Reflections on Peacebuilding

First and foremost I’d like to say that Kuya Dann Pantoja is a true man of God! Dann and Joji have created an organization that not only understands what it means to be a true Christian in today’s world, they are actively living the kind of life that Christ has envisioned for all of us. In a place where the people have been taken advantage of, marginalized and abused for centuries now, Dann and Joji are a breath of fresh air in a place that so desperately needs the healing life of Christ. The Philippines are the only Christian nation in all of South East Asia, but they are also the single most corrupt nation in the same region. Something clearly is not working for these people. In a place that claims the saving blood of Christ, how can there be so much pain, so much turmoil? The initial thought for many people, including myself at some points in time, would be to say that we really need to get Christ up front and centre for these people. We need to rush to them with a sense of urgency and get these people “Saved.” Bringing people to Christ is, after all, what we are called to do as followers of the Lord, isn't it?

Make no mistake, this is exactly what Dann and Joji are doing and the work that is their lives. During communion with the staff at PBCI this morning, Dann posed a question to us; are we Peace-builders or are we Peace-makers, and is there a difference? To understand the difference this quote from Leslie Newbigin is a great place to start:

"It has become customary to classify views on the relation of Christianity to the world religions as either pluralist, exclusivist, or inclusivist … [My] position is exclusivist in the sense that it affirms the unique truth of the revelation in Jesus Christ, but it is not exclusivist in the sense of denying the possibility of the salvation of the non-Christian. It is inclusivist in the sense that it refuses to limit the saving grace of God to the members of the Christian church, but it rejects the inclusivism which regards the non-Christian religions as vehicles of salvation. It is pluralist in the sense of acknowledging the gracious work of God in the lives of all human beings, but it rejects a pluralism which denies the uniqueness and decisiveness of what God has done in Jesus Christ."

—Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, 182-83

“Making” peace is a very active thing, whereas “Building” peace is an act that involves others. Christ made peace with his life and death. He actively gave his life so that we could have the opportunity to walk in righteousness with him. Christ extends the invitation to us to take up the cross and be willing to die for his cause. This is the active Peace-making that we talked about this morning. Peace-building, however, is what we are able to do out in the world once we have been equipped with a true understanding of what Christ is calling for us to do. We want to build peace with others, but the peace that we want with them should be Christo-centric, meaning that the peace should reflect the peace of Christ, not the peace that we want for people. Dann suggested that we should be like a compass: the needle that guides and directs us is Christ, but the entire circle of humanity--the pencil in the compass--is who we should serve with and for. With this understanding we should not be afraid to embrace all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds. We should be willing to meet people wherever they are and commit to walking beside them as we both journey towards a better understanding of God.

- Keith