by Shona Reid
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 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 and marked by the torturous history of this nation, I often find myself asking, can anything mend these deep wounds? Can any of this ever by truly reconciled? Can Indigenous and non-Indigenous people achieve reconciliation?
As an Aboriginal woman who strives daily to live in the presence of God, my answer is a resounding ‘yes’. My answer is yes, because in Christ we are all one. We are all in need of salvation and it is in him, and only him, there is true reconciliation.
So as National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June) approaches, I wonder where we are as Christians in these celebrations, in this remembrance, in these commemorations and in this conversation. Isn’t reconciliation our thing? Reconciliation is our heritage, it is our culture and it is our destination.
National Reconciliation Week is a wonderful time to focus our thoughts, our prayers and our 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.
Shona Reid is a member at St Paul’s Lutheran Church Ferryden Park South Australia, a member of SA-NT District Lutheran Community Care Board and of the council for Aboriginal Ministry SA. She also has an extensive background in working in Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation in the South Australian Government public sector.
