More Shalom
OCTOBER 15, 2020
By Pastor Steve Peich
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:9-10
The other day I gave a sermon at our church that tried to make the case that God has called each one of us to be Shalom Makers in our world (which I see as a big part of the ‘good’ that Paul encourages us to do in verses today). As some of you might recall from the sermon, I mentioned that the most basic meaning of shalom is “complete” or “whole.” Moreover, it also refers to something that’s complex, with lots of pieces, but which exists in a state of connectedness, wholeness, and well-being as God intended. So, in this regard shalom is about the integration and the re-uniting of all of life into a peace filled wholeness: God and Humanity, me and you, us and “them," minorities and majorities, the powerful and the powerless, the well-off and the needy.
One of the things I didn’t have a chance to bring up was that Shalom Making can be quite taxing on our lives. It is not always something that is easy or joy-filled as we carry it out. Sometimes, at least for my journey in being a Shalom Maker, it has come down to confronting mentally unstable and drug addicted people who were acting like bullies or enraged people screaming expletives to my face.
Sometimes it meant me jumping between two people who were fighting and then being threatened by those who were gleefully watching the fight. Sometimes it left me being ripped off and feeling foolish as someone, for whom I bought a meal, returned the meal to the cashier at the restaurant and asked for “their money back,” which the cashier promptly did. My money instantly went from Shalom Making to probably providing funds for more drugs or alcohol.
Why do I bring up such realities? For a couple of reasons. One, so that we take time to think through and be wise about how we will do such important work. Feeling threatened or foolish can really suck the air out of our drive to bring wholeness to our world.
Another reason is so that we don’t give up in sticking with the mission of shalom when it becomes tiresome to do so.
Let me be honest and say that Shalom Making can be tiresome at times. It can be tiresome to go from helping another person to being harassed or ripped off by that very individual. It can be tiresome to love your enemies and bless those who hate you. It can be tiresome to make peace when people want to sow division. You get the idea.
We need to know clearly that if we are going to serve people, we are going to eventually serve someone who has brokenness and sin sown through their souls. And when we run into such things it will be an easy step to become cynical about the mission, or just plain run the other way.
So, as we “work for the good of all people” know that there will be difficulties and challenges, to say the least. But “let us not become weary” because we were not wise or surprised about the challenges. They will be there, without question, but how will you respond? With whom can you walk to find the support and encouragement you need to persevere in bringing God’s wholeness into such a fragmented, broken, and sinful world?
Prayer: Lord, I want to be Your instrument of Peace in our world, but I also know the way forward will be difficult. Pour out Your Spirit upon me so that I may have the wisdom to know how to best serve others and the strength to persevere amid the challenges that will come. Show me whom I can serve today. In Your name I pray, Amen.
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