wfn.org | LWF general secretary calls for a culture of peace

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New Year Message: Churches among world's peace bearers  
 
GENEVA, 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 land mines, 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 
 
 
(The LWF is a global communion of 128 member churches in 70 countries
representing 58 million of the world's 61.5 million Lutherans. Its highest
decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven years. Between
Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council which meets annually,
and its Executive Committee. The LWF secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.) 
 
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Lutheran World Information 
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia 
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org 
http://www.lutheranworld.org/