“I have seen you”

Recently on a Sunday afternoon I was sitting at the edge of our couch, dusting one of our two statues representing the pastoralist Turkana people of Northern Kenya. I heard a voice in the hall followed by an exclamation of surprise, then a knock at the door. When I opened our door, shock, disbelief, and joy were felt on each side of the threshold. “Susan!” I exclaimed. “Bob!” Susan cried out. Kristi joined the circle and we reveled in each other’s presence. Several times during that chance encounter Susan said, “Rabuna fi,” “the Lord is here.” Susan, a former cleaner in our building, happened by the building that day and saw me from the hallway. We were so blessed to experience her presence and her friendship again. Susan saw us and then acknowledged the presence of the Lord. It was a holy moment.

Dusting statue of a Turkana pastoralist

Kristi with Susan (middle) and other woman also
named Susan, August 2017

In The Primal Vision, a seminal work on African Christianity, John V Taylor describes the delight and wonder of human relationships in Africa. As he describes the agreeable and amusing account of twelve-year-old Nantume paying him a visit while ironing a shirt in his hut, the reader is mesmerized by the glory and beauty of human interaction and connection. Taylor describes Nantume's curiosity in the hut, coupled with her sense of feeling at home as she leans her body into the wall, "as relaxed as a young antelope asleep in the sun.” Taylor describes how in Africa one can enjoy the presence of another without pressure or feeling hurried or troubled, whether in conversation or in silence. 

I confess that I often struggle with this concept. I feel like I need a purpose when I visit someone. I also feel like there should be conversation when perhaps silence and just being present to one another is the more agreeable option. Taylor describes how in Africa a visitor is never an interruption. In the introduction to Taylor’s book, theologian J.N.K. Mugambi depicts how the interaction between Nantume and Taylor is about presence. Nantume closes her visit with the words “I have seen you.” The primal vision, as Bishop Taylor describes it, is a world of being present to one another, of seeing one another. It is the universe understood in the language of “I and Thou.” While such an encounter between Nantume and Bishop Taylor sounds simple, Mugambi describes it as the core of the Gospel, that even as God encounters us in Jesus Christ, Christian mission should be first and foremost about acknowledging the presence and integrity of others, of 'seeing the other’ as modeled by Jesus in his life on earth (Taylor, 2001).

Recently I enjoyed a long phone conversation with a friend and colleague. Over the course of the call my friend mentioned how he had observed Kristi and I during a recent Zoom call. It was obvious that my friend was present to the moment and present to us, even over Zoom. He then asked an important follow up question from his observation which allowed our relationship to take a deeper turn towards mutual understanding and appreciation. At the end of our conversation, I felt like my friend could have said “I have seen you.” Another colleague, John, described for us an experience he had in Ghana. Being present to the moment and the people around him, he was able to deeply connect with a young woman who was troubled. John spent time with this young woman and spoke words of life, hope, encouragement, and strength to her. At the end of their meeting, truly, John could have said “I have seen you.”

The beauty and glory of the Gospel is that Jesus sees people. In fact, during his pubic ministry here on earth, Jesus chose to see the very persons whom others had overlooked or chose not to see. He saw the ostracized Samaritan woman at the well. He saw Zacchaeus up in a tree. He saw a man with a withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath. He connected with each of these persons, offering them in their personhoods dignity and value. 

Jesus sees the Samaritan woman at mid-day
Artist, Jesus Mafa (Cameroon) 

Jesus, unhindered and unhandicapped by self pre-occupation, worry, and the emotional trauma which seemingly perpetually beleaguer us, lived in the moment and was fully present to those around him. I confess that too often I fail to fully live in the moment and be present to others. I pray for growth in this area. I pray that after each meeting with someone, planned or unplanned, I can say, “I have seen you.” May that be so for all of us who attach ourselves to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Preparing for General Assembly

 Our church partner, the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, is busy preparing for a  General Assembly in October of this year. This is a time when elders, pastors, and representatives of all the congregations come together to share their joys and challenges, elect leaders, and connect as part of the body of Christ. Long meetings do not sounds too exciting, but it really is significant for isolated congregations to feel connected to a body larger than themselves – to support one another and have a voice in the decisions being made.

According to the church constitution, a General Assembly should be held every two years. However, because of civil unrest in South Sudan, it has been more than eight years since the last General Assembly was held. Many of the congregations are in rural areas, and some among refugees displaced to nearby countries, which makes it difficult, expensive, and sometimes dangerous for representatives from those regions to travel.

Finally, though, it appears that South Sudan is becoming more stable and that people could travel to Juba. The leadership has set a date in October and started planning and raising funds. They hope to be able to cover some of the travel for all the representatives, but it is a daunting task. The total budget is more than $100,000. But rather than let the funds needed be another reason to put it off, they are pushing forward in faith, trusting that God will provide or help them find creative ways to overcome the shortfall.

