Fm - Session 6

calling

Building a People of Shalom The World As It Should Be

Session 6

worship and prayer

10 minutes

• Sing 2-3 Worship Songs (Project songs on PowerPoint.) • Pray out loud for the course and for God to reveal himself through it and have each student pray for his or her neighbor at the same time that God may reveal himself and his purposes in a deeper way, give vision and renewed passion for his work on earth to be done.

review of previous session Ask students to summarize the most important points of the last session. xx minutes

group activity: homework review

xx minutes

We left off last week saying that we can’t really make a lasting difference in our church, in our ministry, in our business, in our family or in any human relationship, unless we are able to get two things clear: 1. a clearly articulated vision of what human society was meant by God to be and… 2. a realistic appraisal of what human society actually is. We’ve got to understand the “world as it should be”; what God’s intentions for it are. But we also need to understand the “world as it really is”. e article I gave you to read for homework, Understanding Society’s Systems - e “World as it Should Be” versus the “World as it Is”, hopefully was helpful to get a better understanding of how a society works. What were your reactions to the article? What made sense? What was difficult to understand? Allow participants time to respond. Where necessary, give a very brief recap, clarify and explain the key concepts of the article again. At the end of the article you were asked to do an exercise that would help you analyze your church. Let’s see what you came up with. (Project the questions from the article on PowerPoint and facilitate responses from participants to these questions).

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What are your church’s or organization’s principal articulated values and beliefs? What are its actual unarticulated values and beliefs? Do the two coincide? If not, in what ways do they differ? Why? (To better answer this question, look at the weekly schedule of your church. Where is the most time spent? What does this say about the articulated/ unarticulated values of your church?) In what ways are those values and beliefs carried out? What structures has your church or organization established to institutionalize the values in order to make sure that they are actually carried out? Who are the individuals within your church or organization that are committed to these established structures and have been put in place to live out and implement these values and beliefs in the life of your church or organization?1 Do the religious, political and economic systems of your church or organization and each of the three systems’ values, structures and individuals contribute to the establishment of Shalom within your church/organization, within your community, within your nation and within your world? How? How not?

lecture: introduction to deuteronomy Let’s return to the biblical story again.   xx minutes

Show the video clip: e Covenant with God. After having received God’s precepts, during the next 40 years in the wilderness, God took this ragtag, rebellious band of former slaves and began building them into a nation that would live according to principles he set forth in creation. Just before they crossed over the Jordan River to enter Canaan, on the plains of Moab, the narrative tells us, that Moses gathered people together one last time to admonish them and share with them God’s vision for their society. He reminded Israel that he had dreamed a great dream about a new nation, a kingdom lived under God. He told them that now they were about to go into a new land to possess it. It would be a land of pagans who would not accept or even appreciate their way of life. at the new land would be filled with cities of great wealth, which they would appreciate; but also that wealth would erode their way of life. at the new land would bring them much prosperity so that they would even think they themselves were responsible for their progress rather than perceiving all as a gift from God; that power would

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undermine their dependence on God. is is what they would face in the new land – people that would oppose, wealth that would erode, and power that would undermine their way of life.2 So – in light of this all – Moses exhorted them to heed God’s words and ordinances. He claimed that the law was given to God’s redeemed people Israel so that they could become a very distinctive type of society in their historical and cultural context. at they should become such a society was not an end in itself. Israel was brought into being for the sake of the nations as well as for the glory of God. Israel was meant to provide a ‘normative framework’ for other nations and their way of life was meant to provide a specific model of how any society should function under God.3 Moses’ entire vision for the way Israel should live under God is recorded in the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is one of the most important books in the Hebrew Bible, indeed. Unfortunately many preachers often don’t know what to do with it. e Biblical story tells us that centuries later the book of Deuteronomy had been lost, but was found again when Josiah rebuilt the temple. When the text was read to him, he tore his clothes in repentance, as he began to understand how far Israel had gone astray from God’s intentions. Deuteronomy, along with the book of Isaiah, was most used by Jesus to call Israel to accountability. And Deuteronomy formed the base for John’s vision of the New Jerusalem.4 Deuteronomy is addressed to the entire nation as we see most clearly in Chapter 4:1: “Hear now, o Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.” Deuteronomy presents how the systems of the nation and the city are to function and operate politically, economically, religiously; how the nation is to live; how it is to embody Shalom in its relationships and life together. It lays out the principles and laws that would provide order and structure to the nation. Deuteronomy is a “second reading” or basic restatement of the law. A ‘readers’ digest’ version, pulling together all major implications of God’s will for his nation, but looked at through a system’s lens; that lens is the concept of Shalom. In other words: this is what Shalom means and here’s the design how you are to live as a society.5 e book of Deuteronomy is structured in four parts: 1. Chapters 1-3: Puts all into context (historical narrative) 2. Chapters 4-11: Gives the essential values and framework upon which the Shalom community is to operate → What are you essentially going to believe? 3. Chapters 12-28: Gives the statutes and ordinances to specify how the systems are to operate to guarantee Shalom for the nation 4. Chapters 29-34: Sets the stage for the covenant and for decisions The Integral Mission of the Church



