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“For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God” – Timothy 4:10a
If we are Christians, then we should struggle. If we believe in a higher power, then we should struggle. We struggle against things of this world and for the higher good. As my measuring stick for what we should struggle for, I follow Jesus’ mandate to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus did not qualify neighbors. Jesus does not say love your neighbors who are white, elder, and male. As we share this earth, we should always act in the Spirit of loving our neighbor, including every living being.
In my experience in KwaZulu-Natal, I often feel that respect for a person is based on age and sometimes on gender. With the dozen people I have shared that my dad has washed countless more dishes than me during my lifetime, every person is surprised. In my host family, my host parents never wash dishes, nor my half-host-brother, who sometimes visits. Also, part of my host sisters’ role is to serve food to my host parents. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen my host parents dish up supper for themselves. Older age seems to give one veto power. I struggle with respect being based on age because I grew up in a home where every person’s opinion mattered equally, no matter the person’s age. Of course my parents still had veto power, but they rarely used it and we would almost always agree on the most reasonable and best decision. I believe we should respect all people equally as a fellow child of God.
A few Saturdays ago I attended a seven hour long ELCSA Youth League Executive meeting, almost all in IsiZulu. When a snack came for the group a couple hours into the meeting and was placed on a table in front, I whispered to the person next to me, asking if I could serve everyone. She replied with a laugh that they can serve themselves. Yet, I noticed that only the Dean and ranking male members were enjoying the snack. Finally, I walked to the table and served everyone pastries and juice. I appreciated the break from sitting and I felt helpful. During a break, the male secretary and I were discussing President Zuma’s wives. Then, he offered that I could be his second wife- I was so quick in serving everyone; some women refused to serve men and they were lazy. I replied that I believe that vice-versa is also true-if men refuse to serve women, then they are lazy. His jaw dropped. I continued that our savior got down on his knees and washed his disciples’ feet and told us to do likewise. He said nothing, but looked at me with skeptical amusement. This is the only time that I’ve verbally confronted someone about sexist remarks. I haven’t even discussed the topic with my host mom. Yet, if someone is going to offer me his hand in marriage, he better know what he’s getting himself into. Growing up with three brothers, I never felt that they could do something I couldn’t based on gender. Yet, seeing women as less than men is a problem the world over, including in the US.
Finally, my last major struggle has been about whether I am where God wants me. On a day at Dalton Primary School, when I have made a few copies but mostly sat without a given task, I felt that I was serving little purpose. When I struggled to accomplish tasks based on cultural differences, I questioned if South Africa is truly the place that I am most effective with my gifts.
Yet, the reality of struggle is that struggle will make you stronger if you continue to strive to love. When I return to the US, I will show my parents more respect; I will aim to empower more women; I will live with more patience and empower people who feel purposeless. Even though these struggles have frustrated me, I never would choose that they had not happened. Even at school, the months of frustration have given me a taste of what it feels like to be trapped and powerless within an inefficient system, a lesson I could never learn in a classroom or pay to understand. Furthermore, I know that people at the school truly appreciate my presence. My principal said yesterday that knowing that I’m leaving is like knowing when you are going to die. He wants me to stay forever. Plus, by trying to not come off as the pushy American and setting a schedule when the educators respect me, I feel fulfilled at Dalton Primary School the two days per week I am at the school since January. I visit each class once per week and I am in a classroom three of the five hours per day.
Furthermore, living in South Africa has taught me to keep my perception of my struggles in check. Last week, I was making my mom a birthday card, writing down for each year she has lived an important person, event, accomplishment, destination, characteristic, or hobby in her life. As I was brainstorming a list, a man named John, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, started sharing about how, since he fled the DRC over a year ago, he has no idea where are his nine siblings. He shared, “It’s like I’m coming from nowhere.” I looked down at the paper stating blessings in my mom’s life and felt humbled. He shared many more eye opening information (which you can find on the third page of this newsletter). Keeping perceptions in check of our own struggles is a huge challenge for many Americans. Are we striving to show love in our struggle? Are we in tune with others’ struggles? May we continue to struggle for the glory of God as we grow in loving service.
God, please grant us the courage and compassion to seek to understand the struggles of our neighbors. May our struggles glorify you as we seek to be your hands and feet in this world. Amen.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Mr. Mzila
August 2000 to date has brought more excruciating pain to my family than I imagined I could bear. Through natural death I have lost nine members. That being the case, one has to gracefully accept the harsh reality that befalls humanity from time to time.
At first it was the sister who was a twin with the other. Death struck after long illness that could have given one hope for recovery. In a matter of weeks my mother had to succumb to hypertension that had regulated her life since time immortal. One touchy moment about death is that, quite often, when one is less than three days from it all (through ill-health) one hardly ever communicates so there is no way to know what exactly is on the mind of the-soon-to-die. Further worthy of note in our culture, death is received as needing an unnatural cause. God’s retribution, anger of the ancestors or sheer witchcraft are just some of the “imagined” possibilities or causes.