If you would like to support SSPEC and their congregations in South Sudan by contributing towards this effort, you can do so through their account at PC(USA) here: https://pma.pcusa.org/donate/make-a-gift/gift-info/E052148/#

Please join us in praying for this meeting, that funds would be garnered to bring leaders together so that decision can be made and elections can be held, and that all would transpire in the spirit of Christian fellowship and love.

SSPEC leaders meet with a representative

from the World Council for Reformed Churches

"Why accept Covid vaccine?"

Two and a half weeks ago I received my second vaccination from Pfizer. I am now fully vaccinated. One of the reasons we decided to stay in the U.S. longer before our return to South Sudan was for this reason. Kristi is also fully vaccinated.

Second Vaccination, Pfizer

Around the same time I received my second dose, Rev. Philip Obang Akway, our colleague and friend in Juba, received his first dose of Astra-Zeneca. He posted on Facebook on April 10th, “My first dose today in Juba Military Hospital with Coronavirus Vaccine to fight COVID-19. Safe and effective.”

Rev. Philip's vaccination card (from Facebook post)

As a church leader, Rev. Philip feels motivated to help South Sudanese understand the vaccine and to know what to do. He attended a vaccination workshop for health and social workers, introducing him and others to the vaccination process for Covid-19. The idea for the workshop was to bring helpful information which would help facilitate the vaccination effort in South Sudan. Around the time of this workshop, 132,000 doses of Astra-Zeneca arrived in Juba. After posting about his experience of receiving his first dose, Rev Philip posted again that same day, responding to the feelings of uncertainty and unease expressed by many in Juba concerning the vaccine. He began his second post with the question, "Why accept Covid vaccine?"

Rev. Philip described how some South Sudanese prophets, Biblical teachers and preachers devise different theological and spiritual ideas which will he believes will confuse Christian congregations. In response to the expressed concerns and misinformation, Rev. Philip shared some of the information he learned at the workshop, substantiating the vaccination effort. He shared several interesting and helpful tidbits, such as:

The COVID-19 vaccine will weaken coronavirus which currently threatens the church from gathering for worship
The COVID-19 vaccine is scientifically studied, and even made from physical elements which God has created, citing the goodness of God’s creation (Gen1:31), noting how “the devil did not create anything”
The COVID-19 vaccine is free, and that no one will be forced to take it
The COVID-19 vaccine is similar to other vaccines we already take

For those still concerned, he encouraged his Facebook followers to “purify the vaccine [in their hearts] and bless it to be good for your health through prayers." He thus encouraged faith coupled with tangible action. Rev. Philip’s efforts met some resistance on Facebook. One person commented how they (e.g., Bill Gates, China) are bringing harmful things to Africa to destroy the people and take their resources. Sadly, due to the tragic legacy of colonialism and current economic and political neo-colonial realities, Africans are justified in feeling this way, exhibiting mistrust to foreign entities. Yet, Rev. Philip maintains his well established argument for choosing to get vaccinated. Tragically, 60,000 doses of Astra-Zeneca went to waste in South Sudan because of negative messaging and uncertainty.

 Rev. Philip, after vaccination, with mask

   hanging below chin (from Facebook post) 

Whether in South Sudan, the United States, Brazil, or elsewhere in the world, it feels like getting vaccinated when one has the opportunity to do so is the better half of wisdom. As many have said already, the potential side effects of the vaccination are acceptable in comparison to the havoc Covid-19 can potentially wreak on the body. Being vaccinated will not only bring a level of protection to our own bodies, it will help slow the spread of this virus which has brought so much destruction to lives and livelihoods across the globe.

I found this website helpful for addressing concerns about the vaccine: https://getvaccineanswers.org/. If you have reasons to be concerned regarding any specific health issues you face (e.g. potential allergic reaction), please see your primary care physician before getting vaccinated. Alternative therapies exist, but I do not believe they substitute the robust effects and proven efficacy of major vaccines being administered in the U.S., Europe, and parts of Africa. We need one another to get through this pandemic, saving both lives and livelihoods, and helping us all to achieve a level of normalcy. May the Lord guide us collectively, and guide us individually in our attitudes, actions, and decisions.

When I survey that wondrous cross

 As we approached Easter this year, I kept thinking about Jesus' death on the cross. I considered the various ways his death and resurrection impact us and the meaning it holds for us. I realized that sometimes I have assumed that the whole purpose or significance of Jesus' death on the cross was that Jesus became the sacrifice to pay for our sin. But I now appreciate that there is much more to that significant act of suffering than our atonement, as significant as that is.

I started compiling a list of verses in the Bible that I could think of that addressed Jesus' death and its meaning for us. I tried to sort them into categories based on what they described about the meaning of the cross. Disclaimer here - this was my personal exercise, not an authoritative or exhaustive review. I know that there are books written about the significance of the cross; Bob even took a class in seminary called the 'Theology of the Cross'. But that is why I wanted to share this personal exercise with you - hoping that it will prompt you to reflect on this too and you will share which verses or categories have been particularly meaningful to you or commenting if you think something should be added or changed. Please do let us know what you think!

