User:RevMichele

Urban Anthropology: Theology and the Practice of Shalom

Shalom. Shalom is the Hebrew derivative for peace. Israel has a commercial encouraging tourism and they define Shalom as welcome, hello and peace. When I was a little girl growing up in Newark New Jersey in the 60’s and especially during civil unrest, they use to have what was termed as Peace officers, which were different from Police officers, their job was to restore peace in the neighborhoods, to act as a connection between the institutions and the people. In a time when the world is at war, and experiencing financial hardships, what do we classify as peace, as Shalom? There is no Shalom on Wall Street, at our financial institutions, in the homes we live in and the jobs we so precariously hold. My sense of Shalom is a state of being, a very good state to be in; where there is a balance of humility, well being, feelings connected with your community and world affairs. Shalom is an action word that cannot come about unless you work at it. You must be vested in community actions groups and your government must be held accountable to foster peaceful resolution between nations. We must lobby concerning social issues that impact upon the welfare of the city, even if it does not affect us directly, that to me is Shalom. Working in a Social Welfare program where a family of four receives a grant of $488 to live on a month is not Shalom. This family unit will do whatever is necessary to feed their family. We as a nation must be concerned with the poor, saying that the poor will always be with us, is simply not enough. Shalom denotes that you are actively present in your neighborhood, yet also connected to world events that seek to destroy peace. We as humankind, should not just be satisfy with the fact, that our home is devoid of violence, we should be working against, child abuse, spousal abuse, family violence in the urban, suburban, rural area, as well as the shanty neighborhoods, in Cape Town South Africa. Violence is emerging in an unprecedented manner in human society. Looking at the world today any sensible person feels disheartened and even horrified to see the kind of violent acts being committed against humankind. Recently the network news gave much coverage to group of teenage girls who had videotaped themselves beating up, a mutual friend, the perpetrators were interviewed, the victim was interviewed and the parents were interviewed, it was the mother of the victim, that sought Shalom, by offering forgiveness and the mandate to take a closer look at what causes violence. It is sad to realize that we live in an era of unprecedented violence in the forms of terrorism, war, crimes, injustice and oppression and exploitation amidst a seemingly outward development of wealth enjoyed by a few. Shalom is a love of life, no matter how non- descript, for everything works in concert with nature and humanity to create an atmosphere of well-being….. Just as the woman with the issue of blood in Luke, who spent all her money for a cure for a disease, it wasn’t until she met with Jesus the Christ, who not only healed her body but made her whole. I believe that was Shalom. A woman once ostracized by her community was once again connected to society, a woman shunned by her church family because of the laws of the day was restored back to her place in society and with her family, and she was made whole. I would even hope this same woman who spent all her money on a cure was now restored back as a meaningful member of society, able to regain, her self emotionally, economically, and creatively back into the seam of society, and that she went on to recreate the wholeness that she now possessed by becoming a different person, eager to create awareness of peace that is available to each and everyone that is Shalom. In conclusion we as a nation, globally and internationally can learn to create Shalom, through an ideological South Africa concept I learned in Cape Town, called Ubuntu. This a communal model that has been practiced by the people of Africa for many centuries, even during the painful season of apartheid. Ubuntu is an African word, which has been described as "too beautiful to translate into English". The essence of Ubuntu is that "a person is a person through other people". It describes humanity as "being-with-others" and prescribes what "being-with-others" should be all about. Ubuntu emphasises sharing, consensus, and togetherness and in essence, we are responsible for the well-being of each other as being a part of the human condition and the human race and until as Rodney King says we can all get along and live life in connection with each other, there can be no Shalom. I am optimistic enough to believe that we can do that and have Shalom and I will continue to pray for Shalom, Salaam, and  Peace.

Shalom