Teachings on Shalom

This week I am teaching on the biblical notion of "shalom" to a group of Medair staff. They work in the following countries: Haiti, Congo, southern Sudan, Madagascar, and Uganda. Some of the most extreme cases of NON-shalom in the world! Quite the humbling process for me to be with them.
       I am encouraged by Dietrich Bonhoeffer's words in the following two quotes:

• There is no way to peace along the way to safety. For peace must be dared. It is the great venture. (Address at Fano)
• The followers of Christ have been called to peace. . . . And they must not only have peace but also make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. In the cause of Christ nothing is to be gained by such methods. . . . His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it on others. They maintain fellowship where others would break it off. They renounce hatred and wrong. In so doing they over-come evil with good, and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate. (The Cost of Discipleship)