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Joshua then follows on the heels of Deuteronomy and shows how the Deuteronomic vision began to be implemented in the real world.

scripture study: what does a nation under god look like?

xx minutes

Divide students into five groups. If the class is small, divide them into three groups first (to analyze the religious, political and economic systems, and then into two groups to analyze the role of the prophets and the people). Have five poster boards plus yellow post-it notes and markers ready. Each of the poster boards will have its own heading (i.e. the Role of the Religious System etc.) Have participants turn to “Scripture Study: e Shalom Community” and have students read through Bible verses of Group Study and discuss their answers to the questions. Have them write their answers on post-it notes and place them onto the respective poster board. Walk around and listen to groups. Select one student from each group to report their findings (using the poster board) to the entire class. Make sure that the following points are addressed. If necessary, add the following insights after having students report their findings, and ask a few of follow-up questions to draw out the following answers: What is the primary responsibility of the religious system, as God designed it to be? Why should God come first? e foundation for the building of a nation or of a city, is relationship with God, states the Shema, Israel’s mission statement. True religion is not the observance of liturgies, laws, and rituals, but an active, growing relationship with God. Moses called Israel to love God “with all your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your strength.” Commandments were not rules to be obeyed, but conditions of relationship engraved on one’s heart. To follow other gods, therefore, was the cruelest possible thing an Israelite could do – it would strike at the very heart of the human society God wished to create in Palestine.6 e primary task of the nation, then, is to embrace and love God as an entire nation and only then will there be Shalom. Since the systems were there before Israel was, and since they will be there after each Israelite has died, the individual is to personalize this Shalom imperative and pass it on to his/her children by action, example and words. In doing so s/he will contribute to holding the systems accountable. e religious system, therefore, is to be the keeper and communicator of God’s vision, his values and his promises. It is to make people aware of the consequences when these values are not followed. e religious system is not just about imparting knowledge about God in the people. It is to enable the people to be in continually vital relationship with God and each other; to know God personally and corporately.

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What is the primary responsibility of the political system, as God designed it to be? When we read the commandments and regulations in Moses’ speeches in Deuteronomy, we are amazed to discover that they deal mostly with issues of justice. ey deal with such concerns as the redistribution of wealth to the poor, protection of the widow, liberation of the enslaved, limitations on the power of rulers, justice in warfare, safeguarding the welfare of wives and unmarried women in adjudication and cases of homicide, and protection of the divorcee, the orphan, the stranger, the sick, the visitor and the enfeebled.7 Biblically speaking, then, the primary job of the government is not to protect private property and offer security by building strong national defenses. e primary job is to purge evil, establish justice and enable people to live in a structured, ordered, and predictable way. It is to establish a judiciary system (court and para-court system) that is to guarantee justice to all citizens. It is to promote equality of opportunity for its citizens. Because they had received justice from the Lord, they were to extend justice to others.8 Deuteronomy is the first book that presents the office of the king to Israel. In essence, Deuteronomy significantly limits the rights and privileges of the king of Israel so that he is reduced to a vice regent under the true king, Yahweh. In all other nations other than Israel, the king was an absolute monarch, the sole voice of authority in the land. ere was no other authority but his, because he was a total despot. e judiciary was an instrument of the king, adjudicating the laws he himself had set. e bureaucracy existed to implement the decisions of the king. e king was allowed such power by nobles and common people alike because he was seen as the incarnation (in Egypt) or manifestation (in Assyria and Babylon) of that nation’s chief god; he was their god ‘enfleshed’. e king controlled not only the political and religious life of the nation but also its economic system. He operated under the assumption that all the wealth of the land belonged to him. erefore the king was, in his single person, the religious, political and economic systems personified. Israelite kingship, as defined by Deuteronomy was profoundly different. e king was to be a commoner, an ordinary person whom God would select to be monarch. His reign could not be passed on to his heirs. Rather, each new monarch would be chosen from the people. e reward of the Israelite king for wisely ruling his nation was not to accumulate wealth for himself or his family or tribe. He was to live frugally. He was not to have a harem or many wives. He was not to enslave his subjects or sell them into slavery to another king. Finally, he was to keep a copy of the book of the Law before him and have a portion of it read each day to him in order to remind himself of his obligations as a king.9

