Christ answers reconciliation question

Shona Reid is a descendent of the Eastern Arrernte people and a member at St Paul’s Ferryden Park in South Australia.

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… while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. …  For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (Romans 5:8–10)

What an amazing passage … God was willing to do whatever it took to reconcile us to him.

As an Aboriginal woman, whose family and community has been influenced by the torturous history of this nation, I often ask myself, can anything mend these deep wounds? Can Indigenous and non-Indigenous people achieve reconciliation?

As an Aboriginal woman who strives daily to live in God’s presence, my answer is a resounding ‘yes’ – because in Christ we are all one. We all need salvation and it is only in him there is true reconciliation.

So during National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June), where are we as Christians in these celebrations, commemorations and conversation? Isn’t reconciliation our thing? Reconciliation is our heritage, our culture and our destination.

National Reconciliation Week is a wonderful time to focus our thoughts, prayers and energy into coming together to join the reconciliation effort. Learning and sharing our stories and our cultures that may have more in common than we realise.

This year’s National Reconciliation Week’s theme is ‘Lets Walk the Talk!’. Maybe this year as you think about how this theme might appeal to you, your life, your congregation and your community, perhaps you can ‘Walk the Talk’ through:

Prayer: Pray for meaningful reconciliation, pray for healing, pray that we all might come into a deep relationship with our reconciling Father.

Learning: Learn about your history of reconciliation, learn about your Indigenous family and community, and learn about yourself in your journey of reconciliation.

Sharing: Share the stories and promises of reconciliation, both with God and with Indigenous peoples.

Challenging: Challenge yourself to pray, to learn and to share. Challenge what you thought you knew about Indigenous peoples. Challenge an injustice. Challenge yourself to embrace your heritage, culture and destination of reconciliation.

My name is Shona. This National Reconciliation week I will be praying, learning, sharing and challenging … please join me.

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