good news of peace and pizza

it is on cold, dark, rainy nights when i am deeply in need and yet find the prospect of venturing out into the abyss for a dine-in experience overwhelming, that i am most ready for the good news that is pizza, and it is at these times that i am most grateful for those who will bring the pizza to me free of charge.

free delivery is awesome.

it’s not that i want my pizza free- i’m happy to pay for it- i just don’t have what it takes on nights like that to go get it myself… i’m more likely to just be hungry and miserable.

that’s why, if we had a family pizza place, i would offer free delivery… because i know what it’s like to need something and yet to be overwhelmed by the things that stand in the way of getting what i need. see, it’s not that people are avoiding the transaction- that exchange where they give of that which they have in exchange for that which they need- it’s that they are more likely to engage in this life-giving transaction if the transaction itself is brought to them.

sure- we could stick to our guns and keep our exclusively dine-in establishment going for the regular dine-in crowd (for both those our regular clientele and those who like to sample a variety of dine-in experiences) OR we could also endeavor to make our pizza available to those who are hungry and are, for reasons of their own, unable to or uninterested in coming to our fine restaurant.

it would all come down to this: what’s the focus of our pizza business-
to provide a dining experience or to get our pizzas into people?
***

Jesus gives us a well modeled example of his answer to this question when he sends his friends out to make a difference in the world in an internship experience of sorts. he acknowledges that there are needs out there... there is work to be done. then he challenges them to go out on purpose, with nothing but a song of peace- of God's shalom to give. he challenges them to build relationships and participate in community by simply engaging in fellowship with those who open their doors to them, and to pursue the realization of this greeting of shalom that they bring to people.
(luke 10.1-9)

a friend of mine (his blog is found HERE) has done some extensive study, leadership, experience and writing on pursuing shalom in cross cultural contexts. he notes in a piece of his writing that

Shalom is a multifaceted word with a complex set of meanings:

Wholeness, health, well-being and belonging - individual, but especially communal or societal VS sickness, fragmentation, broken and divided relationships, greed, hostility, fraud…

Harmony, love, friendship, cooperation - again, between individuals, but most especially in community or societal relations VS competitive, ethnocentric, self-centred, power accumulative and unbalanced economic distributive structures…

Justice, truth (integrity), right (righteousness) -particularly in relation to communities VS the entrapment of much of the world in cul-de-sacs of impoverishment and powerlessness.

Peace, unafraid, safety as characteristics of community relations VS violence, war, rampant crime, and political aggression…

Beauty, order, coherence, radiance, loveliness VS the chaos, disorder, littered, smelly, unsanitary, overcrowded ugliness that characterizes so much of the world's cities, and "developed" countryside.

Wholeheartedness, goodness, Godliness VS environmentally damaging, devious, slothful, non-caring, evil and sinfulness…

in other words. shalom is more than flashing a 'peace sign' or pronouncing a 'God be with you' type greeting. it is loaded with intention. it flies in the face of every consequence of our brokenness, the way the tiniest of lights can gain dominion over the darkest of nights. the original way of things in the garden was shalom. the broken shalom of our world is that problem to which God has been directing all of his greatest energy, creativity, grace, mercy, patience and love since the fall that we read of in genesis 3.

it is God's kingdom come
it is his will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
it is the missio dei.
and it is awesome.

the word 'awesome' was not invented in the valley. it has not always meant the same thing as 'incredible' or 'fabulous' or 'cool' or 'nifty' or 'swell' (depending on how far back we want to go with our little words of exclamation and delight)

the NIV translation of the bible, features this word fairly regularly, in the old testament especially... however, usage of the word awesome is almost always part of a phrase describing God. see, there is no Jewish word for the adjective ‘awesome’... it is part of a two-pronged idea which couples a word describing the greatness or powerfulness of God with deeds, works and wonders. God’s awesomeness is expressed through God's active involvement in things- God's doing, not simply God's being- and we are challenged by Christ to participate in this expressed awesomeness. it's part of why we were created: reflecting God’s image partially means being about what God is about: restored shalom.
(Exodus 34.10; Deut 4.34; 7.21; 10.17, 21)

i found i said the word 'awesome' a lot while watching and reflecting upon an inspiring performance from 'britain's got talent' posted on youtube this past week.in it, unemployed 47 year-old amateur singer susan boyle goes purposefully like a lamb into a pack of wolves with nothing but a song in pursuit of her lifelong dream. in the view of the judges and of the crowd gathered, she's a longshot- you can read it on their faces. (sorry, embedding is disabled by request, so the best i can do is invite you to click HERE)

and then she begins to sing a song of shalom in a way that breaks cynical hearts and reminds us of that which was to be except for life and people's selfish vanity and control getting in the way and creating an environment of disparity. the song is i dreamed a dream from the musical les miserables:

There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft and their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high and life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

now, the life we bring
the song we sing...
do we freely deliver, taking it to the streets?
and is this delivery so richly steeped in God's love and grace that even the most cynical and hardened heart is touched by this beautiful truth that is the good news of peace?

awesome.


note: can you find the pizza in the picture above?