17.01.2000
LWF general secretary calls for a culture of peace
New Year Message: Churches among world’s peace bearersGENEVA, 17 January 2000 (lwi) – Describing the year 2000 as the millennium of Christ, in which individuals and Christian communities are invited to bear one another’s burdens, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Secretary Dr. Ishmael Noko says there is an urgent need to pray earnestly for the flowering of a culture of peace within and among the world’s nations and peoples.
In his New Year message, Noko, basing his reflection on Galatians 6: 2 --“Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” – points out the tragic absence of peace in the world and adds that war and its instruments continue to cause untold human misery.
He reminds churches of their role as peace bearers to the world and encourages them in their ecumenical initiatives, describing each small step they take towards the visible unity of the body of Christ as another step away from a history in which differences among churches have been a contributing element toward war and division.
He looks back at the affirmation by the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification last October as a joyous experience particularly as the new year begins, and expresses the hope that the declaration and the many other ecumenical processes among the Christian churches of the world will be the basis of deeper understanding and closer cooperation among the churches, communities and nations.
On the contribution of inter-faith collaboration to the global culture of peace, Noko points out that misunderstandings between religions have often been used to justify conflict in the world. Accordingly, he underscores that in this and the following years, the inter-religious dialogues and modes of cooperation that have been established should be continued.
Below is the full text of Dr. Noko’s New Year message:
NEW YEAR'S MESSAGE
Dr. Ishmael Noko
General Secretary, Lutheran World Federation
Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2)
Sisters and brothers in Christ,
In this New Year, we celebrate the 2000th anniversary of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is for us the true and fundamental significance of the change of year that has just occurred - a significance which has not been overwhelmed by the rivers of champagne or the storms of fireworks with which the new year was greeted in many parts of the world. The new millennium into which we are stepping draws its whole meaning and significance from the fact that Jesus Christ - Emmanuel - is born among us. It is a millennium of Christ, in which we are invited to bear one another’s burdens.
Christ came to bear the burdens of his suffering people, to reconcile the human race with God, and to bring God’s peace to all creation. As we enter the year 2000, however, the spirit of compassion and the peace of God continue to be tragically lacking in the affairs of the world. In so many places, before the eyes of the world or unobserved, war and the instruments of war continue to cause indescribable human misery. The vulnerable and the innocent, especially children, continue to be the chief victims of the violence. Great strides have been taken in the campaign to eliminate the tragedy of anti-personnel landmines, and the churches have been faithful to their Christian ministry of burden sharing by playing an important role in this campaign. However, small arms proliferate around the world as never before, and whilst less regarded in these post-Cold War times, the menace of nuclear weapons continues to hang over the globe.
In the land of Christ’s birth itself, violence remains inherent in the relations between the nations and peoples claiming that land. In Jerusalem, recent instances of tensions between the major religious communities underline the fragility of the renewed political progress towards peace. Jerusalem’s future must be as a reconciled city of two peoples and three faiths, if there is to be a just peace in the Middle East and in the world.
What of the violence in our own communities, against women in particular? What of the violence inherent in economic relations between the nations? What of the conflicts in our congregations and churches, and the enemy images which we have projected on some of our own sisters and brothers in Christ? How can we ensure further and faster progress on the issues of gender sensitivity and equality, and inclusiveness in our own societies? Why do we sometimes still resist the healing and reconciling power of God’s gift in Christ to bring us into right relationships with each other, as with the Father?
The churches are present in these situations of conflict, sharing the burdens of the victims of violence - sometimes as victims themselves and at other times through expressions of solidarity in prayer, humanitarian assistance and advocacy. The burdens to be shared, however, seem ever to increase. How can we, as individuals and as Christian communities, reduce the load on those most heavily oppressed? How can the many forms and instruments of violence and injustice be countered?
What is most urgently needed and earnestly to be prayed for in this new year, decade and century is the flowering of a culture of peace within and between nations, communities (ethnic and religious) and in the hearts of all people. The peace of God and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit must be looked to as the foundation for a process of such fundamental cultural change, a change which can be discerned as much in the mandate of the United Nations as in the persistent progress in the ecumenical movement.
In their ecumenical initiatives, the churches are among the bearers of peace to the world. Each small step that we take towards visible unity of the body of Christ is another step away from a history in which differences among churches have been a catalyst for war and division. The ecumenical process itself is a process whereby a culture of peace and understanding is fostered and allowed to grow within and among the churches. The Lutheran World Federation enters this new year fresh from the joyous experience of the affirmation with the Roman Catholic Church of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. In this year and in the years to come, the Joint Declaration and the many other ecumenical processes among the Christian churches of the world will be, with the grace of God, platforms for deeper understanding and closer cooperation among the churches, and among the communities and nations of the world.
Equally, the inter-religious dialogues and modes of cooperation which have been established must be continued and strengthened in this and the following years. Misunderstandings between religions and the enemy images that grow from those misunderstandings have too often been the justification for conflict and division in the world. Our individual engagement in efforts to foster better mutual understanding among religions is necessary in order to learn about each other’s burdens and to find ways of sharing them, to ensure clearer witness to the gospel message, and to protect against the so-called ‘clash of cultures’ becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
A culture of peace must also be allowed to take root in the sphere of economic relations, in which violence is often masked by the rubrics of economic liberalization, competition, comparative advantage, and structural adjustment. The human consequences of economic policy, especially at the international level, must no longer be ignored but must be fully and explicitly taken into account in the formulation of those policies. Only then can the enormous potential of commerce for increasing human well-being and supporting human dignity be harnessed. Solidarity and the bonds of love must no longer be a mere afterthought to the dominant ethic of competition and self-interest. The fact that 1.6 billion of the world’s people continue to languish in absolute poverty is a fundamental obstacle to the establishment of a culture of peace, and a direct challenge to the burden-sharing ministry of the churches.
In particular, advantage must be taken of the kairos of the year 2000 to provide a fresh start for the world’s poorest and most heavily indebted countries, to achieve a genuine and sustainable exit from the vicious cycle of debt, and to ensure that cancellation of unsustainable debt directly benefits the poor who suffer its heaviest burden. In resolving the ongoing debt crisis in a just and sustainable way, mechanisms must be found for effective dialogue between civil society and governments on this issue, and for the fair sharing of responsibility between debtors and creditors. Churches and individual Christians have again been in the forefront of this campaign, and their continued commitment to this cause will be necessary if the considerable progress and the vital momentum achieved to date are to be fulfilled.
One of the painful gifts of globalization, in our increasingly ‘wired’ world, is that it reveals to each of us so much of the brokenness of the world. A closer reading of Paul’s letter to the Galatians and his invitation to share each other’s burdens challenges us to rethink the way our broken world is organized. I hope and pray for a 21st century in which men and women of good will, governments, economic institutions, civil society organizations and faith-based communities will continuously seek new and effective bonds of cooperation and solidarity. For the churches, I pray that this century will be one in which small but courageous steps can be taken towards recognition of each other as churches and in which remaining doctrinal and theological differences can be reconciled as we draw from God’s grace through Christ, seeking unity in him.
January 2000
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