry has been working with those in leadership positions in the main denominations in Ireland to enhance the churches' contribution to peace-building. When my colleagues and I began, we assumed that our task would be to help leaders think strategically about peace-building. After a few months, we realized we had to go back a step and help them to think strategically. More recently we have concluded that strategic thinking--about getting from where we are to where we want to be--isn't the problem either. The problem is vision.

There is an old story of a traveler who came upon three workers. The traveler said to the first, "What are you doing?" The worker replied, "I'm placing this stone on top of these others." He then asked the second the same question--and got the reply, "I'm building a wall." Finally the traveler asked the third, who responded: "I'm helping to build a cathedral to the glory of God."

What a difference their perspectives must have made on a damp February morning when they set off to work!

Sadly the way in which we DO church--and even mission--often ends up like the first worker. We have so lowered our gaze and lost sight of the bigger picture that doing church becomes tedious or we are in danger of our energies being consumed in irrelevant actions--more attention given to the table decorations than to the gospel's core calling.

Ephesians 1 lifts our gaze when it declares that God has made known to us his plan for the fullness of time--to unite all things in Christ. What an agenda!!

Our denomination's Book of Order also lifts our gaze when it declares that, The PC(USA) bears good news by PARTICIPATING IN God's activity in the world through its life for others by: Healing and reconciling and biding up wounds; Ministering to the needs of the poor, the sick, the lonely, and the powerless; Engaging in the struggle to free people from sin, fear, oppression, hunger and injustice; Sharing with Christ in the establishing of his just, peaceable, and loving rule in the world. (Book of Order, G-3.0300)

What follows from having our gaze lifted to such great ends?

Back to the sketch: This is more than a picture to me. I've actually met this man! His name is Peter Tennent and he was born into the British aristocracy. Molded as a student by his encounter with Quakers and pacifism, he became an ambulance driver in China WWII--a kind of 1940s John Carter from ER. Decades later when he retired he moved from Scotland to NI to live near the Corrymeela Reconciliation Centre. Spotting a need which his skills matched, Peter spent endless hours planting and tending hundreds of trees around the site. He also worked tirelessly for criminal justice reform, befriended individuals moving away from paramilitary involvement, and in other ways was engaged in building the foundations for a future he would not see. When he died a few years ago the world lost a real character!

Over they years I have been privileged to get to know plenty of others like him. The kind of characters we need. Let me identify some traits they have:

First: They affirm with Paul, in the passage we read, that the present order of things is not all that is possible: "I believe that the present sufferings cannot compare with the glory that is about to be revealed. (Rom. 8:18) Then they identify some specific things that need to be done in today's world in order to move toward the future they believe God is inviting us to be partners in bringing into being.

Early in my time in Northern Ireland a school group from Belfast was staying at the Corrymeela Centre where I was working. One morning we received a phone call from the principal to say that one of the girls father's had been shot and critically wounded and that the girl needed to be brought back to Belfast as soon as possible--but not told why. It so happened that I had a meeting in Belfast later in the day, so the task of driving her fell to me. I can tell you that the sixty mile journey was long and awkward enough that I have a very specific vision of what needs to be changed. Northern Ireland should no longer be a place where a ten year-old girl arrives home to hear that her father has died as the latest victim of sectarian fighting.

What would peace look like--in very specific terms--in the places you know and care about personally? How would life and relationships be different? And--How is your living today shaped by that vision you hold of the future?

Second: They realize that it is easier and better to put energy into sowing the seeds of the plants you want to have than breaking your back yanking up those weeds you don't. Hence, they know the importance of prevention and of being proactive.

In what comes to mind when we think of peacemaking there is too much fire fighting--energy wasted trying to sort things out--often after it is too late.

Omagh is a provincial town in Northern Ireland. Seven years ago it experienced a massive car bomb which indiscriminately killed 29 people on a busy shopping street. It was a devastating experience for the town's inhabitants and had the potential to drive a huge wedge between different sections of the population. However, about eighteen months before that clergy from both Catholic and Protestant churches in the town had begun meeting regularly and building relationships of trust and understanding. When tragedy struck they were able to move swiftly to take common actions that would help to meet needs and begin a process of community healing because they already had built a foundation of trust with each other which proved invaluable when relationships were put to the Test. Are we building relationships now, across all sorts of divides, and seeking to understand others, in ways that will survive and be of help when tough times come?