When my sister, who had just qualified as a teacher, passed on, death had gradually gnawed at her that I could not recognize her on the deathbed breathing her last. Shape, skin and everything about her had completely changed. In fact, the doctor told me that she had died some two days before it actually happened! One death picture I have indelibly stuck on my mind is peace. All the anguish associated with illness suddenly disappears just before death. Just maybe that is proof enough that dying is the passage to somewhere else.
When my all-powerful dad fell in August 2006 the words escaped me for a moment. I had got myself used to attending to his every need. I was still communicating with him despite his failing brainpower. As if I could not stand the reality of death striking at that time, it was my youngest brother who was by his bedside when he breathed his last. His failing life should have alerted me of his final demise but alas it would not be! As I look back on my father’s life, he served as a model of strength and character for me. In all the days of my life I had only once seen my father cry; that was when mother’s corpse was ushered in for a night vigil. The visual imprint remains as vivid as ever, only less painful now.
My two nephews moved on at different times, though it was death after another but each with the weight and gloom of its own. The fact that we have gone through all this in such a short space of time makes us neither wiser nor stronger about what the future still holds. On the contrary though, death gives one inner strength, peace and acceptance. As it is said elsewhere, “death is the necessary end to life”. So, in dealing with it, we have to be graceful as we can be. Incidentally my family graveyard is on the other side of our gate in full view as one moves in and out. We, then, can’t be shedding a tear or two day in and day out.
My conclusion would be that what befell us did and no amount of wishful thinking would make the reality an atom less harsher. Death is a cause for reverence, humbleness, pain, and finally acceptance and celebration. The latter is because of good life thrust upon us however undeserved.
At first it was the sister who was a twin with the other. Death struck after long illness that could have given one hope for recovery. In a matter of weeks my mother had to succumb to hypertension that had regulated her life since time immortal. One touchy moment about death is that, quite often, when one is less than three days from it all (through ill-health) one hardly ever communicates so there is no way to know what exactly is on the mind of the-soon-to-die. Further worthy of note in our culture, death is received as needing an unnatural cause. God’s retribution, anger of the ancestors or sheer witchcraft are just some of the “imagined” possibilities or causes.
When my sister, who had just qualified as a teacher, passed on, death had gradually gnawed at her that I could not recognize her on the deathbed breathing her last. Shape, skin and everything about her had completely changed. In fact, the doctor told me that she had died some two days before it actually happened! One death picture I have indelibly stuck on my mind is peace. All the anguish associated with illness suddenly disappears just before death. Just maybe that is proof enough that dying is the passage to somewhere else.
When my all-powerful dad fell in August 2006 the words escaped me for a moment. I had got myself used to attending to his every need. I was still communicating with him despite his failing brainpower. As if I could not stand the reality of death striking at that time, it was my youngest brother who was by his bedside when he breathed his last. His failing life should have alerted me of his final demise but alas it would not be! As I look back on my father’s life, he served as a model of strength and character for me. In all the days of my life I had only once seen my father cry; that was when mother’s corpse was ushered in for a night vigil. The visual imprint remains as vivid as ever, only less painful now.
My two nephews moved on at different times, though it was death after another but each with the weight and gloom of its own. The fact that we have gone through all this in such a short space of time makes us neither wiser nor stronger about what the future still holds. On the contrary though, death gives one inner strength, peace and acceptance. As it is said elsewhere, “death is the necessary end to life”. So, in dealing with it, we have to be graceful as we can be. Incidentally my family graveyard is on the other side of our gate in full view as one moves in and out. We, then, can’t be shedding a tear or two day in and day out.
My conclusion would be that what befell us did and no amount of wishful thinking would make the reality an atom less harsher. Death is a cause for reverence, humbleness, pain, and finally acceptance and celebration. The latter is because of good life thrust upon us however undeserved.
Struggle: Weight
Over the last sixty years in South Africa, the word struggle often referred to the struggle against the Apartheid government. According to my Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian Social Awareness (PACSA) advisor, only recently people have used the word struggle in other contexts. In the US, it seems that people use the word struggle most often in the context of weight. People also talk about weight in South Africa, but in my communities, they talk about weight in a different way.
On Christmas Eve, the deputy principal of the school at which I volunteer visited my home. He and my host mom go way back. At one point in our conversation, the Deputy Principal commented that he was amazed that I didn’t seem to have lost or gained weight since I arrived. My host mom shot back that I had gained weight. The Deputy Principal didn’t agree and my host mom stated that I had gained a little weight. I said nothing.
In my communities, people associate gaining weight with being well taken care of. Last weekend, one of my guardians in South Africa stated, “I want you three sizes bigger by the time you leave here or people will think we didn’t take care of you.” Friends and family, even if I am not three sizes bigger by the time I go home, I promise that the people in South Africa are taking good care of me.
