Shalom can be described as the web of relationships among humans, according to Woodley. It’s like going back to the Garden of Eden, the epitome of what it will look like when God and the creations are in harmony with each other, there is justice and enjoyment for everyone. This means when we talk about Shalom, it’s not just about peace within ourselves, but it should expand beyond our personal well-being, which should include social and ecological harmony as well. We can see shalom as “God’s dream” for all his creation – “that we live together in harmony, balance, and mutual respect with all living things.” Woodley is not only offering a wild theological idea but a way of life that was intended for us since the beginning of creation, a life grounded in harmony, justice, and peace. For Woodley, if we are proclaiming the gospel in another way than this, then “it is to proclaim something other than the biblical gospel.”
The idea of holistic vision is something that Tizon is also talking about when he defines the gospel as “the good news that through Jesus Christ, God is reconciling all things to himself — people, communities, and creation itself.” When we talk about the gospel, we are not just talking about our individual salvation, but we should also include all of creation and the restoration of our fractured relationship with it. When Tizon talks about “mission”, he explains that our mission should be “participating with God in bringing shalom to a broken world — healing relationships and restoring wholeness where there is division and pain.” and this mission for the reconciliation of the world should be “holistic, encompassing, personal, social, and cosmic dimensions. Anything less is an incomplete gospel.”
Based on Tizon and Woodley’s writings, we can agree that shalom and the gospel are inseparable. The “good news” (gospel) is that we now have the opportunity to be restored to the original state of harmony found in the Garden of Eden, which is God’s original intention for creation. And this restoration is made possible through Christ. Living out the gospel is a journey toward shalom: a life that pursues justice for the oppressed, nurtures community, cares for creation, and lives in harmony with God. Therefore, the realization of shalom is the actualization of the gospel in our lives: a life reconciled with God, with others, and with the earth, God’s creation.
References:
Woodley, Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision (Prophetic Christianity Series PC)
Tizon et al., Whole and Reconciled
