Marks of a Church: Reconciliation

As mentioned earlier, the body of Christ lived monastically together while embracing a culturally reversing vision of economics and social structure. The final piece of a distinct ecclesiology becomes a community committed toward reconciliation among one another. Through this attitude the church displays the peaceful nature of the future Kingdom (Isaiah 2). Furthermore, a community rejects the kingdoms of Mammon (power/wealth) and Mars (war) because they realize these kingdoms will break in pieces under the government of God. The new politics in light of the Kingdom practices trusting in the Almighty rather than the nationalistic powers. In their place rests a government that rules with enduring peace and practices forgiveness no matter who is considered their "enemy." Reading this last sentence, one might picture a commune embedded in passivity. Instead, pacifism roots itself in the narrative of redemption; redeeming what constitutes as destructive and bringing forth the worthiness and dignity in a situation or person. Joan Chittister consents by stating that nonviolence finds its foundation on justice, bringing value to another’s life. The church’s mission becomes a faithful improvisation of God’s reconciling nature displayed in the story of the Bible. As a culture, the church, in whatever setting, must be a prophetic voice among other cultures, pleading for a more nonviolent, reconciling style of living.