People in my communities also associate weight with age. When my friend, who is six years older than me, asked a local person who was older, she said to my friend, “You are.” I asked why. She bluntly said, “Because she is fatter.”
People will even give me contrasting opinions about my weight over a couple of days. About a month ago, I was playing outside with the neighbor kids and a neighbor said, “The last time I saw you, you were skinny, and now you’re getting fat.” Two days earlier, a girl guessed I was sixteen years old. I replied that although I am twenty-three years old, people often guess that I am sixteen or seventeen. She replied, “People think you are young because you are so beautiful.”
Even after six months here I am still poor at guessing people’s age. Last week at PACSA, I thought two younger girls were in their mid-twenties, and instead they are nineteen and twenty-two. They thought I was younger than them.
In general, people are not as uptight about their weight here, for better and for worse. For better, people seem more comfortable with their bodies. For worse, when I am on a public taxi (seating sixteen people), I may realize that someone’s arm was on my knee, but know it because the person was squishing me. Perhaps I’ve lost touch with the size of the American people, but I would say many people, especially women, are larger here. May we take care of, but not obsess over, our bodies as we struggle to follow the Spirit.
On Christmas Eve, the deputy principal of the school at which I volunteer visited my home. He and my host mom go way back. At one point in our conversation, the Deputy Principal commented that he was amazed that I didn’t seem to have lost or gained weight since I arrived. My host mom shot back that I had gained weight. The Deputy Principal didn’t agree and my host mom stated that I had gained a little weight. I said nothing.
In my communities, people associate gaining weight with being well taken care of. Last weekend, one of my guardians in South Africa stated, “I want you three sizes bigger by the time you leave here or people will think we didn’t take care of you.” Friends and family, even if I am not three sizes bigger by the time I go home, I promise that the people in South Africa are taking good care of me.
People in my communities also associate weight with age. When my friend, who is six years older than me, asked a local person who was older, she said to my friend, “You are.” I asked why. She bluntly said, “Because she is fatter.”
People will even give me contrasting opinions about my weight over a couple of days. About a month ago, I was playing outside with the neighbor kids and a neighbor said, “The last time I saw you, you were skinny, and now you’re getting fat.” Two days earlier, a girl guessed I was sixteen years old. I replied that although I am twenty-three years old, people often guess that I am sixteen or seventeen. She replied, “People think you are young because you are so beautiful.”
Even after six months here I am still poor at guessing people’s age. Last week at PACSA, I thought two younger girls were in their mid-twenties, and instead they are nineteen and twenty-two. They thought I was younger than them.
In general, people are not as uptight about their weight here, for better and for worse. For better, people seem more comfortable with their bodies. For worse, when I am on a public taxi (seating sixteen people), I may realize that someone’s arm was on my knee, but know it because the person was squishing me. Perhaps I’ve lost touch with the size of the American people, but I would say many people, especially women, are larger here. May we take care of, but not obsess over, our bodies as we struggle to follow the Spirit.
A Few Words in isiZulu: Ngiyabonga and Siyabonga
Ngiyabonga – I thank you
Grammar: When you say thank you for more people than just yourself, you would say “Siyabonga,” meaning, “We thank you.”
Grammar: When you say thank you for more people than just yourself, you would say “Siyabonga,” meaning, “We thank you.”
Feb Snapshots and Sound Bytes
Sound Bytes
“God uses the available person to do his will.”
“It’s not about an individual, it’s about God’s purpose.”
“You will never be successful if you do not have a successor.”
“We should all take turns being servants.”
“You must find a husband here.”
“You cannot leave.” “We love you.”
From John…
“Ï don’t think the situation will be better” in the DRC because the leaders motivation is “to be rich, not to serve people.”
“For them [political leaders], to kill is okay.”
“If you speak your right, the [political leaders’] solution is to cut off your head.”
“Whenever you say your opinion, you are selling yourself, which means that you are risking… and at the end of the day you die.”
“Education is power.”
“Congo is the garden for American people, because they do what they want.”
He thought the solution is to educate people so they know their right, which will give them emancipation from their lack of consciousness. This would change the situation because people would challenge the government for their rights.
Snapshots
1st meeting with Mervyn, my new PACSA advisor
Dropped off my youth group at PACSA
Attended for Umngeni Circuit Youth League Executive Meeting
Started volunteering at PACSA two days per week
Started consistently teaching grades 1-6 weekly
Got World Cup tickets
Watched the Superbowl with five American volunteers
Reached the half-way point of YAGM
Started running in the morning regularly
Started Lenten fast (no junk food or sweets)
Attended the Mpumalanga ELCSA Youth League Revival
Spent four days in Port Elizabeth PE
Memorized the Bible chapters
Sang Siyahamba
President Jacob Zuma gave the State of the Union address
Filled out YAGM and MUD mid-year evaluations
“God uses the available person to do his will.”