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What is the primary responsibility of the economic system, as God designed it to be? According to Deuteronomy all Israel has is a gift from God. Israel didn’t pull itself up by its bootstraps! e wealth the nation possesses is a free gift from God, a wealth that God has chosen to invest in them.10 God expects that they will use this wealth they have been given for the benefit of all people. Indeed, Israel owns nothing; the land belongs to God (10:14). Yahweh is King of the people and owner of the land. e nation in general and each Israelite in particular are given temporary trust over some of God’s possessions and it is Yahweh’s will that there be no abject poverty in his land. us, Israel didn’t possess the promised land as its own property. God only gave them temporary custody over it e valleys and hills and rivers and wheat and fig trees, the land’s iron and copper and its great and flourishing cities were all a gift – given to Israel by the land’s owner, God. And those in whom God had invested the land were to be responsible and good stewards of his trust.11 is understanding and view of land found its practical implications in the legislative system of the Jews. Especially the Deuteronomic Code (Deuteronomy 15) and the Holiness Code (Leviticus 17-26) laid down laws, which were aimed at providing for the welfare of the poor and dispossessed. Everybody should have their fair share of private property, declared Leviticus 25, so that through responsible stewardship each family would be able to achieve an economically decent life. So the purpose of the economic system was to eradicate poverty by creating wealth and promoting the stewardship of wealth that God had invested in the nation, so as to enable everyone, particularly the poor, to live decently. Deuteronomy 15 actually states three things about poverty: 1. First, poverty is wrong and should be eliminated from God’s nation: “ere should be no poor among you” (v.4), and here are regulations to make that commitment a reality. 2. Second, since “there will always be poor people in the land” (v. 11), therefore… 3. ird, I command you, “Don’t be tight-fisted! Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.” (v.11) e Hebrew words used for this are infinite absolutes → i.e. underlined exclamations. Everyone in the nation is to work for the eradication of poverty by the way the people and the systems manage their wealth. e elimination of poverty in the nation is to be the primary agenda of both the economic system and of each individual Israelite.12

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What is the primary responsibility/role of the prophet, as God designed him/her to be? • e prophets are to hold people and systems accountable to God’s vision of Shalom and make sure that no political, religious or economic powers become an authority unto themselves, elevating themselves above God’s good and life-giving statutes and laws. • e role of the prophets vis-à-vis the systems is specific. e religious, political, and economic systems are to be held accountable by the prophets. ey are to speak truth to the highest political, religious and economic authorities, as well as to the people. And the truth they are to hold up before these systems is God’s vision of Shalom. ey are to declare, “us sayeth the Lord…” to the political system, calling king and judge to work for justice. e prophets are to declare the Word of God to the religious system and its leaders when they are beginning to serve other gods (like wealth) rather than Yahweh. ey are to declare the judgment of God on the economic system and its leaders when they observe poverty beginning to occur in the land because of an inequitable sharing of wealth. To fulfill this mission, Deuteronomy declares that the prophet is to have direct and personal entrée to the king, the high priest, the nobility and the wealthy. e prophet is not to be persecuted for his words. is is why Israel’s and Judah’s kings, who hated prophets like Jeremiah, Micah, Amos, Elijah and Isaiah, allowed them access to the throne, and it is why the persecution of Jeremiah by the high priest was seen as such a profoundly evil act. If the prophet speaks truth, the systems are to obey him and follow God’s call to them. If the prophet speaks untruth, God (not the king) will deal with the prophet.13 What is the primary responsibility/role of the people, as God designed them to be? • e people are to personalize the national imperative and teach it to the next generation so that other nations would want to imitate Israel and experience the same blessings as a result of following God’s statutes and laws. • e nation is to love God and only then will there be Shalom. e primary task of the nation is to embrace God as an entire nation. Since the systems were there before Israel was, and since they will be there after each Israelite has died, the individual is to personalize this Shalom imperative and pass it on to his/her children by action, example and words. In doing so s/he will contribute to holding the systems accountable • e people are to live out God’s intentions for the larger society. As the religious system is to be in relationship with God, so its is incumbent upon each Israelite to love and obey God. As the political system is to be just, so it is the responsibility of each Israelite to be just in all her

