A Spiritual Word: Ubuntu

“I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” –Ephesians 4:1-6

Walking into the Georgia Dome in 2003, the word ubuntu, the theme of the ELCA’s National Youth Gathering, meant very little to me. Throughout the four days of the gathering, presenters, singers and staff attempted to impress on thousands of youth the meaning of the foreign word ubuntu: I am because we are. Inspired by the idea of interconnectedness, many of us imagined being in the land of ubuntu someday. Little did I know that I would have the honor of walking with the people who grow in the land of ubuntu for one year.
The word ubuntu is from the Xhosa language; the Xhosa people live south of the Zulu people in South Africa. On many occasions this year, the Zulu people surprise me when they sing a Zulu song I already know: Siyahamba, Thuma Mina, and Akanamandla. However, the powerful nature of this music is not surprising since the ubuntu philosophy these people live daily comes from the heart.
A rough translation of ubuntu is: the essence of being human; humanity. Culturally, ubuntu means that a person is a person through other people or that people should treat others the way that they want to be treated. In the inspiring book No Future Without Forgiveness, Desmond Tutu explains: “A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed, or treated as if they were less than who they are.” Tutu’s description of ubuntu ties closely with many values in Christianity and other religions.
Yet, ubuntu living cannot stay confined in its country of origin. We all experience ubuntu spirit throughout our lives without putting a name to what we feel. We feel the ubuntu interconnectedness when we serve or are served or when we becomes more important than I. People have taught me about ubuntu throughout my life: from my neighbor tying my shoe when I was little to fellow church members serving a bowl of soup. People show me ubuntu spirit through random acts of kindness.
Yet, many American societal norms stand counter to the ubuntu philosophy. Often in my life in the US, I allowed time to dictate my life, not relationships with people or the Spirit. “I have so much to do today” seems to be a common mantra. Why do we have so much to do? Are we serving God in our busy-ness or in a “get ‘er done” attitude do we loose sight of why we are living and run out of time for God? I believe God gives us enough time to love God and one
another, yet, God may not give us enough time to achieve all that we desire. I need to question whether a desire follows God’s will before acting on it. Throughout my life, I have been a champion of overloading my plate with activities. Now, I realize that by filling my schedule with activities, I ignorantly took away the Holy Spirit’s job: to guide. I allowed the time structure of my activities to guide me. Trapped in my thoughts of what I “needed” to do next, I forgot to consistently pause long enough to connect with and love people I met while moving from one task to the next. The American society value of individual achievement often eclipses the ubuntu value of interconnect-ness.
At the Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian Social Awareness’ (PACSA) farewell part in my honor, staff gave me verbal presents and then cheered me on as I opened my physical gift from them. Among a PACSA hat and mug lay a shirt that had two sets of animal eyes above the words “South Africa” on the front. Then they asked me to give closing words. I shared about how I believe that eyes are the windows to the soul. The shirt would always remind me of how people at PACSA paused long enough to look me in the eyes when they asked, “How are you?” and truly cared about my response. Additionally, I explained that, although a month ago I felt unready to go back to the US, I have realized that I cannot keep taking in the ubuntu spirit; I need to share it, too. I feel that American society needs a healthy dose of ubuntu spirit.
Over the last two months, a few ubuntu-related fears of returning to the US have run through my thoughts. I am afraid I will find that the ubuntu spirit is strangled by US’ society’s focus of individual before group. In turn, I worry that I would isolate myself, similar to what I did from February to July 2008 after returning from five months in the Middle East; thereby, losing all living sense of ubuntu, since I would have cut myself off from others. Then, I would loose allowing the Spirit to move me as I have trapped myself. By trying to allow the Spirit to move me, I have never felt more alive than I have over these past two months. I am concerned I will loose myself once I return to the US in the whirlwind of individualism and the primacy of time.
The purpose of sharing my fears is not to separate myself from you before I even return to the US. One, I know that the above are fears and are somewhat unrealistic. Two, I want to be open and honest with you about my experiences, what I have learned and where I perceive I am mentally, emotionally and spiritually. As I said, many of you taught me about the spirit of ubuntu. Many of your eyes and smiles come to my mind when I think about connecting with people. I know that the ubuntu spirit lives in communities in the US, in places known and unknown to me, where I, perhaps, could not identify before this year. Additionally, the ubuntu spirit did not always live in every South African. We all fall on a continuum of living by the ubuntu spirit; we are each saint and sinner. If I believe in the Holy Spirit moving people in my communities in South Africa, why would I not believe in the Holy Spirit moving people in my communities in the US? I need to remember that I do not need to do anything; that if I try to force something, I will probably make the situation worse. I need to
trust that the Holy Spirit is the power that moves God’s people. Furthermore, I am just beginning to learn how to walk in the ubuntu way – as demonstrated by my fears that the ubuntu spirit will not live in the US. I want to grow in ubuntu-ness with you. I certainly cannot grow without you. I hope that by sharing these fears with you, you will catch me if I start to fall into living by these fears. These fears are not based in the Spirit. I should fear nothing if I have faith in God.
Although the word ubuntu may be foreign, the idea of ubuntu, which may be identified with unity, should be familiar with Christians. Unity is a central theme in Ephesians. When Paul calls for unity, he does not call for humans to create their own source of unity. He states that the source of our unity already exists; we live in unity as one body through one Spirit. This unity is for all. Paul mentions characteristics that will help us to maintain unity: humility, gentleness, patience and love - characteristics to maintain even when we feel we do not have enough time to do so. Paul makes unity sound so natural, as the one God is “through all and in all”. However, in today’s world, we need to encourage and challenge one another to love towards one purpose, for our own good as individuals and as one family.
Unity is not a secret of Christians. Unity is a theme of Hinduism and Buddhism, among others. Furthermore, unity is not exclusive to religion. Ask the Ethiopian farmer who cannot provide health care and clean water for his family based on the miserable wages he receives for his coffee beans sold around the world if he is connected to
people he cannot see, as seen in the documentary “Black Gold”, and I think you would know his answer. Recently, we have learned how economic markets connect us. Climate change, food and acts of hatred know no geographical boundaries. Do you know the people who stitched your clothes, picked your bananas or assembled your electronics? We are undeniably connected with others around the globe, yet we are only unified when we understand one another as fellow human beings deserving of respect and love in the true ubuntu spirit.
So often, the media and experts tell us how we are different: race, age, sex, sexual orientation, economic wealth, education, religion, class and on and on. However, when it comes down to looking people in the eyes in greeting, none of these differences truly matter. What truly matters is that we are humans – we deserve respect; we need food, shelter and water; we want to love and be loved. The factors that keep us living and the essence of why we live are the same. Differences exist and are worth acknowledging, for we each have something unique to contribute. However, dwelling in these differences separates us from the humanity in one another and from the unity of the Spirit, our life source. Let us continually acknowledge the importance of and live by the ubuntu spirit.

Uniting Spirit, guide us to defy the ways of the world so we may truly live in unity. Amen.