“It’s not about an individual, it’s about God’s purpose.”
“You will never be successful if you do not have a successor.”
“We should all take turns being servants.”
“You must find a husband here.”
“You cannot leave.” “We love you.”
From John…
“Ï don’t think the situation will be better” in the DRC because the leaders motivation is “to be rich, not to serve people.”
“For them [political leaders], to kill is okay.”
“If you speak your right, the [political leaders’] solution is to cut off your head.”
“Whenever you say your opinion, you are selling yourself, which means that you are risking… and at the end of the day you die.”
“Education is power.”
“Congo is the garden for American people, because they do what they want.”
He thought the solution is to educate people so they know their right, which will give them emancipation from their lack of consciousness. This would change the situation because people would challenge the government for their rights.
Snapshots
1st meeting with Mervyn, my new PACSA advisor
Dropped off my youth group at PACSA
Attended for Umngeni Circuit Youth League Executive Meeting
Started volunteering at PACSA two days per week
Started consistently teaching grades 1-6 weekly
Got World Cup tickets
Watched the Superbowl with five American volunteers
Reached the half-way point of YAGM
Started running in the morning regularly
Started Lenten fast (no junk food or sweets)
Attended the Mpumalanga ELCSA Youth League Revival
Spent four days in Port Elizabeth PE
Memorized the Bible chapters
Sang Siyahamba
President Jacob Zuma gave the State of the Union address
Filled out YAGM and MUD mid-year evaluations
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Uplifting Compliments
In my third week at working at PACSA, a female co-worker told me that they missed my smile. How sweet! I had only not been at PACSA one business day since seeing her last. It's these surprising compliments that inspire me. She said I needed to leave them with something because I am a nice person. Wow. Isn't it amazing how God's children connect and see the beauty in one another. As I was leaving, she said, "God bless you, Kate!"
A Few Words in isiZulu: Unjani? Ngiyapila
Unjani- How are you?
Ngiyapila- I am well or in good health
Grammar: The above words are for greeting one person and replying about one’s self. However, if you are asking a group of people how they are, you say, “Ninjani?” If you are replying for a group of people, or even regarding your family as well, you would say, “Siyapila.”
Comments: I often greet people first, whether in the US or in South Africa. However, I usually do not ask strangers how they are. Yet, when I ask or a person asks me, the person’s eyes usually light up, presumably because I know enough isiZulu to ask how they are, to show that I care about them.
Ngiyapila- I am well or in good health
Grammar: The above words are for greeting one person and replying about one’s self. However, if you are asking a group of people how they are, you say, “Ninjani?” If you are replying for a group of people, or even regarding your family as well, you would say, “Siyapila.”
Comments: I often greet people first, whether in the US or in South Africa. However, I usually do not ask strangers how they are. Yet, when I ask or a person asks me, the person’s eyes usually light up, presumably because I know enough isiZulu to ask how they are, to show that I care about them.
January Sound Bytes
For a week in late January, I had the opportunity to see God in the faces of Lutheran partners from the US and South Africa. The people shared concerns, passions and interests, but most importantly, they showed one another love. Below, I include quotes from many of these partners. These partners saw God in one another, and they parted ways with a renewed sense of hope in how God moves across all man-made boarders, such as country, race and gender.
From Minnesota Partners during one gathering…
Prompt from Minnesota leader: “Please give your name, where
you are from, and one thing that has surprised, inspired or
amazed you, in a minute or less.”
“Tremendous joy”
“I think the thing that surprised me the most was that church was
three and a half hours long, and I liked it.”
“It’s not until you get here until you realize how much they have to give to us.”
“I’m just touched by the depth of life.”
“You are my brothers and sisters in Christ.”
“It was like I had been with a girlfriend for years.”
“If I ever complain about anything, you have permission to slap me silly.”
“His whole life exudes hope.”
“A deep Christian faith that is second to none.”
150 members at the church, three cars
“They have a very warm feeling, these people.”
“It’s making me a better person.”
“The tremendous potential in this country.”
“People are the same the world over.”
“We’re all God’s children.”
“We’re so caught up in our stuff.”
“We have the stuff, but quite often lack the spirit that it is the people.”
“They talk about the same problems as we do.”
“I really do believe that we’re walking together.”
“I’ve always known that the people around the world that love Christ are our brothers and sisters. But I knew it here [head], but now I know it here [heart].”