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dealings, not only with every other Israelite but also with every ‘stranger’ or ‘alien’ with whom she comes in contact. As the economic system is to be concerned with the fair distribution of wealth, so each Israelite is to view his wealth as a gift from God that is not meant for him to hoard but to share freely with those most in need.14 • Each Israelite is to teach this way of life to hear children, so that generation after generation Israel can remain faithful to Yahweh and can contribute – each in his generation – to the implementation of God’s intentions for the world.15

plenary study: the ten commandments

xx minutes

As we just saw, God spelled out rules, based on his character of Shalom, which should guide the nation of Israel to establish Shalom in their own lives, their families, their communities and their nation. While God spelled out many good rules that people should live by, the ten commandments are one of the most brilliant guidelines of the minimum conditions on which a society, a people, a nation can live a balanced, just, and fulfilled life.16 Read Deuteronomy 5:6-21 Let’s look at each of the commandments one by one: Why would God ask Israel to have no other gods before him? How does he reveal himself in this first commandment?17 In this very first Commandment, God reveals Himself as a savior from slavery; as one who delivered his people from oppression and wants to lead them into a land flowing with milk and honey. He is a personal and moral being - a God of justice and righteousness. He commands us not to turn to “false gods” which will hurt us. is is not so much because God is somehow hungry for our worship, but because when we turn to “false gods” for direction, we soon lose our freedom and find ourselves under oppressive systems. We have already noted in previous sessions the fact that submission to “false gods” results in poverty of being (relationally, emotionally, materially, spiritually etc.), loss of relationships, and loss of Shalom. A society which does not know the real God of Shalom ultimately loses objective yardsticks for distinguishing between justice and slavery, oppression and development. How is it, that in spite of the immense advance in knowledge and power, so many governments, multi-lateral institutions (such as the IMF), and large corporations in the twentieth century have been able to justify large-scale oppression and exploitation in the name of development or social engineering?18

