Artist Billy Davis recorded a song a few years ago that goes something like this:

“I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony,
I’d like to hold it in my arms and keep it company.
I’d like to see the world for once all standing hand-in-hand,
And hear them echo through the hills for peace throughout the land.”

Well, wouldn’t we all? Is peace and harmony a pipe dream or a purposeful pursuit? Is reconciliation a realistic expectation or a useless fascination? What is this ministry of reconciliation to which God has called us in Christ Jesus, our Lord? I’d like to talk about that for a few moments today.

In the twelfth chapter of Romans, St. Paul peppers would-be Christians with practical advice like: Love one another, Honor one another, Bless one another, Rejoice with those who …