Other quotes from the week…
“Be at home.” – SA Partner
“It’s a beautiful thing to see how God works.” – Pastor Jean (US)
“I was so worried that what we would do wouldn’t be good enough for Americans.” – A South African who took us to a lion park, a zoo and out to lunch
“We’re about empowering one another.” – Pastor Jean (US)
“Partnership is about relationships mainly.” – Dean Myaka (SA)
“We are very different, but we have the same …Lord, …waters of baptism, …communion.” – Pastor Harvey (US) to a SA congregation
“I wish you could teach us how to have joy in giving.” – Pastor Harvey (US) to a SA congregation
“We are just co-workers with you. Keep reminding us of that.” – Dean Myaka (SA)
“And in this common Lord, we are all blessed.” – Pastor Harvey (US)
“God bless you for coming to see our place.” – SA partner
“We need to go back home and tell them that we don’t know how to do evangelism and we need to learn from our South African brothers and sisters.” – Pastor Harvey
“Christ is reality and deeds.” – Pastor Harvey
“I think we’ve all become stronger in our faith.” – Pastor Jean (US)
“He calls us all to work together… for the glory of God.” – Pastor Jean (US)
“God brought His people together.” – SA partner
“You chaps have been wonderful.”– SA partner to US reps
“We couldn’t’ve asked to have been treated better than we were.”
– US partner to SA reps
Helping US partners would give SA partners: “The confidence that we are equal… even though we can never be equal.” – SA partner
“You are evangelists. We take care of ourselves.” – US partner
“You are missionaries to us.” – US partner
“The truth is… we have an awful lot of needs.” – US partner
“This is an equal partnership already.” – US partner
From Minnesota Partners during one gathering…
Prompt from Minnesota leader: “Please give your name, where
you are from, and one thing that has surprised, inspired or
amazed you, in a minute or less.”
“Tremendous joy”
“I think the thing that surprised me the most was that church was
three and a half hours long, and I liked it.”
“It’s not until you get here until you realize how much they have to give to us.”
“I’m just touched by the depth of life.”
“You are my brothers and sisters in Christ.”
“It was like I had been with a girlfriend for years.”
“If I ever complain about anything, you have permission to slap me silly.”
“His whole life exudes hope.”
“A deep Christian faith that is second to none.”
150 members at the church, three cars
“They have a very warm feeling, these people.”
“It’s making me a better person.”
“The tremendous potential in this country.”
“People are the same the world over.”
“We’re all God’s children.”
“We’re so caught up in our stuff.”
“We have the stuff, but quite often lack the spirit that it is the people.”
“They talk about the same problems as we do.”
“I really do believe that we’re walking together.”
“I’ve always known that the people around the world that love Christ are our brothers and sisters. But I knew it here [head], but now I know it here [heart].”
Other quotes from the week…
“Be at home.” – SA Partner
“It’s a beautiful thing to see how God works.” – Pastor Jean (US)
“I was so worried that what we would do wouldn’t be good enough for Americans.” – A South African who took us to a lion park, a zoo and out to lunch
“We’re about empowering one another.” – Pastor Jean (US)
“Partnership is about relationships mainly.” – Dean Myaka (SA)
“We are very different, but we have the same …Lord, …waters of baptism, …communion.” – Pastor Harvey (US) to a SA congregation
“I wish you could teach us how to have joy in giving.” – Pastor Harvey (US) to a SA congregation
“We are just co-workers with you. Keep reminding us of that.” – Dean Myaka (SA)
“And in this common Lord, we are all blessed.” – Pastor Harvey (US)
“God bless you for coming to see our place.” – SA partner
“We need to go back home and tell them that we don’t know how to do evangelism and we need to learn from our South African brothers and sisters.” – Pastor Harvey
“Christ is reality and deeds.” – Pastor Harvey
“I think we’ve all become stronger in our faith.” – Pastor Jean (US)
“He calls us all to work together… for the glory of God.” – Pastor Jean (US)
“God brought His people together.” – SA partner
“You chaps have been wonderful.”– SA partner to US reps
“We couldn’t’ve asked to have been treated better than we were.”
– US partner to SA reps
Helping US partners would give SA partners: “The confidence that we are equal… even though we can never be equal.” – SA partner
“You are evangelists. We take care of ourselves.” – US partner
“You are missionaries to us.” – US partner
“The truth is… we have an awful lot of needs.” – US partner
“This is an equal partnership already.” – US partner
January Snapshots
My host sisters and I often went for daily walks; apparently, when
we started going for walks, so did other people in Cool Air
Saw “Invictus” in theaters
Planned and led a youth retreat
Went to Durban for New Years and visited Juma Musjit Mosque,
beaches and the BAT (Bartel Arts Trust) Centre
Attended the first day at Dalton Primary School for 2010, where
the teachers greeted me with hugs
Sang “Siyahamba” walking home with Sunday School children
After spending a wonderful week with the Minnesota partners, I
typed 13,635 words in four days about meetings and experiences
we started going for walks, so did other people in Cool Air
Saw “Invictus” in theaters
Planned and led a youth retreat
Went to Durban for New Years and visited Juma Musjit Mosque,
beaches and the BAT (Bartel Arts Trust) Centre
Attended the first day at Dalton Primary School for 2010, where
the teachers greeted me with hugs
Sang “Siyahamba” walking home with Sunday School children
After spending a wonderful week with the Minnesota partners, I
typed 13,635 words in four days about meetings and experiences
Shine Your Light: A Message to My Youth Group
Based on Matthew 5:1-16
This morning, in a focused rush, I stopped at the shop to buy a few things for the retreat. As I stepped up to the counter, the shopkeeper and his friend started asking questions. As I answered the first few questions, the other tasks I needed to finish before the retreat raced through my head. Yet, then I thought of our scripture reading for today, about being meek and pure in heart, about being the light of the world. The men’s questions continued into topics about justice- reflective of Jesus’ encouragement in the Beatitudes to be peacemakers and to seek righteousness. We discussed affirmative action, poverty, and differences between the US and South Africa- whether the US was better or not. Although I thought I was going to the shop to buy a few things, my more important task was to witness to what it means to be a Christian and to see God in others.