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Why shouldn’t Israel make an idol or image in replacement of God? What could this commandment have to do with the self-identity of human beings? When we make idols we elevate something from creation, whether wrong rules and beliefs, wrong allegiances and forces, above God, above Shalom. One result is that we become incapable of exercising dominion over creation, even though that’s what we’ve been created for. Second, since God has already made an image of himself – humans – if we replace this image with idols made by hands or imagination or tradition, we debase ourselves. If you have a misconceived perception of who God is, and you base your self-image on that, you will consequently have a distorted self-image, believing you are less than you really are. If, on the other hand, you believe yourself to be God’s creation, beautifully and wonderfully made, and have a truthful understanding of who God is, then this will contribute to a more confident and self-assured existence. e remedy? Learning to challenge your beliefs about God, and therefore yourself and replace them with more accurate and healthy perceptions. A re-education process that challenges people’s wrong beliefs about themselves and invites them to replace those misconceptions with more truthful notions about themselves. At the center of all this is a person’s erroneous view of God. Indeed, when a person takes his or her identity from that which is less than God, then the sense of self becomes distorted. is kind of idolatry, then, lies at the heart of most pathology.19 Why shouldn’t Israel misuse the name of God? What implications does misusing someone’s name have? Was God here just talking about swearing or about more? Not taking the name of the Lord in vain implies a deep commitment to walk in integrity, with a sense of personal responsibility for our thoughts, words and actions, making sure that God’s vision of Shalom be not trampled on. e truth is that we are morally responsible creatures, therefore accountable to the God of Shalom. Indeed, the vision to establish Shalom cannot succeed without a fear of God and reverence for him, born of a sense of human accountability to Him. Once this fear of God and his vision of Shalom is rejected, people often use God’s name in vain, bringing untold suffering and oppression on humankind. e church crusaders in the 12th to 13th century, for instance, thought they were doing God’s will and went to war in God’s name. e result: millions of dead people, religious wars and anger that lingers on up to today. Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda preach something comparable today when they call for Jihad (Holy War) against the infidels, and instrumentalize the name of God to further their purposes. In short, then, when we don’t revere the God of Shalom, but begin using his name to advance our own causes, that’s when we sin against this third commandment. rough this commandment, God reminded Israel that although He saved Israel from slavery and was leading them to prosperity, He was a Holy God, not to be taken for granted or used for their vested interests.20 What was the Sabbath all about? How should the Sabbath contribute to the wellbeing of relationships and the community?

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By keeping the Sabbath you bring your life and work under God. Your work then becomes a ‘call’ instead of daily drudgery. Keeping the Sabbath also allows us to enjoy life. Like God who rested on the seventh day to enjoy his creation, life is not just work; it is also celebration. God wants us to enjoy and celebrate life, our relationships and our friendship with him and with others. An important implication of the Sabbath, then, is to take time away from work for people and family, relatives and community. Most attempts at community development have failed around the world because most communities do not exist as an organized entity. Community, whether in the family or in the neighborhood cannot come into existence without people choosing to put aside work, leisure and private interests on a regular basis to “gather together” and enjoy one another’s presence.21 What do honoring father and mother have to do with Shalom? Could it also mean honoring what they represented? Honoring their way of life – the way of Shalom – they taught their children? If parents are to love and care for powerless, illiterate infants then when children grow up, they should reciprocate respect and care for parents who may by then have become powerless. A society which does not care for parents will soon lose the rationale for caring for children too. God says that if you wish to live long in the promised land, you must honor your father and mother. And we should note that mother is to be respected and obeyed as much as father. is fifth commandment to honor father and mother underlines the importance of family life. In some societies individualism is destroying the family. e promise of Shalom, then, - that you may live long in the land - is dependent on the continuity of right relationships in the family.22 Honoring father and mother, furthermore means, honoring the teachings on Shalom they imparted on their children as we saw in our last session from Deuteronomy 6:4-5; teach your children all these commands. Of course, when parents teach us things that are contrary to Shalom, then this latter part doesn’t apply, since the commandments were spelled out within the context of a covenant between the people and God; a covenant where they committed themselves to fulfill God’s vision of Shalom. What does murder do to the community? Murder undermines trust in a community and leads to insecurity and destroyed relationships. It also debases human dignity and causes people to begin to view human life as worthless. Humans as the potential creators of wealth, this command tells us, are more important than land, cattle, capital, or technology. It is not enough to respect only God and parents. We must respect all of human life. A society, it follows, which cannot put the security and dignity of human life as its top priority cannot hope to rise above poverty in its physical, material, moral, emotional, relational and spiritual manifestations. People grow scared of each other, view each other with great suspicion, fail to invest into the development of their communities because of fear and lack of security, and stop caring whether there are poor people in their midst. Philosophies and practices that imply a low view of human life are to be shunned as evil. erefore the

