Last week our summer student staff met with the summer
orientation staff for one of our regular professional development sessions. The
topic was the Reformed Identity of Calvin College, which was established from
the beginning as “messy.” One of the foci of our conversation was the question
of our agency in the process of redemption, something about which Calvin’s
vision statement makes some claim when it says that “Through our learning, we
seek to be agents of renewal in the
academy, church and society.”
This got me thinking about what it is that we hope for
students who go out into the communities of this city/country/world to do
service-learning. To what degree are these people agents for God’s redemption
in a broken world in the short time they spend serving there? In the four years
I’ve worked professionally in the Service-Learning Center, this question has
been a compelling one that I come back to perennially. One of the keys here, I
think, is the phrase “Through our learning…” which qualifies our claim of
agency.
So, what does this mean for students who might spend an
afternoon stocking a food pantry for StreetFest? Or a week encountering the
complexity of coal mining’s impact on Appalachian communities? Or a semester
tutoring an English language learner at an urban elementary school? Or many
hours interviewing community members for an ethnographic study in Peru?
My hope is that at the conclusion of each student’s
experience, they might view their situation through a lens of shalom. Imagine what
this place would look like in the fullness of God’s kingdom. Each person
encountered would be living an abundant life, expressing their unique
giftedness as an image-bearer of God. Relationships would be restored in such a
way that each interaction contributes to the other’s flourishing. The flora,
fauna, and built environment would all declare the glory of God. True shalom
will be even greater than we could possibly hope or imagine.
But our communities are far from this vision of shalom. They
are broken, fallen. Comparing our actual experience to the kingdom can help illuminate
further questions: Has my service done anything to alleviate the brokenness
here? How are people and organizations working towards renewal? How does the
sin that affects all of my daily actions (and inactions) contribute to the
brokenness I’ve seen? What is my agency in the fallenness of our world?
We trust that in spite of overwhelming brokenness in the
world, Jesus Christ has power over sin. Through his resurrection, he will
prevail in the redemption of this world. We may feel powerless, on a tiny boat
about to capsize amidst torrential downpours, hurricane force winds and
monstrous waves. But if we lift our eyes in search of the horizon hidden behind
the storm, we may see a ghostly figure amidst the squall. That person, who with
a word from his lips can command the rain to subside, the wind to cease, and
the waves to still, beckons us to step out of our boat and walk towards him
through the storm.
It is not in our own power to walk on water or to calm the
storm, but with the power of the risen king behind us, we can step towards
shalom.
-Noah
-Noah