Close your eyes. Imagine looking out onto the large Sea of Galilee. You watch your teacher move away from the crowd and up the small mountain. With the other disciples, you follow your teacher up the hill. Your teacher, Jesus, seems to be a many of mystery, for he always seems to surprise and challenge you with his words. He turns towards you and begins to speak… (I then read Matthew 5:1-13).
In the Beatitudes, Jesus shares the ideal characteristics of a person. With these characteristics, a person will be blessed, also interpreted as satisfied or happy. You will be blessed if you are merciful… pure in heart… peacemakers… persecuted.
Why would we follow these characteristics? Why would we want to be blessed? Jesus is a miracle worker in people’s lives and he is the giver of new life. He not only worked miracles or gave life two thousand years ago, but he also works miracles and gives life today. Jesus Christ sacrificed his life so that we could live. We should walk in his footsteps as a living sacrifice.
“You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14a). When Jesus told his followers that each is a light in this world, he did not distinguish between whether or not each followed the Beatitudes. Each person who follows Jesus is a light in this world.
You are each a light of the world. God has given each of you so many gifts to share, and thereby give glory to God. Please don’t hide your light. Shine for all to see.
“…Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.” – Matthew 5:16
Amen.
This morning, in a focused rush, I stopped at the shop to buy a few things for the retreat. As I stepped up to the counter, the shopkeeper and his friend started asking questions. As I answered the first few questions, the other tasks I needed to finish before the retreat raced through my head. Yet, then I thought of our scripture reading for today, about being meek and pure in heart, about being the light of the world. The men’s questions continued into topics about justice- reflective of Jesus’ encouragement in the Beatitudes to be peacemakers and to seek righteousness. We discussed affirmative action, poverty, and differences between the US and South Africa- whether the US was better or not. Although I thought I was going to the shop to buy a few things, my more important task was to witness to what it means to be a Christian and to see God in others.
Close your eyes. Imagine looking out onto the large Sea of Galilee. You watch your teacher move away from the crowd and up the small mountain. With the other disciples, you follow your teacher up the hill. Your teacher, Jesus, seems to be a many of mystery, for he always seems to surprise and challenge you with his words. He turns towards you and begins to speak… (I then read Matthew 5:1-13).
In the Beatitudes, Jesus shares the ideal characteristics of a person. With these characteristics, a person will be blessed, also interpreted as satisfied or happy. You will be blessed if you are merciful… pure in heart… peacemakers… persecuted.
Why would we follow these characteristics? Why would we want to be blessed? Jesus is a miracle worker in people’s lives and he is the giver of new life. He not only worked miracles or gave life two thousand years ago, but he also works miracles and gives life today. Jesus Christ sacrificed his life so that we could live. We should walk in his footsteps as a living sacrifice.
“You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14a). When Jesus told his followers that each is a light in this world, he did not distinguish between whether or not each followed the Beatitudes. Each person who follows Jesus is a light in this world.
You are each a light of the world. God has given each of you so many gifts to share, and thereby give glory to God. Please don’t hide your light. Shine for all to see.
“…Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.” – Matthew 5:16
Amen.
A Spiritual Word: Hope
“We also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Romans 5:3b-5
A new year screams hope-especially the year 2010 in South Africa when Africa will host the FIFA World Cup for the first time. Furthermore, my two youngest sisters and my young neighbor/cousin/almost brother wanted to do something and intensely focused on the task of contributing to this newsletter as my “South African Friends” (see page 2), reinforcing the theme of hope, as they are the future. When I read the first few verses of Romans 5, this Biblical passage about hope seemed to be speaking about black South Africans.
Imagine that you are persecuted your whole life because of a trait you did not choose and cannot change. You stand in a different line at the post office based on this trait. People that have a society-deemed-better uncontrollable trait ask you to fetch them things because you have a different, uncontrollable trait. You cannot leave your home after certain hours or go in specific areas of town. Black South Africans, the vast majority of South African’s population, lived this reality for decades under apartheid.
