“Present” by Cortney L. Haley for GoTell

Prince of Peace

In this season of Advent/Christmas we regularly sing songs celebrating Jesus as the Prince of Peace. Unfortunately, the reality is that during this season and for the rest of the year most of us don’t follow the strategies that Jesus outlined for peacemaking–not as individuals and certainly not as a nation.

What is the meaning of Jesus as the Prince of Peace? Jesus taught that we love our enemies and do good for those who hate us. According to Matthew, Mark and Luke Jesus did what he taught. Mark’s stories of the Gerasene demoniac, the Syro-Phoenician woman, the deaf and dumb man and the feeding of the 4000 are all stories about Jesus doing good for his enemies. Luke’s story of Jesus’ first sermon in Nazareth is a story about Jesus infuriating his hometown by his identification of Elijah and Elisha’s good deeds for Israel’s enemies as signs of the coming Kingdom of God.

These were stories about Jesus’ good deeds for Gentiles who were associated with nation states that had been Israel’s oppressors in the past. Furthermore, the story of the healing of the centurion’s servant in Luke and Matthew is a story of Jesus doing good for the Roman enemies of Israel in Jesus’ time.

Jesus’ followers acted on Jesus’ teaching. Peter’s establishment of a positive relationship with Cornelius, a Roman centurion (Acts 10-12), was a particularly significant symbolic gesture of reconciliation.  Luke tells the story twice so its importance won’t be missed. The baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch by Phillip is another classic story of the extension of the blessings of the Kingdom of God to foreigners. Paul’s entire ministry was devoted to reconciliation between Gentiles and Jews and making peace where there was constant tension and conflict.

Thus, the portrayal of Jesus as the Prince of Peace is the structural core of the three Synoptic Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Paying attention to these stories during the season of Advent and Christmas invites us to ponder Jesus’ modeling of the ways that would lead to peace.

Cameroon on the Horizon

During the past year, GoTell has been preparing for a biblical storytelling mission to Cameroon in West Africa. The trip is rising over the horizon-less than three months away. We will be in Cameroon fourteen days, leading Institutes and a Festival Gathering in two cities: Ndop and Mutengene.

This mission is an outgrowth of our 2011 Institute in The Gambia which was attended by Rev. George Minang. Pastor Minang returned to Cameroon and has been organizing biblical storytelling events and trainings with great success. We are honored to join his work there and look forward to visiting his country. Our travel dates are Feb. 23-Mar 11. We appreciate your prayers.

For more information about Team Cameroon (the NBS mission team) and biblical storytelling in Cameroon, please visit the Network of Biblical Storytellers Cameroon page as well as our GoTell Cameroon page.