Deep solidarity with humanity, creation and God

A few years ago, at the height of the HIV and AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa, I wrote that the Church would need to cultivate a deep sense of solidarity with HIV positive persons if it was to uphold the integrity of its witness and work. 

I wrote,

Schillebeeeckx notes that without true solidarity the “gospel becomes impossible to believe and understand”^[i].  The notion of true solidarity cannot be divorced from contextual solidarity.  Our solidarity is not merely some spiritual concept that has no bearing on our real lives.  So, in relation to HIV/AIDS Haight reminds us, “Jesus cannot be Christ and salvation cannot be real without having some bearing on this situation”^[ii]. 

The Southern African context is not unfamiliar with suffering and solidarity.  Albert Nolan wrote during the height of the atrocities of Apartheid in the 1980’s that solidarity with the suffering will be “the new starting point for modern theology and spirituality in most of the Christian world today”^[iii].  

This weekend I came across the quote below as I was reading some ecological theology on the Sunday aftern Earth Day.

If we are to hope to correct our abuses of each other and of other races and of our land, and if our effort to correct these abuses is to be more than a political fad that will in the long run be only another form of abuse, then we are going to have to go far beyond public protest and political action. We are going to have to rebuild the substance and the integrity of private life in this country. We are going to have to gather up the fragments of knowledge and responsibility that we have parceled out to the bureaus and the corporations and the specialists, and we are going to have to put those fragments back together again in our own minds and in our families and households and neighborhoods. We need better government, no doubt about it. But we also need better minds, better friendships, better marriages, better communities. We need persons and households that do not have to wait upon organizations, but can make necessary changes in themselves, on their own.

- Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace

This challenging quote, on the Sunday after 'earth day' reminds me that we need loving solidarity rather than conquering violence. The way of the prince of peace is love not conquest. Christ rules from a cross as a servant rather than a conquering King. I shared some of these thoughts in my recent VLOG on the Cross of Christ and the language of Empire.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, reflections and ideas - leave me a comment, send me a tweet @digitaldion.

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[i] Schillebeeckx, E Jesus: An experiment in Christology.  Translated by Hoskings, H.  New York:  Vintage books 1981:623.

[ii] Haight, R, Jesus symbol of God. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books (1999:26).

[iii] Nolan, A, God in South Africa. Cape Town:  David Philiip publishers. (1988:43).

Advent, Violence and the Prince of Peace - beating our pistols into plowshares

On the second Sunday of Advent, which focuses on peace - the coming of the Prince of Peace, I am deeply convicted of violence. I am convicted that I live in a world where violence is advocated as a legitimate way of solving problems. I am convicted by the swift violence of wars, gun massacres, racist views and gender abuse. I am convicted of the slow violence of poverty and inequality. I am convicted by the violence of my fear to act, my lack of courage to do what is right and what is required. I pray to be more and more like the Prince of Peace. I pray to live in a security that cannot come from politicians, possessions, or pride. I pray to live from the security of the eschatological certainty of the just reign of God that will establish peace, true peace, inner peace, social peace. It will come. It is inevitable. I pray that when it comes I may have found the courage to live on the side of peace and that my words and actions would reflect those of the Prince of Peace.

I was caused to think about this issue because of an astounding, deeply disturbing, and perplexing comment that the President of Liberty University made at a University gathering in the USA where after last week's gun massacre he encouraged students and faculty to wear concealed weapons to violently oppose 'Muslims' should they attack the campus! This is supposedly a Christian University! I cannot fathom what Gospel Mr Falwell is reading! It is foreign to me.

What astounds me is that children of the Prince of Peace would advocate violence as a way of solving complex social and religious problems. This is not the way of Jesus - this is the way of another master, one who comes to steal, kill and destroy. I am challenged to live as Jesus does - by peaceable love and not by violence. It is a much more courageous choice. It takes much more love, it requires one to be Christlike - even in suffering.

You can watch a video and read a report on Falwell's speech here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/12/05/liberty-university-president-if-more-good-people-had-concealed-guns-we-could-end-those-muslims/

These two quotes inspire me and invite me into a new way of living. They seem to be more in keeping with the Gospel of Christ than the violence advocating statements of Falwell:

“The Christian community is the only community whose social hope is that we need not rule because Christ is Lord.”

- John Howard Yoder, Let The Church Be The Church

“Jesus gave (his followers) a new way of life to live. He gave them a new way to deal with offenders — by forgiving them. He gave them a new way to deal with violence — by suffering. He gave them a new way to deal with money — by sharing it. He gave them a new way to deal with problems of leadership — by drawing upon the gift of every member, even the most humble. He gave them a new way to deal with a corrupt society — by building a new order, not smashing the old. He gave them a new pattern of relationships between man and woman, parent and child, master and slave, in which was made concrete a radical new vision of what it means to be a human person.”

-John Howard Yoder

Let's put down our weapons and beat our pistols into plowshares. Let's give up on our violent ways and live a radically different life - a life of peace that can bring about true peace.

Sad... What do Christians do about Lucky Dube's death?

Please notice I'm not asking how we feel about the sad murder of Lucky Dube... I know how I feel about it.

I am asking what do we do about it?

Megan and I had only been living in Pretoria for about 3 months when we were involved in an attempted hijacking - thankfully we got away with our lives, but it was a traumatic experience for Megan, Courtney (who was asleep on the back seat of the car) and I. We still don't stop at that set of traffic lights at night. Sadly, about a year later, Megan was a victim of a 'smash and grab' incident at the same busy intersection. In broad daylight a man simply walked up to her car window smashed the glass and grabbed her handbag and ran away... So, now that intersection, and many others, have signs that say "hijacking hotspot" and "be aware for your own safety".

We live across the road from 'The Scorpions' headquarters in Pretoria (for those from outside of South Africa, the Scorpions are South Africa's version of the FBI, their real name is the NPA (National Prosecution Authority), but they are called the Scorpions). They have surveillance cameras that monitor their perimeter fence, and also cover the entrance to our complex's gate. Yet, one of our neighbours was held up at gunpoint and robbed of all his money (after being followed home from the Airport). We have also had numerous break-ins with radios and other valuables being stolen form the cars... When the NPA were asked to help to supply surveillance evidence to make the arrests the police were told that they would have to get a judge to issue a injunction to release the surveillance tapes!

You know we are so accustomed to crime that our language has even begun to reflect it. On the news the hijacking was described as a 'hijacking gone wrong'... Sound strange? Well maybe not at first, because we hear about 'robberies gone wrong' where people are shot... BUT, this language begs the question, then WHAT IS A SUCCESSFUL HIJACKING!? Crazy! There is NO such thing as a successful hijacking, or robbery, or crime.

I am sad and shocked that a nation as beautiful as ours should struggle with such violence and crime... Of course I understand why it takes place - the gap between those who have, and those who have not, is still huge! The damage done by Apartheid will be felt for many years to come...

What made me so sad about Lucky Dube's death today is that he was shot in front of his teenage son and daughter while three men tried to hijack his car... Then the police officials in the Johannesburg area report that they will not just put 'any' policemen on this case, rather, they have appointed a 'crack team' to solve this crime. Isn't it sad that you have to be famous to get good service from the police? What do people who are not famous do?

There was a very cynical article in the Business Times Careers section this past Sunday (October 14, 2007, p.1), it was by David Bullard in his column "Out to Lunch" - the title of the article is Are those killed by crime seen by Mbeki as dispensable? In the article he questions whether the high crime figures, and the lack of resolve to do anything about crime, is in fact some kind of ploy. I think it is a little wacky, and in fact smacks of conspiracy - however, Bullard himself was shot, and almost killed, in a violent incident just a short while ago.

So, the question is what do we do? What do Christians do?

My friend Gus has a wonderful (and much less negative and not just a 'rant' like mine). You will find Gus' post here, it is entitled "The value of life".

Technorati tags: Lucky Dube, crime, South Africa, hijack, murder

Sad... What do we do about Lucky Dube's death?

Please notice I'm not asking how we feel about the sad murder of Lucky Dube... I know how I feel about it.

I am asking what do we do about it?

Megan and I had only been living in Pretoria for about 3 months when we were involved in an attempted hijacking - thankfully we got away with our lives, but it was a traumatic experience for Megan, Courtney and I. We still don't stop at that set of traffic lights at night. Sadly, about a year later, Megan was a victim of a 'smash and grab' incident at the same busy intersection. In broad daylight a man simply walked up to her car window smashed the glass and grabbed her handbag and ran away..

We live across the road from 'The Scorpions' headquarters in Pretoria (for those from outside of South Africa, the Scorpions are South Africa's version of the FBI, their real name is the NPA (National Prosecution Authority), but they are called the Scorpions). They have surveillance cameras that monitor their perimeter fence, and also cover the entrance to our complex's gate. Yet, one of our neighbours was held up at gunpoint and robbed of all his money (after being followed home from the Airport). We have also had numerous break-ins with radios and other valuables being stolen form the cars... When the NPA were asked to help to supply surveillance evidence to make the arrests the police were told that they would have to get a judge to issue a injunction to release the surveillance tapes!

I am sad and shocked that a nation as beautiful as ours should struggle with such violence and crime... Of course I understand why it takes place - the gap between those who have, and those who have not, is still huge! The damage done by Apartheid will be felt for many years to come...

What made me so sad about Lucky Dube's death today is that he was shot in front of his teenage son and daughter while three men tried to hijack his car... Then the police officials in the Johannesburg area report that they will not just put 'any' policemen on this case, rather, they have appointed a 'crack team' to solve this crime. Isn't it sad that you have to be famous to get good service from the police? What do people who are not famous do?

There was a very cynical article in the Business Times Careers section this past Sunday (October 14, 2007, p.1), it was by David Bullard in his column "Out to Lunch" - the title of the article is Are those killed by crime seen by Mbeki as dispensable? In the article he questions whether the high crime figures, and the lack of resolve to do anything about crime, is in fact some kind of ploy. I think it is a little wacky, and in fact smacks of conspiracy - however, Bullard himself was shot, and almost killed, in a violent incident just a short while ago.

So, the question is what do we do? What do Christians do?

My friend Gus has a wonderful (and much less negative and not just a 'rant' like mine). You will find Gus' post here, it is entitled "The value of life".