As I mentally prepared for living in South Africa, I prepared myself to receive bitterness based on my skin color. In some ways, I thought the bitterness justified shown towards the oppressors by the unjustly oppressed. Yet, since I’ve arrived in South Africa, no one has shown me bitterness. In my small community, people initially stare at me as a celebrity, humbly divert their eyes to the ground or measure me with their eyes, but I never feel demonized. In drastic contrast, people have surprised me over and over with their kind eyes and genuine smiles when I greet them. When I asked Dean Myaka why I received no bitterness or anger, he calmly responded, “It’s not in our nature; you can’t just ill-treat people out of the blue.” His intuitively clear and simple answer left me speechless. If anything is left from the apartheid that I sense in interactions I share with others, it is a sense of doubt about whether we may greet one another as fellow humans, as if others are unworthy of my acknowledgment. How do people come to a point when they question their self-worth? I am in awe of and humbled by my South African brothers and sisters.
Martin Luther King Jr. articulates a rationale for treating oppressing people with love in his collection of sermons called, Strength to Love. In the 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the power of love to overcome racial injustice: “There will be no permanent solution to the race problem until oppressed men develop the capacity to love their enemies. The darkness of racial injustice will be dispelled only by the light of forgiving love” (55). Hope cannot be found in continuing the cycle of injustice, but breaking the cycle with love. Furthermore, he shares that, although centuries of unjust oppression could lead people to feel bitter and act correspondingly with hate, hate is never the answer. Dr. King states that if people act hatefully in retaliation: “…the new order we seek will be little more than a duplicate of the old order. We must in strength and humility meet hate with love” (55). Even after years of suffering, Dr. Kind declares that love is the only solution to hateful actions.
In Romans, Paul writes from a prison cell of how suffering leads to hope. Although people do not often look to add suffering in their lives, I feel the strength of the people all around me in South Africa. Yesterday, I greeted an older woman as I passed her on my way home. She was carrying a very heavy parcel on her head (talk about neck strength), and I asked if she was okay. Instead of giving me some of her burden, she started asking about me: my name, my last name, where I am from, what I am doing in South Africa, etc. In return, I asked where she was going and asked her name: Ivy. I turned to go, and she called after me, “You didn’t ask my last name!” Taken slightly aback-family affiliations are much more important in my community in South Africa than my community in the US- I smiled and asked her last name. After responding with a smile, she called after me something along the lines of: “I wish I could spend lots of time with you so I could learn English.” I called back: “And I could learn isiZulu!” As I walked away, I felt humbled by this woman; Ivy had been oppressed by a system run by white people for the majority of her life. Yet, in our conversation, mostly in English, she told me that she wishes she could learn from me. Talk about character! She demonstrated Paul’s abstract argument. Her skin spoke to her suffering, her heavy parcel and even steps demonstrated her endurance, her conversation proved her character, and her eyes and spirit shone with hope. The people of South Africa ceaselessly teach me about deep, spiritual hope.
At times this year, I have felt a loss of hope. Yet, these are the times when I am depending on my own understanding. Of course I should loose hope in my understanding, for my understanding is limited. Hoping solely based on my own understanding is not a deep, spiritual hope worthy of my efforts. Deep, spiritual hope is based on something larger than myself: God’s power and grace are unlimited. God gave us the ultimate reason to hope when he died on the cross to give us new life. As our creator, God lives in each of us. You will find God, and therefore a reason to hope, in every person’s face. Perhaps people’s faces do not always read love; maybe the faces seem overtaken by hate. Yet, God has still created each of us. Furthermore, when God gave us freewill, he gave us the capacity to choose love over hate. We may choose to show love, thereby sharing God, leading to hope. In love, God reveals hope.
God, Guide us to see blessings of hope every day. Amen.
A new year screams hope-especially the year 2010 in South Africa when Africa will host the FIFA World Cup for the first time. Furthermore, my two youngest sisters and my young neighbor/cousin/almost brother wanted to do something and intensely focused on the task of contributing to this newsletter as my “South African Friends” (see page 2), reinforcing the theme of hope, as they are the future. When I read the first few verses of Romans 5, this Biblical passage about hope seemed to be speaking about black South Africans.
Imagine that you are persecuted your whole life because of a trait you did not choose and cannot change. You stand in a different line at the post office based on this trait. People that have a society-deemed-better uncontrollable trait ask you to fetch them things because you have a different, uncontrollable trait. You cannot leave your home after certain hours or go in specific areas of town. Black South Africans, the vast majority of South African’s population, lived this reality for decades under apartheid.
