Restoration is a common theme throughout Jewish and Christian Scripture and goes beyond the sinful behaviours of humanity. The idea of restoring or ‘setting things right’ underscores the Jewish tradition of Jubilee: the 49th year where the land is restored to the original owners, debts are cancelled, economic slaves are restored to liberty, and the land is allowed to rest.
‘Setting things right’ sits at the heart of Restorative Practice. Rather than ‘things’, the focus is relationships. That too has its theological foundations within Jewish and Christian Scripture and tradition. Again, it goes beyond the destructive nature of sin to the God’s seemingly reckless love has for communion – for relationship. Whether it is compassion for a childless women resulting in the birth of a child of promise (think Hannah and Elizabeth), or the nameless Samaritan woman alone at the well being restored to her community, or the mourning woman about to bury her son only to have Jesus raise him – each of these, and so many more, bear witness to God’s restorative love.
The ultimate symbol of God’s restorative love is the cross itself. Symbol of terror, of horror and manifest human cruelty becomes the place where earth and heaven are joined. All of the violence and hatred, the tsunami of scapegoating cruelty crash against it and the one who embraced it for all humanity. In the midst of that dark wave, there was restoration, not just for all, but for those around Jesus. To one of those crucified with him he said, “…today you’ll be with me…” Directed to God, Jesus pleads for the torturers and those who condemned him, “Father, forgive them.” Each of these cries demonstrate a restorative heart. In particular it is worth noting that Jesus didn’t say, “…I forgive them.” I am left wondering if, the humanity in Jesus that was crumbling under the weight of the dark onslaught wasn’t strong enough to ‘go there yet.’ Also an important part of restorative practice: time and process.
Similarly, throughout the Church’s history, whenever the Church has (and does!) face persecution, similar voices are heard characterised by profound compassion and a desire for restoration and forgiveness regardless of the sheer force of the will to annihilate them. It is innate in a cruciform Gospel way of living. The Spirit-driven desire for connection and restoration of relationships. The writer of 2 Corinthians (5:18) expressed it as reconciliation or, alternatively, restoration.
The experience of being in Church is complex – as are all relationship contexts. At times there are alignments within communities that bring about deep flourishing. Other times, conflict from the past is reborn constantly in emerging generations leading to increased trauma and abuse. Yet other experiences are acute abusive reactions to one or more personalities leading to breakdowns in community relationships. Regardless of the duration of conflict the result is similar: breakdown in relationships, trauma and the parting of ways. Far too often, Church communities simply exist in the miasma of unresolved trauma where it perpetuates. What a profound sadness!
While no one approach is a magic bullet, Restorative Practice approaches, used for decades now, demonstrate measurable outcomes. It is more a process, driven by certain principles that makes it successful. At the heart of the process is story-telling: developing a collective story where each person involved contextually shares their part of the story to create a rich shared narrative. Christians are nothing if not a narrative people. We engage with story each and every time we meet for worship and whenever we go to Scripture.
The story becomes the bedrock for healing and ‘setting relationships right’. Story moves the people from individual experiences to shared experiences; from individual guilt to shared guilt; from individual responsibility to shared responsibility. This movement empowers those storytellers to move from hurt to solutions. Out of the shared story and the shared embrace of the issues emerges shared commitment to new ways of being. Forgiveness emerges. Restoration emerges.
As I write this, the question burning in my heart is, ‘Why on earth have we not embraced Restorative Practice within our churches before?’ It is a question that will have to go unanswered because it isn’t the right question to ask. Rather, I feel I need to ask, ‘How can we embrace each other using Restorative Practice?’
Above all, it will take time, intentionally gifted to each other, to allow space for honest and courageous storytelling. It will take people whose hearts are calling out for restoration within the Church communities to bravely ‘give it a go’. It will take Church leaders being prophetically vulnerable in enabling open and potentially painful storytelling to happen. It will take believers, who have been deeply wounded in and by parts of the Church, to trust an open process – something that is a big ask (speaking from personal experience!). Yet, underpinning all of these challenges is the fundamental ideal of love – love for all involved. A love that, like God’s reckless desire for communion, longs to see relationships restored so all involved can flourish.
Restorative Practice is not a magic bullet. The magic arises from the hearts, from the living and loving, of human beings engaging intentionally with each other for the very purpose of God – restoration. After all, that is the nature and purpose of the Incarnation.
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A reflection by The Rev’d Dr John Xavier Rolley following Setting Relationships Right training with the Australian Association for Restorative Justice. The Rev’d Dr John Xavier Rolley is parish priest in Goondiwindi.
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