Shalom, the underlying message of the Bible

The greatest tool of human kind in the search for an understanding of life is language. The greatest stumbling block to understanding life is language. Both statements are true. Language allows us human beings to share with one another the ideas that surge through our minds. However, in every verbal sharing of our deepest thoughts and feelings, words are never adequate and confuse the very things we are attempting to clarify.

Modern language philosophers make valiant efforts to find truth through the analysis of language. Very bright people spend their lives analyzing words and their use. At times the search seems promising, but the search is like the peeling of an onion. When all the layers are peeled, the person doing the peeling is left with nothing. What begins with great promise is more likely to lead to despair.

No matter the frustrations with language, we are stuck with words and the quest for meaning through words endures. When we look to the Bible for help in our lives, we are totally dependent on words.

The Bible can be viewed in several different ways and each is word dependent. It can be seen as a religious library. It can be seen as a holy book given by God to human beings with all the right words and without error. It can be seen as miscellaneous writings collected by a particular strain of human beings. The Bible can be read as a series of great arguments among very bright and contentious people. Or it can be seen as a huge pile of words trying to say something, but never finding the clarifying syntax.

The Bible has been and is a driving force in my life. Like an addict, I cannot stop reading it. The reading part of the exercise is easy. The hard part comes when I ask the key question, “What are the writers trying to say?” I have concluded that the Bible writers were obsessed with finding the good, the whole, the joyful life. They used words in their pursuit. They adopted one word to describe that state they envisioned. That word is shalom. I spend a lot of time with that one word as I attempt to understand life.

Today the Hebrew word shalom is commonly translated into English with the word peace. Great damage is done in the translation. Shalom is so much broader, richer and all-encompassing than peace. A dear friend of mine is an Old Testament scholar. In his profession he mastered many of the ancient Near Eastern languages. In a personal conversation, he explained that shalom exists when everything is the way it ought to be. He apologized for the inadequacy of the definition. He concluded, “Shalom is so much more.” Shalom is when things are whole, complete, even perfect.

In everyday language, shalom is used by many as both a greeting and a farewell. When used as a greeting, the message is one of hope and expectation. “I trust that everything is going well for you.” When used as a farewell, the message is a prayer. “I pray that everything in your life is good and even the best.”

The great message contribution of the Bible material is that in life there is such a thing as the way things ought to be. I suspect that every writer of Bible material held that basic conviction. The arguments, the discussions of the Bible are about how to achieve the experience of shalom.

The New Testament has a companion message that is also summed up in a single word. That word is salvation. Shalom and salvation can and should be understood as synonyms. The scandal of the Christian churches is the corruption of the meaning of the word salvation. Rather than a word that begs for a broad participation in life, salvation has come to mean a promise of a place in an ill-defined heaven following death. Shalom, on the other hand, is the offering of the whole and complete life during our tenure here on earth. The root meaning of salvation is wholeness, completeness. Shalom and salvation are conceptual companions.

The Bible is a book of differing opinions. Unfortunately, many have assumed the differing opinions are between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In fact, differing opinions are found within the Old Testament and within the New Testament. The two collections are much more alike than different. The unity of the Old and New Testaments is found in the basic idea that there is such a thing as “the way things ought to be.” Furthermore, the achieving of that ideal is a pursuit in this life. None of us need to wait for a next life to know the truly satisfying life.

Words do make a difference and good word usage can clarify rather than confuse. The wordsmith can never give up on the pursuit.

Two other Bible words are worthy of note. They are both found in abundance in both the Old and New Testament. The first word is love and the second is justice. Both are tools. Neither is a goal. The goal of the Bible tradition is shalom or salvation. Neither shalom or salvation tells us how to get there. Justice and love tells us how to achieve the good life. Jesus verbalized the love part of the formula. Love God. Love neighbor. Love one another. Love your enemy. We need to be reminded that the love path is deeply rooted in the Old Testament.

The parables of Jesus are almost all justice stories. In the calling for justice, he stood in the very best tradition of the Old Testament prophets. The justice message is plain. Justice calls for the needs of everyone to be met.

The Bible material has a lot of warts. It carries the evidence of a lot of arguments. However, the material has a basic message for all. The message is summed up in the words love, justice, salvation and, most of all, shalom.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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