As I mentally prepared for living in South Africa, I prepared myself to receive bitterness based on my skin color. In some ways, I thought the bitterness justified shown towards the oppressors by the unjustly oppressed. Yet, since I’ve arrived in South Africa, no one has shown me bitterness. In my small community, people initially stare at me as a celebrity, humbly divert their eyes to the ground or measure me with their eyes, but I never feel demonized. In drastic contrast, people have surprised me over and over with their kind eyes and genuine smiles when I greet them. When I asked Dean Myaka why I received no bitterness or anger, he calmly responded, “It’s not in our nature; you can’t just ill-treat people out of the blue.” His intuitively clear and simple answer left me speechless. If anything is left from the apartheid that I sense in interactions I share with others, it is a sense of doubt about whether we may greet one another as fellow humans, as if others are unworthy of my acknowledgment. How do people come to a point when they question their self-worth? I am in awe of and humbled by my South African brothers and sisters.
Martin Luther King Jr. articulates a rationale for treating oppressing people with love in his collection of sermons called, Strength to Love. In the 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the power of love to overcome racial injustice: “There will be no permanent solution to the race problem until oppressed men develop the capacity to love their enemies. The darkness of racial injustice will be dispelled only by the light of forgiving love” (55). Hope cannot be found in continuing the cycle of injustice, but breaking the cycle with love. Furthermore, he shares that, although centuries of unjust oppression could lead people to feel bitter and act correspondingly with hate, hate is never the answer. Dr. King states that if people act hatefully in retaliation: “…the new order we seek will be little more than a duplicate of the old order. We must in strength and humility meet hate with love” (55). Even after years of suffering, Dr. Kind declares that love is the only solution to hateful actions.
In Romans, Paul writes from a prison cell of how suffering leads to hope. Although people do not often look to add suffering in their lives, I feel the strength of the people all around me in South Africa. Yesterday, I greeted an older woman as I passed her on my way home. She was carrying a very heavy parcel on her head (talk about neck strength), and I asked if she was okay. Instead of giving me some of her burden, she started asking about me: my name, my last name, where I am from, what I am doing in South Africa, etc. In return, I asked where she was going and asked her name: Ivy. I turned to go, and she called after me, “You didn’t ask my last name!” Taken slightly aback-family affiliations are much more important in my community in South Africa than my community in the US- I smiled and asked her last name. After responding with a smile, she called after me something along the lines of: “I wish I could spend lots of time with you so I could learn English.” I called back: “And I could learn isiZulu!” As I walked away, I felt humbled by this woman; Ivy had been oppressed by a system run by white people for the majority of her life. Yet, in our conversation, mostly in English, she told me that she wishes she could learn from me. Talk about character! She demonstrated Paul’s abstract argument. Her skin spoke to her suffering, her heavy parcel and even steps demonstrated her endurance, her conversation proved her character, and her eyes and spirit shone with hope. The people of South Africa ceaselessly teach me about deep, spiritual hope.
At times this year, I have felt a loss of hope. Yet, these are the times when I am depending on my own understanding. Of course I should loose hope in my understanding, for my understanding is limited. Hoping solely based on my own understanding is not a deep, spiritual hope worthy of my efforts. Deep, spiritual hope is based on something larger than myself: God’s power and grace are unlimited. God gave us the ultimate reason to hope when he died on the cross to give us new life. As our creator, God lives in each of us. You will find God, and therefore a reason to hope, in every person’s face. Perhaps people’s faces do not always read love; maybe the faces seem overtaken by hate. Yet, God has still created each of us. Furthermore, when God gave us freewill, he gave us the capacity to choose love over hate. We may choose to show love, thereby sharing God, leading to hope. In love, God reveals hope.
God, Guide us to see blessings of hope every day. Amen.
Apartheid Era Joke
Context:
Two of my co-workers were arguing about who can be considered African. A woman who is of Indian heritage stated that she was born in Africa and she is African. A man who is black bases his understanding of African people based on race. Who is African? is a very fascinating question. Anyway, to break the ice, my male co-worker asked if he could tell a joke:
During the Apartheid, a beach was labeled to be a whites only beach (only whites could swim on the beach according to law). An Indian started swimming on the beach. A white person told him, "Can't you read? You can't swim on this beach. It's only for whites." The Indian replied, "You can't tell me I can't swim here. This is the Indian Ocean!"
hahahahaha
Two of my co-workers were arguing about who can be considered African. A woman who is of Indian heritage stated that she was born in Africa and she is African. A man who is black bases his understanding of African people based on race. Who is African? is a very fascinating question. Anyway, to break the ice, my male co-worker asked if he could tell a joke:
During the Apartheid, a beach was labeled to be a whites only beach (only whites could swim on the beach according to law). An Indian started swimming on the beach. A white person told him, "Can't you read? You can't swim on this beach. It's only for whites." The Indian replied, "You can't tell me I can't swim here. This is the Indian Ocean!"
hahahahaha
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