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sixth Commandment not to commit murder is fundamental for establishing Shalom.23 What does committing adultery do to the family, the community and to trust? Trust is possible only in a society which has a high sexual ethic. A low sexual ethic first results in the breakdown of marriage and family. en eventually, as a means of “protecting” the family, in loss of freedom for women, as they become confined and controlled by jealous husbands.24 Both have far-reaching economic and social consequences,25 since family disintegration upholds the vicious cycle of poverty and increases violence and abuse. Not to mention, the numerous negative effects it has on children of disintegrated families. How many families do you know that have suffered from the consequences of adultery? What does stealing do to the community and the poor in particular? A society which cannot protect the wealth and property of its citizens from thieves or a state which robs its citizens of their wealth through unjust tax structures or corruption, cannot hope to get out of the clutches of poverty. On the other hand, if the citizens steal the taxes which should go to the Government, they impoverish and weaken their society too, since the state lacks money to invest into health, education, infrastructure, economic development etc. erefore, the command ‘ You shall not steal’ is another pillar on which a prosperous, Shalom-filled society stands. e sin of theft breeds poverty.26 What’s more, stealing also undermines security on a community-level, hindering people from entering into trusting relationships with other neighbors, and once again undermining Shalom. What does giving false testimony do to a nation? Personal integrity is crucial to a just social order. Beginning with economics, successful commercial activity is built on trust, which in turn depends on the truthfulness of the people. Where people do not respect their own words, they create conditions of conflict, chaos and suffering. ey build a society on the premise of distrust. e consequences of dishonesty on business and economic life are bad enough, but when false witnesses destroy a judicial system, then a society has to reconcile itself to living in oppression and violence. Principles of justice and civilization then give way to the law of the jungle–‘might is right.’ Eventually the judiciary and the State themselves lose all legitimacy, because the State becomes most corrupt and oppressive in using the judiciary to pervert justice. Stalin and other dictators made a mockery of justice in eliminating millions of their opponents through sham judicial trials, which were among the darkest episodes of the twentieth century.27 On a community-level, dishonesty and false witness divides and disunites people from coming together to address their own issues. What does coveting do to the community and to the poor?

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e tenth Commandment takes the earlier nine Commandments from the external sphere - idolatry, murder, theft, adultery, etc., to the inner attitude. Our faith in God’s goodness and love for us must result in contentment and thankfulness. Our respect for our neighbors and their property must mean that we work for what we want to and need to have, instead of coveting what our neighbors have. I must myself create a house I can be proud of instead of coveting my neighbor’s. I must work at loving my own wife, to have happiness in my home. Not having a covetous disposition means not only contentment, thankfulness and industriousness - to earn what we want - but also an attitude of loving our neighbor and giving of ourselves to others. We have a right to protect our properties, but it does not mean that we should hoard what we have, irrespective of the needs of others around us. Not being covetous means that we respect and care for our neighbor’s rights and needs. is creates the environment of harmony and co-operative action necessary to fulfill our human destiny on earth. A lack of faith in God and a lack of love for our neighbors is the source of covetousness. Its results are lack of contentment, peace and social harmony - virtues that create the climate of a community’s development. at is why covetousness is a destructive sin. ankfulness and worship are the most effective antidotes to coveting.28 Having read and looked at the Ten Commandments… What do you think… Are they life-giving or not? Are God’s rules just restrictions, or are they meant to allow us to live freely, to live well… to live in Shalom? How are they life-giving? How do they contribute to keep a nation under God, experiencing Shalom, caring for all members of society? Allowing everybody to live in dignity? Allow participants time to respond. Indeed, we could compare God’s good rules to the rules of communication. If we want to have a good relationship with someone, we need to follow the rules of communication. I.e. we need to take time to listen, try to understand the other person’s point of view etc. When we don’t, we simply don’t have good communication. It’s similar with God’s good rules. If we follow them, we can live in Shalom. If we don’t we simply won’t.29

group discussion: implications for our churches and nations

xx minutes

When Israel lives as a Shalom community as outlined above, God delights to dwell in their midst, since God’s rule then extends to all aspects of their social order. Furthermore, Israel then becomes what it is called to be, “a light to the Gentiles”, so that God’s salvation may reach “to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6) and so that all may come into the knowledge and experience of his Shalom.