Let me share another story from my recent work: Each January fro three years my colleagues and I have taken thirty significant leaders from the major denominations in Ireland to Scotland for thirty-six hours of relationship building and discussions on current issues. It means that they are away from any interruptions and in a setting where they can engage freely in quite open discussion. Last year after the meal on the first night I sat down by the fireplace in the hotel's lobby with several of them. On my left was Tim, a younger priest who writes many of the statements for the Catholic bishops in Ireland. On my right was Stephen, a Baptist pastor ad leader of a major evangelical ministry in Northern Ireland. Suddenly Stephen turned to Tim and said, "I know what your church's official teaching on this issue is, but I would love to know what you believe personally." Tim told him and then said, "Stephen, I know lots of Presbyterians and Anglicans--but I have never met a Baptist before. What makes you folks different--in fact, what makes you tick?" As Stephen began to share with him the body language said it all--they were both leaning in closer and closer intent on what each other was saying. After a while I left them and went to bed! The next morning Stephen was the first one I saw and he said, "Doug, see last night. Brilliant! I have never had a chance to speak like that with a priest." A few minutes later I saw Tim and said, "I understand you had a late night." He responded, "Yes, but it was worth it! I learned so much about a whole constituency I have never really understood." But the story doesn't stop there. A few months later when Tim was writing one of those reports he thought to himself, "I know what WE mean by this, but I wonder how the people Stephen ministers to will understand it." So he phoned Stephen and asked him, and then changed some of the wording in light of Stephen's feedback.

What if we--and our nation did that? Sought to understand other groups who are different ad checked with others how our words or actions might be understood--before speaking or acting.

Third: They understand that means determine ends; and so live now consistent with the future they seek.

Back to my friend Peter. As well as planting trees he would join in various discussions at Corrymeela. When he did so, he would frequently take out an old sock and a needle and begin daring the holes. One day I looked across at him and there appeared to be far more darning than sock. In disbelief and curiosity I asked, "Peter, how long have you had that sock." Peter didn't do sarcasm, so he treated the question thoughtfully and after a moment said, "I think 1942." We laughed--but for Peter it was perfectly logical. He believed in a world where resources would be safeguarded and shared equitably, so although he could have afforded to replace those socks many times over--he contributed his money toward other ends. Darning the old sock was his way of living now the vision he pursued.

Peace is not an end. If can never come about through non-peaceful means. We can't promote economic justice--by way of conspicuous consumption. Or honor creation by a throw away lifestyle. Or build security by way of generating fear or spending billions on security measures. Security has to be built on relationships of trust and justice.

Fourth: They are committed to the long haul.

Regardless of the weather, Peter could be spotted out tending the trees--in season and out of season--often replanting what had died.

For a harvest of justice you need to be willing to sow lots of seeds and know that many will not take root or wither, or produce what we had hoped for, but wither and die.

About eighteen months ago two bishops, one Catholic and one Anglican, invited us to help foster stronger relationships at local level between all of the clergy in their two dioceses. My colleagues set about arranging a number of meetings for regional groupings and naively thought, "Great--at the end of this there are going to be 150 clergy with strong relationships with their counterparts from the other tradition and committed to significant action." The reality was that some never acknowledged the letter inviting them to the sessions, many sent apologies, some came half-heartedly and others put up all kinds of reasons why taking any action in their setting would be impossible at present. But some did avail of the opportunity to build new relationships. Some did choose to stay in contact with their counterparts when the process finished. And some have taken action in their local setting to help build peace.

Another way of putting this is that sowing seeds of peace for a harvest of justice is more like running a marathon than a sprint. No short burst of activity, but a steady slog over a long course.

The passage we read from Romans ends by saying: But patience is not passive. It is active and what is being spoken about here would be better understood as faithfulness, endurance. Those engaged in societal conflict transformation know that they are in for the long haul--and may never see the result, but that is ok, because--

Fifth: They keep their role and their importance in perspective.

Biblical faith reminds us that God is the ultimate author of peace. Our faith affirms that God is against those things that diminish shalom and for all things that bring it closer to reality. The witness of scripture is also that God can and does intervene in this world and that God is powerful enough to make a difference.

Archbishop Oscar Romero put it this way:
This is what we are about.
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that; they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
An opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
We are prophets of a future that is not our own.

CONCLUSION:
According to Paul in Romans 8, the transformation of creation is somehow tied up with the revealing of the children of God. In the Beatitudes Jesus declares, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Mt 5:9) Could it be that what creation longs for, as it groans under the weight of all that diminishes the peace God intends, is for the children of God everywhere to comprehend and live out more fully their true identity as peacemakers?

Day by day that happens.

A congregation in New Jersey faithfully teaches week-by-week that Jesus Christ has come for all people, and that he calls us to welcome others into our lives, because in doing so we welcome him....and so the tree grows.

A community project in Belfast provides a safe place for at-risk young people to meet, making it less likely that they will get sucked in violence...and so the tree grows A PCUSA young adult volunteer tutoring in an after-schools program helps one child feel accepted and grow in self-esteem and so be less likely to look down upon others who are different...and so the tree grows.

Planning a dinner party Elaine and I recognize that our table is a tool for peace building and decide to invite friends from both Catholic and Protestant, both Unionist and Nationalist backgrounds--who aren't likely to meet otherwise...and so the tree grows.

People in congregations all across this country and around the world come together to call for the cancellation of global debt...and so the tree grows.

And you...you also sow seeds of peace, in whatever way is possible at this moment in the place where you reside and minister, or you water seeds already sown, or provide support and prayer for those who do,...and so the tree grows...and together we live into the future God is bringing about.

 

July 6, 2008

The Reverend Doug Baker, PCUSA Mission Co-Worker, Northern Ireland

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