JCD’s on a Geneva Journey: Rumination #3

Today we got to hear the General Secretary of The World Council of Churches** address our meeting. He said lots of good, interesting, and challenging stuff. He got me thinking (aka “ruminating”) right from his opening statement . . .

• “Today the challenge is not merely about knowledge; we need people who will act on what they know.”

Good statement; but I, and probably you've heard or said something like his statement’s general idea before—so what got me ruminating? Simply it was the spirit and context of his speech that gave it traction. He talked to us . . .

• Talked about things we already know (hey, I’m in a room of smart people from around the globe) . . .

• Talked about truths we already believe about God’s call to His church to bring His kingdom of justice and peace into situations 

• Talked about situations in the nations where neither justice nor peace are evidenced . . .

• Talked about people have “a right-to-hope” and Christ’s church has “a responsibility-to-act” . . .

• Talked about this reality; the Triune God who has called us to act with Him through the permanent presence of Jesus’ resurrection—to act on what we know . . .

When he was saying we, we could clearly grasp the spirit and context of the “we” was in the room, and beyond the room; the “we” is Christ’s church.

So what am I chewing-on (aka “ruminating”) . . . 

John, "we already know enough to act; for Jesus’ sake, let’s act  . . . "

**Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit