That they may all be one
“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one”
God bless South Africa
Guard her children
Guide her leaders
And give her peace for Jesus Christ’s sake.
Amen
On Thursday 28th April 1994, I travelled to Ditchingham in Suffolk and went into retreat in preparation for my ordination to the Priesthood. Throughout our retreat, those words were prayed time and time again. It is a date emblazoned on my memory, not just because it marked a significant, daunting and awesome moment in my pilgrimage of faith, but because that remarkable and at one time unthinkable moment was being lived and experienced at precisely the same time as thousands of people were queuing, black, white and coloured together, to cast their vote, many of them for the very first time, in the first democratic elections in South Africa, an equally remarkable and at one time unthinkable moment for them. The hope, vision and aspirations of many people made that moment possible, but two people in particular will always be remembered for their contribution – Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Both men in my view were and are remarkable and continue to be an inspiration to me. For throughout a shockingly unjust and evil period in the history of humanity Desmond Tutu lived out the prayer, vision and hope of our Lord – that they may be one – the rainbow people of God. It was a vision of unity to enlarge the Kingdom of God. That did not mean unity at the cost of cultural, theological and social distinctions, but a unity that celebrates the rich diversity of God’s creation. It was a vision rooted in the deep and passionate belief that every man, woman and child is very special to God; that every single person is of infinite worth to God. “God loves you”, he said, “not because you are lovable, but you are lovable precisely because God loves you. And that is a love that will never change”. In Tutu’s theology, all people, no matter what their colour, creed or social circumstances are created in God’s image, to be held in awe and reverence as if they were God. To allow people to suffer because they do not fit socially, politically, culturally or economically is not simply wrong, it is blasphemous. As Tutu himself said ‘it is to spit in the face of God.
Those words are a real and present challenge to our own society and culture – which so often places people in boxes of our own making – boxes marked ‘respectable’, ‘hard working’, ‘deserving’, ‘nice family’ while others are labelled ‘lazy’, ‘undeserving’, ‘questionable lifestyle’, ‘beyond the pale’. And people will be placed in these boxes based on judgements about culture, religion, lifestyle and the extent to which they are (or were) able to be ‘productive’ or not.
The Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, blows this kind of thinking out of the water and calls us to an altogether different set of values – it requires us to enter much more fully into the diversity of God’s creation – to step outside our own often limited mindset and endeavour, insofar as we are humanly able, to look at the world through God’s eyes – where all are loved and all are of equal value.
The impassioned prayer of our Lord requires us to be reconciled in love and compassion to our fellow man using the gifts and resources God has blessed us and our world with in such a way that every man, woman and child can live in peace and with dignity. Only then, I suggest, can we reveal a real awareness of God in our lives and in all of creation. In his prayer, Jesus invites us into unity coming from being with God just as God is with us. The writer of Acts tells us that while in Phillipi, Paul and Silas free the young girl enslaved economically and spiritually – at great cost to themselves, but that is the cost of discipleship. People throughout the world continue to be enslaved economically, socially and politically and Jesus calls us to action, and that action will be costly.
Last Thursday, at our celebration of the Ascension John talked about the disciples who, following the ascension of Jesus, simply stood gazing heavenward. They were challenged – ‘Men of Galillee, why do you stand looking towards heaven? While it is important that we spend time gazing heavenward in wonder, it is essential that we bring our eyes and our minds back down to earth, to look and to see the children of God, to move among them with love, and compassion, living out the example that our Lord has given us. For it is only when sharing that deep love of God, only when it is given away freely, no preconditions, not strings, that we are drawn fully into community, uniting us as one. It is this love that makes us a serving community united in one accord and mission. This is what showed through Paul and Silas. This is the unity that celebrates the diversity and glory of all creation.
In the early 1990s, a chance meeting between Daniel Barenboim and the late Palestinian-born writer and Columbia University professor Edward Said in a London hotel lobby led to an intensive friendship that has had both political and musical repercussions. These two men, who should have been poles apart politically, discovered in that first meeting, which lasted for hours, that they had similar visions for the future of potential Israeli/Palestinian cooperation. They decided to continue their dialogue and to collaborate on musical events to further their shared vision of peaceful co-existence in the Middle East. This led to Barenboim's first concert on the West Bank, a piano recital at the Palestinian Birzeit University in February 1999. It also led to a workshop for young musicians from the Middle East that took place in Germany, later that same year. This group was to become the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra which involved talented young musicians between the ages of 14 and 25 from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia and Israel. That wonderful orchestra continues its work both as a living example of what is possible, and through its music, speaks the truths that no words can convey.
The vision, hope and tenacity of people such Nelson Mandela and Desomond Tutu, Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said provides us with hope and inspiration and remind us that the ways of God are extraordinary.
But most importantly, what these experiences demonstrate is that where ever people of goodwill get together and transcend their differences for the common good, peaceful and just solutions can be found even for those problems which seem most intractable.
"Africans believe in something that is difficult to render in English. We call it ubuntu botho. It means the essence of being human. You know when it is there and when it is absent. It speaks about humanness, gentleness, hospitality, putting yourself out on the behalf of others, being vulnerable. It recognizes that my humanity is bound in yours, for we can only be human together. " ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU
My brothers and sisters, we have work to do. In the streets of this town, in the villages from which we come, there are people who long to know that they are loved, valued and accepted simply for who they are – children created in the image of God. Lets get out there, put away our differences and uncertainties, our prejudices, and our fear, and be the community that our Lord calls us to be – united in purpose, united in mission, and doing all that we can to hasten the fulfilment of Christ’s prayer – that they may all be one. Amen
Canon Lesley McCormack, May 16th, 2010
