Reconciliation

 John 20:19-31

In our prayer today we pray for the new covenant of reconciliation, that we show it in our lives and not just profess it. As I was thinking of this I wondered how all of these scriptures tie together with reconciliation. I was taking the broad view here. I looked up the definition of reconciliation first. 

First listed is to restore friendly relations. Who needs a friend today? Thomas is one who springs to mind first. The disciples see Jesus and Thomas isn't there, he misses the main event. Evidently Thomas either wasn't as afraid as the rest of the disciples were, or maybe it was his turn to go to the store for supplies. Anyway he misses this huge event and he won't believe until he can share in this same event. Now Jesus doesn't show up and say, Thomas, sorry you missed this, this one is for you, but he does bring him out of feeling left out of this big main event. He brings him back into friendly relations with the other disciples. 

Just think about this story Jesus comes back and Thomas is left out forever. The disciples try to convince Thomas, but he never quite trusts fully. Imagine the talks. "Thomas, how many times do we have to tell you the story? Ten of us saw him? What is your problem." Can you imagine how out of touch he would seem with the rest of them. Jesus in coming to him restores him to this relation in which all the disciples have the same experience. 

Jesus throughout his ministry restores people to community. The woman at the well is restored to her community as a witness to Jesus. Because of her the whole community comes and listens and believes. Restoration is hard work. So often we go to blame and condemnation and it is much harder to look at the ways to restore. It makes me think of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation committee. There were those not satisfied with the process because there was no punishment for what people had done wrong.

Yesterday I was wondering as I listened to another report of the defense for Derek Chauvin, what would it be like if he'd stop making excuses? If he stopped blaming George Floyd? What would it be like if he admitted he did wrong and killed someone? Would it be enough, would it bring healing, would there be a resolution for the family? We won't know because law justice doesn't work this way. Someone does something wrong and they are punished. Most often we have transferred this to Christianity, but this isn't exactly Jesus' example.

It makes me think of Native American justice. There way of dealing with law was written about in one of Tony Hillerman's mysteries. Officer Jim Chee sees a man who killed someone repaying the family with money and caring for the child who is now fatherless. He doesn't arrest him. He leaves is because he is making restitution, trying to leave balance for the whole he has created in the families life. This is true reconciliation. Hard, not punitive, restorative. 

Restoration to the family, harmonization in the community, making us compatible one with another in spite of differing views and beliefs. This is all reconciliation. It is a hard thing to accomplish. Yet Jesus embarks on it no matter how small the rift. Today this rift of Thomas seems minimal, yet it is mammoth in what it helps to bring to the world. Everyone knows punitive, can we begin to show a different way?