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FALL, 1999: Volume 4 Issue 3 Book Review… God�s Mission of Reconciliation by Val Liveoak� Journey to Reconciliation, John Paul Lederach, Herald Press, Scottsdale PA,�1999, 206 pages.� John Paul Lederach is a Mennonite student and teacher of conflict�transformation, whose work and program at Eastern Mennonite University is as�respected among Anabaptists as the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) is�among Quakers. Of the four Lederach books I�ve seen, this is the�most accessible (two are more academic in nature, and one is a training�manual in Spanish.) In it he draws on his lengthly experience as a�peacemaker and reflects on stories of the Bible to develop a theology of�conflict and of peace that is of specific relevance to his own Anabaptist�church, but speaks my (Quaker) mind as well. He urges Peace Churches (which�often don�t deal very well with conflict and disagreement) to go beyond�teaching conflict resolution techniques to finding holy ground�God�s�presence�in the very experience of conflict and through it, carry out God�s�mission�reconciliation.� Lederach interprets conflict as a natural part of God�s creation: God�created diversity, and gave humans freedom to act on their diverse beliefs.�In the person of Jesus, God�s mission of reconciliation was very clearly�revealed, but as early as the accounts of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25-33,�the sacredness of journeying toward reconciliation was depicted. �When we�fight all night in the darkness of our soul and fear, we struggle with God.�When we turn to seek the face of our enemy, we look into the face of God.��Lederach stresses that reconciliation is both a journey and a destination,�and his personal accounts show some of the steps he�s taken.� When his family was threatened in Nicaragua, and he was nearly killed by an�angry mob, he learned how hate grows in the heart of the victim of violence�and why the Psalmist at times calls for God to annihilate his enemies. When�Lederach saw a Honduran officer lovingly embrace his crippled child, he saw�a man he�d presumed to be an evildoer as a father like himself. �Inside�these experiences with real enemies, I also heard�the voice of God�s search�for reconciliation as a call to love those who do us harm.�� Acknowledging that the values of Peace, Truth, Mercy and Justice sometimes�seem to be in conflict, but that all are necessary to carrying out God�s�work, Lederach recounts the struggles of Salvadorans and South Africans to�understand the truth of what happened in their countries. He has also worked�with Cambodians and Nicaraguans who cannot yet face the past, but can work�together for the sake of present survival or for the future of their�children. He realizes, �[I]n real life, building international conciliation�and peace is an enormously complex task.� To facilitate it, he calls for a�polychronic approach to reconciliation�a multitude of simultaneous�activities, a systemic rather than a linear perspective on people,�relationships, activities and context. �With a systemic view, we see people�and relationships within a context, a social fabric that is dynamic,�interdependent, and evolving. We do not place primary focus on pinpointing�the cause, as if that sets in motion a linear reaction. We try to understand�the overall system and how change in any one aspect will change all the�others.� � Shifting his view from international conflicts, he reflects upon the�conflicts he�s found within his own Mennonite church. Tongue-in-cheek, he�suggests that the unspoken Ten Commandments include �always be nice,� �don�t�talk to people who disagree with you,� �if things go wrong, blame the�pastor� and �save your anger for the annual budget meeting.� Even in Peace�Churches, he believes, conflict is seen as sin, and there�s a fear of naming�it (and shunning of those who do bring it up). Instead, he offers Biblical�models.� First, God�s �creation commitments� show us how to treat others: 1) We are�created in God�s image (�There is that of God in everyone.�) This means we�must respect everyone. 2) God created diversity, so we should value and�include it. 3) God gives us freedom therefore humans must have a choice and�a voice in decisions that affect them. These things make conflict inevitable�and natural, and guide our responses to it. According to Lederach, sin�enters when we act like God, assuming God�s superiority, or oppress, refuse�to listen, discount and exclude, hold back feelings, avoid, hate, or project�blame. Second, Lederach examines Jesus� teaching from Matthew 18. In verses 15-20�Jesus outlines steps that involve negotiation, mediation, and involving the�church as an institution in the resolution process. Then if these fail,�Jesus said to treat your adversary as a Gentile or tax collector. How did�Jesus treat these outcasts? He sought them out and developed a relationship�with them�he ate with them. Summing up the process, �We must find the�capacity to define ourselves and share what we see and feel. We need to�create space for interaction with those who see and feel differently and�promote accountability as the engagement of Truth. We must maintain�relationship even when we deeply disagree.�� Finally he looks at Paul�s teaching and conflicts in the early church�(Acts 15). The problem of conflict was recognized and defined and a common understanding�of its nature was sought. Placing a high value on participation and�ownership of the substance and process, a forum where there could be�discernment and creativity was created. The different gifts of members of�the community were valued and used. Then there were threshing sessions and�brainstorming of solutions�and the solution was implemented, not just�discussed.� Throughout the process, Lederach stresses the importance of listening which�is, as he points out, a spiritual discipline since it means risking being�changed, shaped and molded by God and/or by the other. Many Quakers will agree�with him that moments of silence are important parts of the process. He�cites several types of listening: active listening techniques (paraphrasing�what we understand) are expanded toward connecting on a spiritual level;�listening prayerfully�with discipline and attentive awareness; and seeking�God through what Elise Boulding calls prophetic listening�listening to�others in such a way that it helps them get in touch with what God is�telling them. �Listening is about the process of relationship, engaging�Truth and finding God.� The 23rd Psalm shows us how God prepares, sustains, and supports us through�the Valley of the Shadow, and leads us to sit down at the table with our�enemies. When we�re disillusioned or impatient with the process, faith in�God�s commitment to us inspires us to Hope. Lederach says, �I confess that�in the journey toward reconciliation, disillusionment is the greatest�challenge I face�Disillusionment will either lead us toward despair or into�a tenaciously rooted hope.�� Lederach closes with a plea for us to keep hoping and dreaming. When looking�at the present and especially the future, it is important to have a dual�vision�that of the realist who sees what is and how it may further develop�and the dreamer who changes the future to realize the dream through faith�(Heb. 11). �It takes courage and tenacity to dream in times like these. We�are faced with a world of broken people, a world of violence and war,�inequality and injustice, a world of famine and poverty. We are not blocked�or restrained by a lack of resources for responding to these problems. We�are shackled by a lack of imagination and dreaming that things can be�otherwise, by a lack of commitment to live by those dreams with the�conviction that they are possible�May God grant us the innocence to dream�and the wisdom, courage and sustenance to take up the journey.�� TOP
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