Virtue: Shalom

Resolution: I choose to pursue the flourishing of myself, my community, and the world.

Human Story: Sallie McFague (1933 – 2019)

When thinking about people who have exemplified living a life of shalom, Sallie McFague may not be the first to come to mind as her life’s work has been directed toward writing for and teaching in the academic field of theological ethics. But like so many other authors and teachers, her influence reaches far beyond the recognition of her name as her readers and students have embraced her ideas and continue to share and live them. 

McFague was one of the first to draw Christian attention to the wellbeing of the earth’s ecosystem as a part of God’s desired shalom for the world. Her argument pulls upon the significance of Jesus Christ (the divine incarnate) living in the material world, bridging the gap between a love for God and a love for all that was created by God. She writes, “There is only one world, a world that God loves. Since God loves it, we not only can but should. In fact, loving the world (not God alone), or rather, loving God through the world, is the Christian way” (Life Abundant, 2001, 13). Loving this world by taking care of the environment as well as seeking to improve the lives of other people is a natural outcome of faith in a loving God. For McFague, the Christian faith is one that seeks the wellbeing of others, as God has from the beginning of creation; and thus, in the face of suffering (both environmental and human), the Christian faith is an act of advocacy, which is an act of love unhindered, empowering, and healing. As God’s agents, the church is designed to be a movement of active shalom-makers, those who seek to restore human dignity and the integrity of creation by pursuing the flourishing and wholeness of life for the sake of the whole world. Thus, shalom becomes reality only in how God’s people are even now displaying it.

Lesson: Isaiah 11:6-9 (ESV)

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

“We are paradise-haunted creatures who yearn for the kingdom of God,” McFague says (Theology That Matters, 2006, 212). This is certainly what Isaiah 11:6-9 is saying with this picture of the predator and the prey, the strong and weak, the dangerous and the unassuming living together in peace, harmony, safety, and mutual wellbeing. The knowledge of the LORD leads away from hurt and destruction and makes way for shalom, redefining what it means to flourish.

For one, this passage shows that the knowledge of the LORD removes the vicious cycle of feeling the need to become the oppressor by fighting, killing, or destroying the lives of others in order to protect oneself, one’s family, and one’s own lifestyle. Indeed, there is a freedom in the LORD that gives security without the need to build barricades of self-defense. This freedom allows one to open up and see the needs of others as being just as important as one’s own needs, as this security is rooted in love (in God) rather than in fear.

For another, the knowledge of the LORD heals the breach between the oppressor and the victim, not casting one or the other away or restricting one’s ability to live over the other’s, but allowing both to coexist in harmony. Here the wolf dwells with the lamb, the lion eats straw like an ox, and the child is safe among them. The oppressor no longer needs to live oppressively, the victim no longer needs to live victimized – the past continuously finds healing and restoration in the present.

Lastly, this passage shows that a critical component to shalom and life within the knowledge of the LORD is self-control (a fruit of the Spirit, no less!). Shalom can only come to us if those with power live with restraint and gentleness, not only in regard to harming others physically, but also in terms of not taking more than we need from others or from the earth. We are capable of fostering paradise and bringing the knowledge of the LORD (the kingdom of God) to the world when we practice self-control, such that, rather than living out of selfish gain, we live in selfless giving; rather than hurting, we heal; rather than destroying or laying waste, we create, grow, cultivate, build, and empower.

Remembrance

A Hymn by Frances R. Havergal
Listen: Instrumental Version or Contemporary Version

Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to thee
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of your love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only for my King;
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as you shall choose. 

Take my will, and make it thine
It shall be no longer mine;
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for thee.

Challenge

How can you promote paradise now? Is it through relationships with other people? Are there specific people or communities that have been left out, oppressed, or neglected with whom you could intentionally share God’s shalom? Since the wellbeing of all life depends on the earth’s wellbeing, what is one change you can implement to make the earth a healthier place? (recycling, using reusable containers, treating your property with care to increase its longevity, plant trees, food, vegetables, etc.)

Reflection

In what place or circumstance do you most find yourself in a feeling of shalom – flourishing, peace with God, others, self, and creation? What can you do to help others find a similar state of shalom?

Further Growth:

2021: Book of Common Prayer Proper 19

Old Testament: Isaiah 50:4-9
Psalm: Psalm 116-1-16
New Testament: James 2:1-18
Gospel: Mark 9:14-29

2020: Book of Common Prayer Proper 19

Old Testament: Ecclesiasticus 27:30-28:7 *
Psalm: Psalm 103
New Testament: Romans 14:5-12
Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35

* apocryphal text