Ministry of Reconciliation and Peace

Judo Poerwowidagdo¹

1. Search towards World Peace

1.1 After World War I, the League of Nations was established with the purpose of bringing the nations of the world to a more peaceful relationship and to prevent another world war from taking place. The League of Nations was unsuccessful in this regard because World War II broke out within less than twenty-five years since the end of World War I, resulting in more destruction. After World War II, the United Nations was formed. The new global organization has been given the mandate to keep peace among the nations and to build world peace. Within the last fifty years of its existence, the UN has been able to keep the world from entering into the Third World War, which could have been catastrophic and could annihilate the whole world. Despite this fact, the UN has not been able to stop many wars among nations. The United Nations has brokered many peaceful solutions, and the UN Peacekeeping forces have been deployed in many countries involved in armed conflicts. Hundreds of UN resolutions have been issued to keep peace in the world. The questions we are confronted with now are: Will the United Nations be able to build and maintain peace among nations of the world in the present century? What is the role of other world bodies? What is the role of the ecumenical movement in peace building? How can the global ecumenical movement contribute to peace building which the world really needs? What is the role of the church and the ecumenical movement in building peace in the Asian region?

1.2  The question for us is: What is the role of the church and the ecumenical movement in Asia as we face situations of violent conflicts in our Asian countries? Analyzing the picture of our situation in Asia in particular and the world in general, we find that the situations of our countries in Asia are closely related to what is going on around the globe. Our Asian situation is and will always be part and parcel of the world situation. They are mutually influencing each other. Conflicts in Asian countries are part of the global conflict, which must be dealt with both globally and locally. The hegemony of the superpower poses a threat to world peace, because whatever is going on in that country has significant political and economic ramifications all over the world. The policy of the United States especially regarding internal security following September 11, 2001 has become the determinant factor in world security. The US attacks on Afghanistan affected the whole world and not only Afghanistan. The (then threat of) attacks by the US against Iraq brought worsening economic situations and political ramifications around the globe. The conflict between the US and other countries in the world will create other grave conditions around the world. We must make all efforts to transform these conflicts and promote reconciliation among communities of different nations, ethnicity, religions, cultures and political or ideological affiliations. People must be able to live in a plural society. Governments and leaders of nations must be able to live in a plural world community. People must be able to appreciate differences which plural community presents. What can we, as churches and as ecumenical movement, contribute to the transformation of our societies? What is the role of the ecumenical movement in transforming conflicts toward building peace in Asia?

1.3  First, we need to look for a better theological understanding of the nature, function and task of the church. We must understand theologically that God has called the church to be in such plural societies, among plural human communities. The Church must develop a new theological understanding which appreciates such plural communities. The new theological understanding we are searching should enable us to be more oriented on the human values. Our theology must be more humanistic because God loves human beings whom God created. This theology must be congruent with our understanding of what is the nature, task and function of the church.

1.4  We should understand that the task of the church is not exclusively defined by the Great Commission to preach the good news to the whole world as described in Matthew 28:19-20: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Neither is it narrowly defined in terms of the call for unity of the church, as Jesus prayed in John 17:21: "...that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." But the task of the church includes being agent of reconciliation, bringing peace to the 'violent' world. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God who has 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 men's sin against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation" (II Cor.5: 18-19). Therefore the task of the church is more than just the missionary call, or the call to visible church unity, and the call to minister to the poor and the marginalized.² We must take seriously the task and function of the church as agent of reconciliation, as peacemakers and peace-builders among the nations of the world beset with violence and conflicts.

2. Conflict Transformation towards Peace-Building in Asia

2.1 We need a new theology which is congruent with our ecclesiology, our understanding of the nature and function of the church. We understand that in the New Testament the church is called ekklesia, from which the word ecclesiology is derived. Ekklesia means "an assembly which has come into existence through a call."³ The church therefore is a community, called into being for a certain purpose or function. It is called to exist not for its own sake, i.e., not for the benefit or salvation of its members only, but in order that "by the power of the Holy Spirit, all are brought into communion with God" (Ephesians 1). The church is called to be a community, a koinonia, so that it becomes a sign, an active sign, to witness to the love of God in Jesus Christ, which is given to all God's creation, and to witness to the reign of God over all of God's creation. Hence the church is called to function as a koinonia, in order to become marturia. There cannot be koinonia without marturia. Koinonia and marturia are inseparable functions of the church. Therefore, the task and function of the church is to become a witness in the larger community in the world.⁴

2.2 The task of the church cannot only be defined in terms of its call to mission, to bring the "good news" or 'gospel' to the entire world, because the church is also called to be a koinonia, a community to manifest the unity of God in Christ. As a koinonia, the "gathering community," the church has the task to educate members of the congregation. The educational mission of the church is an integral part of the function of the church as koinonia, and therefore it is also an integral part of the mission and service of the church.

