Tena tātou katoa e te iwi mīhana… (Greetings to all the people in mission),

This month’s whakataukī (proverb) is inspired by the night sky: “Kua hua te marama.” (The moon is full).

For Māori the full moon represents the end of a cycle, a completion or full maturity. It signifies resolution. Balance. If you have been following my blog it will come as little surprise that I think in cyclical terms like this.

Rarely does the industrial world take note of the moon, unless it happens to be super or red. Our rhythms of life tend to revolve around the Gregorian calendar, with month-end financial reporting marking the shift from one non-lunar cycle to the next. For me, publishing a monthly missions e-magazine has become a marker. Creating it signifies the end of one month and the beginning of another. Distributing it gives me some sense of resolution, which is more than can be said for many ministries where one issue blends into another with few definitive ends. I don’t know about you but I yearn for resolution, I think the whole of creation does too—it is core to our faith and eschatology.

Over the past couple years I have been exploring the meaning of shalom and its relationship to God’s mission and the Kingdom of God. Every culture has some sort of shalom-yearning. It is often expressed in utopian terms and our Christian faith is no different. Humans instinctively know something is wrong with the world and cultural narratives resonate with similar themes expressing a longing for things to be made right (i.e. righteousness).

Every culture has some sort of shalom-yearning.

Only recently have I been able to tie a lot of shalom-thinking threads together. It happened when it dawned on me afresh that at its core shalom means “no debt”. For the industrial world no debt conjures up thoughts of a paid-off mortgage or a credit card balance within your means to clear each month. For the indigenous world however, no debt is much more personal, more relational. It means there is no obligation you owe to anyone, nor them to you. There is complete freedom and satisfaction in the relationship.

At its core shalom means “no debt”.

I believe thinking about shalom in terms of balancing the relational books actually helps us comprehend the magnitude of the actions Jesus took to repair the broken covenant between God and humanity. We sing about the huge debt we owed God as the result of our allegiance to self and the sin that manifests as a consequence, but how much do we really understand? The wages/fruit/outcome/result of the situation is (complete) death, such was the wound it cut in our relationship with God. Yet God, in Jesus, balanced the books for us, should we choose to avail ourselves of the way out of debt. That ‘way’ is allegiance to Christ, and it is the only way. Choosing to follow that way satisfies both the law/guilt and honour/shame orientations, through forgiveness and acceptance respectively. The debt is paid, the relationship restored, balance re-established… so long as we continue to follow. The cycle is complete yet it continues because the relationship continues and relationships tend to be messy. I am convinced this is what James had in mind when he wrote that the testing of our faith, when endured, produces maturity/completeness/fullness/perfection/a concluded cycle (James 1:2-4).

Can you imagine a world where there is no debt, economically or relationally? Where there is no fear of offence and no forgiveness is required? Where relationships are wonderfully mutual and reciprocal and belonging is assured? Where what creativity, skills, ideas and resources you have to offer is valued and complimented by those of others? Where your preferences are satisfied even as you make room for the preferences of others?

Welcome to the Kingdom of God, under the rule of Christ. The Old Testament called this state ‘shalom’, it is a place of peace because there is perfect relational harmony or balance there. There is no want nor envy nor strife, because there is no debt. It is a society marked by what the New Testament calls ‘koinonia’ where the citizens share a deep concern for one another. Love is the guiding ethic, as defined by God who interacts freely once more among the inhabitants of this Kingdom.

This is what we are working towards in mission. We are to be heralds and examples of this Kingdom where people can experience shalom. It is not a utopian fantasy but a covenantal promise. God’s mission is to populate this Kingdom with disciples who understand how its society operates once we enter into it in its fullness.

There will be no need for a sun or a moon in this place (cf. Is 60:19, Rev 21:23) because the cycles have ended, maturity has come, God is there. May you be encouraged as you labour faithfully to this end, to the final full moon as it were, as we journey together, encouraging one another to #stayonmission.

Ma te Atua e manaaki ki a koutou (may you all experience the very best things from God),

Jay