If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors…
2 Corinthians 5:17-20
Reconciliation is something that makes tomorrow possible.
Derek Maul
So here we are, rushing headlong into the end of 2023, along with the anticipated and usually clichéd messages that go with both the “wrapping up” of the old and the “launching” of the New Year to come.
I am already working on one of my favorite posts, the always popular “Year in Photographs.” I try hard to honor my 10-per-month limit then end up with closer to 150 pictures total. But really, who could blame me, 2023 has been a marvelous year for photography!
Today I am more concerned with the emotional and relational implications of these past twelve months, and thinking particularly of the words I introduced for Advent; “Light, Grace, Mercy and Reconciliation.”
But the 4th Sunday in Advent was also Christmas Eve. I got sidetracked and never did write a post about reconciliation.
We can’t skip reconciliation!
Good grief! If Christmas is about anything then it has to be about reconciliation. And if we want this coming New Year to stand for anything at all then, surely, shouldn’t we want it to stand for reconciliation?
Reconciliation is this: God intentionally entered this broken world, breaking into time and space as a vulnerable, dependent, helpless infant in order to set into motion the opportunity for each one of us – most especially you, and me – to enjoy a restored relationship with The Creator.
Not just reconciled to God but reconciled to one another. One should lead to the other, wouldn’t you think?
Reconciliation makes tomorrow possible:
So here is the thing that is on my mind. The point of reconciliation is not figuring out who is right and who gets to apologize, reconciliation is not about demonstrating how wrong someone else is so we can be merciful, and reconciliation is not about anyone dictating the terms.
The disarming truth is that we are all wrong, and that we all stand in need of mercy and grace. Reconciliation is about forgiving – regardless, and about accepting forgiveness too; it is about embracing, and sometimes about crying, and always about moving forward because reconciliation is something that makes tomorrow possible.
Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord,
Traditional Spiritual
Standin’ in the need of prayer;
Not my father, not my mother, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer.
(Not the stranger, not my neighbor, but it’s me, O Lord),
(Not the preacher, not the deacon, but it’s me, O Lord),
Standin’ in the need of prayer.
It’s me, it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer;
It’s me, it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer.
Reconciliation is that moment in the story of the Prodigal Son where the Father – who has been wronged – runs to greet his son with all of his love and with no strings attached.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
Luke 15:20
What if we all launched 2024 with preemptive goodwill?
What if we all launched 2024 with preemptive goodwill, with commitments for positive change, with humility, with absolutely no ego at stake, and with a willingness to allow God to work in and through us? What if we all did this faithfully – if for no other reason than that God has committed this message to us, and that God absolutely expects us to honor his intentions for this world?
He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents…
Malachi 4:6
Because love is what we must deploy in 2024, and because love is the most powerful force in our families, our neighborhoods, our churches, the communities where we live and, in fact, the whole wide world – DEREK