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I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them;
for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
– Zechariah 10:6
Occasionally, the term an uneasy peace is used to describe a time when the hostility between individuals or groups does not disappear but is at least dormant for the time being. Though tensions remain significant, a ceasefire is still being honored. It is a mite bit better than battle, but falls far short of concord. In fact, you could argue (no pun intended) that an uneasy peace is no peace at all, and may even qualify as an oxymoron.
Actual reconciliation requires that we move beyond an uneasy peace. The hard work of mercy necessitates that we wade through that uncomfortable space between laying down our arms and risking trust. After the break, post confrontation, in the wake of strife, subsequent to disappointment, when a truce is signed or informally understood, there remains a nagging dose of doubt, an unceasing dread of additional fireworks, and the perturbed wait for fears or hopes to be confirmed. Can the broken places between you be healed? Trust is the glue of relationship, but it begins as grace. Someone has to give the gift of it, risk the investment of it. They say trust is earned, and yes, trust is buoyed by accountability, but trust begins as grace, offered with scant evidence that it is warranted.
Following the exile in Babylon, the Israelites went home to rebuild and begin again. God opens the door to a future with the Lord, without much evidence to show that the entrusted are trustworthy. “I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them; for I am the Lord their God.” God’s faithfulness exposes the superficiality of the uneasy peace. Relationship requires risk and reconciliation demands it. With Christ, God declares we are worth the risk of trust even though we have done nothing to deserve it; in Christ we are strengthened to take the risk of trust with others; and through Christ, knowing Christ is faithful and will not leave us desolate, we can begin to erase the uneasy from our peace.
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