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Facilitate a discussion with students regarding the following questions: • So, having looked at how God wants nations to live like, what are some of the characteristics of a Shalom Community? • What would the self-image of people be like if they lived in such a community? • In what ways would you feel more life, if you lived in such a community compared to the one you live in now? • If the Church were to embrace this vision of Shalom for society, what would it do to the Church (its interior as well as exterior life)?

group exercise: sculpting / dramatizing the shalom community Share with participants the following case study: xx minutes

“Chimalhuacán is similar to any neighborhood in the slums of any major city in the developing World. It is located on the fringes of Mexico City. Depending on traffic it takes 2-2½ hours by public transportation to get to the Zócalo – the city’s center. It is among the top three most marginalized communities in the metropolitan area and so generally isolated, neglected and forgotten by the state government. Chimalhuacán was founded almost 800 years ago, but it only started growing after the 1985 earthquake that hit Mexico City. Since then it has grown from a population of a few ten thousand inhabitants to over one million people. e municipal president has been trying to improve the infrastructure of Chimalhuacán, but many efforts stagnate because of ongoing rampant corruption and mismanagement of funds. About one third of the population live in houses have leaking roofs and dirty floors. ere are not enough school halls for all the children, much less places for recreation. Many young people find a sense of belonging by joining gangs or getting involved in drugs. Many families have disintegrated or are separated, since almost all families have a family member living and working in the United States. ere are almost 600 churches in Chimalhuacán, but many of them are themselves overwhelmed by the needs they confront – and so most concern themselves with providing people with spiritual advice.” Now give students 10 minutes time to come up with a sculpture/dramatization of how the Shalom community could look like in Chimalhuacán, taking into account the three systems plus the prophets and the people. In other words, some would play people representing the religious system, others the political system, others the economic system, others the prophets and others the people. It would be easiest that the groups studying the respective roles in the scripture study above dramatize them as well.

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summary: the shalom community: god’s rescue plan for the nations

xx minutes

God created humankind to live in peace and harmony with him and each other, in essence to reflect his image. However, humankind fell, and so in his battle for this world, he called out of the many nations one insignificant nation, Israel, who would represent what he had intended for all; to make Shalom available to all nations, so that all can worship him. rough his covenant with Israel he wanted to show what his faithfulness was like and what it meant to follow and to be faithful to him. In other words, Israel to be his model nation – to live as he called it to live and disciple nations by example. God intended that Israel would show other nations that life is superior when they follow God’s instructions (Deut. 4:6). As a consequence of Israel’s obedience to God, other nations would be drawn to God’s splendor and glory and to his vision of Shalom. … roughout the Old Testament, it is as if Israel were on a public stage, demonstrating God’s intentions and the consequences of obedience and disobedience. Israel was to be a model nation, a messenger, a priest – pointing other nations to God.30 erefore, Israel was favored by God’s special concern, as well as burdened by its responsibility to live up to the call, in order to be of benefit to others. Interestingly, again, God chooses people to bring salvation to the world. From the perspective of the French theologian Lucien Legrand “God’s call culminates in the formation of a people. It is more than a call to the service of the true God. Its intent is to integrate human beings into the people of this God.” e famous words of Blaise Pascal, a 17th century French mathematician and philosopher, correspond with Legrand's thought: “Not the God of philosophers and scholars, but the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! Not the God of a truth that can be “learned” or reached in isolation, but a God bound to a human family and encountered only within this family. e goal of the mission of Israel is to create a community – to arouse not only a faith, but a shared faith.” e dream of this Shalom community, then, is like a golden thread woven through the entirety of the Biblical narrative. Various biblical writers and leaders call it by different names: the peaceable kingdom, a new heaven and a new earth, the kingdom of God, the New Jerusalem. But in each of these, the same essential vision is being presented of a life together in a God-based society. Read Deuteronomy 30:15-18. Did God force himself, his vision of nationhood and his good rules on Israel? What does this say about who God is? A despot who tries to dictate you how you have to live your life, or a benevolent parent, who

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seeks to guide you to your wellbeing, but will allow you to make your own choices? While God calls Israel to become his people, he leaves them the choice of doing so. He doesn’t force anyone to live according to his will, but invites people to elevate him as LORD of their lives, for their own good. Having read about this God, as revealed in these first books of the Bible – do you believe that he seeks your well-being? Allow participants time to respond. Will he force you? What does coming close to God imply? What does distancing yourself from him imply? No, he won’t force you – but place a choice before you. Either to come close to him or to separate yourself from him. Coming close will imply blessing – experiencing God’s life-giving Shalom. Distancing yourself from him will imply a curse – choosing not to experience God’s Shalom, but destroyed relationships and death instead.