2.3  Without marturia, the church ceases to exist. The church as koinonia is also called to be a 'servant of reconciliation with God, promised and provided for the whole creation'. Like Christ himself who 'came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many', the church is called to be a serving community for the sake of the whole of God's creation (cf. Matthew 20: 28, Mark 10:15). In other words, the church (koinonia) must be willing to become witness (marturia), with all the risks, by serving (diakonia) God's reconciliation work with the whole of humanity through Jesus Christ. This means becoming servant of reconciliation for the sake of Jesus Christ. This reconciliation is not only between God and humanity, but by virtue of this reconciliation, the whole of humankind should be reconciled one with another. Therefore, the ministry of reconciliation (ten diakonian tes katallages) is another function of the church. Koinonia, marturia and diakonia are the three inseparable functions of the church. They are the identity and raison d'�tre of the church. The church is a genuine koinonia only if it fulfils the functions of selfless marturia and diakonia. The marturia of the church is genuine when it is done through diakonia within the context of the koinonia. The diakonia is pure when it is served by the koinonia and for the purpose of marturia.⁵

2.4  In its Report,⁶ the Asia Regional Group Meeting of the World Council of Churches held in Colombo on 15-21 July 2001 rightly stated, "Asian societies are fragmented in many ways as ethnic conflict, civil war and communal violence increase day by day. Churches in Asia therefore have the responsibility to define their role supporting peace and reconciliation in society, working to reconcile people who have been in conflict� This often means reconceptualising their role in society and embarking upon new and risky ventures in social engagement as part of their Christian commitment."

2.5 Therefore, the role of the Church in Asia and also the Asian ecumenical movement is to empower and help members of the Church and the communities in which the Church has been called by God, to become agents of reconciliation, and to be peacemakers and peace-builders transforming community conflicts towards peace building in Asia. Churches in Asia should promote sustainable life in the context of plurality while encouraging a culture of peace with justice and overcoming violence. The church needs to continue to raise awareness on issues of peace and reconciliation. This is the challenge that we must seriously take as our own. As a first step, the church, through its educational programs, can teach members of the congregation, especially young children, not only the traditional Bible stories, but also peace education and education about conflict and peace. Peace education should be given to children starting from early childhood until they become mature members of the congregation and the community. Young people also need to be guided and empowered to deal with their own conflicts. The whole membership of the congregation needs to understand the significance of this peace education in their lives.

2.6 The Report makes some proposals⁷ for our serious consideration:

]  Conscious efforts must be taken towards reconciling people, helping especially those in contexts of conflict to come together and see each other as fellow human beings.

] A regional interfaith consultation on the culture of peace bringing together key people directly involved in peacemaking to share their vision, frustrations and triumphs. A few young people could be invited to listen to the narration, which would inspire them to creative involvement in future peace processes.

] Exchanges to allow young people, especially from conflictual contexts, to live together sharing cultures and appreciating each other's ethics and values.

] Case studies on peace and reconciliation and the ecumenical responses should be collected, published, and made available at the grassroots level.

] Strongly oppose initiatives to cut out painful and brutal experiences from history, and instead help generations to be able to confess mistakes of the past and vow to install a culture of peace.

] Initiative to address the attitude of suspicion among church leaders and among people's groups and create an atmosphere of trust.

]A campaign for the culture of peace, joining hands with the program "Decade to Overcome Violence."

2.7  Individual churches, councils of churches and other ecumenical bodies can start programs for empowering people for reconciliation and peace. In some churches in Indonesia and also in the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, Crisis Centers have been established to deal with such critical situations as ethnic and religious conflicts happening in many parts of the country. The Crisis Center of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, for instance, is expected to become a working unit that supports the mission and activities of CCI, especially in the social and political areas. It is expected to deal with crises arising out of community conflicts that are usually multi-dimensional. It is given the responsibility of providing leaders of CCI with accurate analyses of conflict situations in the country and recommendations for action. CCI will then formulate its policy in dealing with fundamental problems and issues confronted by the society and the nation at large. In line with such policy, actions will be taken by the churches in Indonesia to help the nation to get rid of the multi-dimensional crises that have been going on for many years. Through this effort it is hoped that the churches in Indonesia will be able to contribute to and participate in the development of a peaceful and democratic civil society in Indonesia.

2.8  To achieve these goals the Crisis Center has developed the following:

] A data base system on conflicts in Indonesia, and their analyses.

] An "early warning system," which will be able to give signals and or indications about potential community conflict which might happen in the nation.

] Preventive measures system to help prevent a conflict from happening. This can be done not automatically, but through a variety of methods, including local capacity building through training-workshops on "Empowering for Reconciliation." This Empowering for Reconciliation is a training-workshop in conflict resolution and community conflict transformation, which originated from the Conflict Resolution Center of the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

] Teams of facilitators in mediation for reconciliation. The Reconciliation Team or Team of Mediators should be able to quickly respond to any conflict situation, and help the conflicting parties by facilitating dialogues. In order to help victims of communal violence to overcome their trauma, the mediation team should also include teams of post conflict trauma counselors. Post conflict trauma counseling is necessary for the social-psychological rehabilitation of the community.

2.9  Aside from the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (CCI), many churches (synods) in Indonesia have already set up their Crisis Centers. These Centers and the Crisis Center of the CCI work cooperatively as a network of Crisis Centers. Information on any specific conflict is shared using internet thereby making relevant materials quickly available to be shared and for action to be taken appropriately.

Conclusion

The task of the church and the ecumenical movement in conflict transformation towards peace-building in Asia is a task that we must all be seriously concerned about. It is a task that carries both political and social risks. However risky the task is, it is a mandate that the Lord has called us to bear. It is indeed an honorable task. God through Christ Jesus has "committed to us the message of reconciliation" (II Corinthians 5:19). We must be obedient to this mandate. It is God who started the work of reconciliation. We are only called to be instruments and partners for God's reconciling work in this troubled world. We believe that God will also finish and complete God's reconciling work and thus bring peace to this world and the whole of humanity. Only with such firm belief and faith will we be able to sustain our strength in the struggle to build peace on earth.


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