homework assignment and application: community evaluations xx minutes

Assign students to locate and interview two people of their local community each (neighbors, teachers, police, shopkeepers etc.). Students, alone or in pairs, should go to these people and ask: “What specific problems are you currently worried about here in our community?” “What specific problems are you currently trying to solve?” Ask them not to give you names of people but to be specific about the types of problems people are facing. After the interview, students should decide which of the types of broken relationships were described. (Example: a family that is having trouble with rebellious children would be an example of brokenness in the relationship of man with family.)31 Interview a Community Person: • What specific problems are you currently worried about here in our community? • What specific problems are you currently trying to solve? Application Report: Remind students to write their application reports and to be prepared to present their findings (from interviews or newspaper articles) at the next session.32 • Who was interviewed? • What specific problems were identified? • What types of broken relationships were described?

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closing prayer Ask a participant to close in prayer. 5 minutes

total time: xx minutes

personal notes

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endnotes 1

Based in parts on classnotes from course by Robert Linthicum, Building a People of Power 2 Robert Linthicum, City of God, City of Satan, 48 3 Dewi Hughes, God of the Poor, 49 4 Robert Linthicum, Transforming Power, 26 5 Based in parts on classnotes from course by Robert Linthicum, Building a People of Power 6 Robert Linthicum, City of God, City of Satan, 49 7 Robert Linthicum, City of God, City of Satan, 49-50 8 Stephen Charles Mott, Biblical Faith and Social Change, 30 9 Robert Linthicum, Transforming Power, 30-31 10 Robert Linthicum, Transforming Power, 31 11 Robert Linthicum, City of God, City of Satan, 50 12 Robert Linthicum, Transforming Power, 32 13 Robert Linthicum, Transforming Power, 35 14 Robert Linthicum, Transforming Power, 35-36 15 Robert Linthicum, Transforming Power, 36 16 Based in part on Nicky Gumbel, 76 17 If necessary, also refer to the following point: People often feel comfortable thinking that they have kept this rule because they do not worship a pagan god or an idol. But the implication of the command is this: If family, status, work, appearance, money, recreation, entertainment, retirement or anything else is more important to you than God, then you have broken this command. ( John R. Cross, e Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, 130) 18 Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 54-55 19 Merle R. Jordan, Taking on the gods, 23-24 20 Based in part on Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 61 21 Based in part on Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 64 22 Based in part on Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 65-67 23 Based in part on Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 67-68 24 While this may not be the case in some countries of the Western world, it is definitively true in many rural and urban poor communities around the world 25 Based in part on Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 69 26 Based in part on Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 71 27 Based in part on Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 73. 75 28 Based in part on Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 75-76 29 If necessary, refer to this teaching point: Some people say: “If you live by the Bible you are not free to enjoy life.” Now granted, many churches proclaim a prohibitive God that doesn’t allow you to do many things. Unfortunately, these churches often don’t explain why some of the rules may be hurtful to people, or they simply take things out of context. For instance, the Jehovah’s witnesses say that they can’t participate in celebrations because the Bible says so. Well, they just took a couple of verses out of context to create this rule. If they studied the Old Testament they would see that celebrations were very much promoted and that Jesus himself was accused of being a partygoer. So that statement that the Bible takes the fun out of life is not quite right. e Bible does not take away our freedom. In fact, the Bible seeks to give us freedom. Good rules and regulations based in God’s character of Shalom can actually create freedom and increase enjoyment. God did not say “do not murder” in order to ruin our enjoyment of life. He did not say, “Do not commit adultery” because he is a spoilsport. He did not want people to get hurt. He wanted for them to live in Shalom, in good relationships. When people leave their wives or husbands and children to commit adultery, lives get messed up and relationships are destroyed. When people murder, fear and insecurity take hold…undermining Shalom.

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30

Bob Moffit, If Jesus Were Mayor, 57-58 Alternative—if schedule does not allow community interviews: have students look through a local newspaper. ey should list local problems from the newspaper and then decide which of the eight broken relationships the problems represent. 32 Adapted from e Harvest Foundation, Leadership Development Training Program Level 1, ird Printing, 2-5 31

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