In our healing and reconciliation workshops, a significant session is a practical exercise where we identify wounds or pain we have been holding on to, and give it over to God, knowing that Jesus on the cross not only took on our sin but also 'takes up our suffering' (Is 53:4). This Easter season seems like the perfect time to take a fresh look at Jesus' death and resurrection, and the significance it has for us.

 

Meaning/significance of the cross, of Jesus’ death on the cross

1. Atonement: God giving and becoming the sacrifice to pay for our sin. A death that was because of and for our sin. Jesus’ death on the cross opens the way for us to be righteous, if we accept that Jesus’ death alone makes us righteous.

a.    Isaiah 53:10-11 Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

b.    John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

c.     Romans 3:23-25 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. (NLT)

d.    Romans 5:6,8 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

e.    2 Corinthians 5:21 (CJB) (Complete Jewish Bible) God made this sinless man be a sin offering on our behalf, so that in union with him we might fully share in God’s righteousness.

f.      Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

g.    Col 2:14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

h.    Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

i.      Heb. 10:1-10 (10) And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

j.      1 Pet 2:24  “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

k.     1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  

2. A death of humiliation and injustice, a giving up of self for others.

a.   Isaiah 53:4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

b.    Matt 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

c.     Philippians 2:5-8 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross.

3. It is a symbol/reminder of our unrighteousness that caused Jesus to die. It is offensive because the cross reminds us that our attempts to be righteous by following laws or rituals are in vain.

a.    Gal 5:11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.

b.    1 Cor 1:17-18 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

4. An expression of God’s love and grace for humanity.

a.    John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

b.    Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

c.     Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

d.    Ephesians 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.

e.    1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  

       5. A means of reconciling people to relationship with God and with each other.

a.    1 Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

b.   Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

c.   Eph 2:16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

d.     Col 1:20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.    

6.    6. An invitation to follow in Christ’s footsteps of suffering, to die to our sinful natures, to be made new.

a.    Romans 6:6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

b.    2 Cor 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

c.     1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

d.    1 Pet 2:24  “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

7.    7. Victory over sin and death, accomplished by Jesus’ death.

a.    Col 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross

b.    Heb 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

8.    8. Through the cross, Jesus gives us healing and freedom. “By his wounds we are healed.”

a.    Isaiah 53:4-5 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

b.    Mark 10:45 - For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

c.     Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

9.    9. Jesus’ death establishes him as ‘high priest’/administrator of a new covenant between God and people, one based on faith

a.    Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 8:10,12 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. …For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.

b.   Luke 22:20, 1 Cor 11:25 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

c.    Hebrews 5:8-10 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered, and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

d.     Hebrews 7:22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

e.   Hebrews 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

10. Jesus’ death on the cross is an act of solidarity with suffering and oppressed humanity, and a way that we can know God understands what we are going through.

a.    Isaiah 61:1-2, Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,

b.   Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.   

May we lean in together...

Since last April, our group of Presbyterian mission co-workers serving in Africa has been meeting every Monday morning at 11am Eastern Time via Zoom for a time of devotions and prayer. This weekly gathering has transformed us from a cohort of colleagues who all gather together every four years into a veritable family. It has been one of many gifts we have received during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In January, one of our colleagues suggested that during Lent this year we go through a daily devotional called Lent of Liberation: Confronting the Legacy of American Slavery by Cheri L. Mills.  In this devotional book, Mills recounts forty true stories of men, women, and children who escaped from slavery by means of the Underground Railroad.  She ties their stories to the biblical account of a God who desires justice and mercy.  We all agreed that this devotional book would be helpful for this season of Lent, and our African American colleagues offered to lead us in the devotions each week.

  

These six weeks have been transformative as our African American colleagues have shared important insights from this devotional book, helpful ways of seeing scripture, and most poignantly their own personal experiences of racialized trauma. In our devotional book, we have read stories of suffering and physical, emotional, and spiritual abuse from the period of American Slavery.  The documented stories of slaves seeking freedom recounted by Mills are also marked by courage and resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  Great sadness lies in the fact that so many families were torn apart by American Slavery.  We have also read about the continued racialized violence against African Descendants of Slavery during post-Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and into the present day. We have read scripture and heard scripture read, connecting the injustices of our history with the God of the Bible who stands with the marginalized, the enslaved, and the oppressed. Lastly and most significantly, our siblings of color have courageously shared with us their own personal experiences of pain, testimonies marked by prejudice, discrimination, and racism. Some of our colleagues have described incidents with the police which could easily have led to bodily harm and even death.

One colleague, a pastor and a friend, described the trauma of being pulled out from his family's home on Christmas Eve at gun point by a police officer. Ten squad cars arrived at his home within minutes as the rotor blades of a helicopter churned overhead. Our friend, a valedictorian and a selfless Christian who has worked with his church to help troubled youth and who has worked for reconciliation in Africa, kept asking himself the question, “Is all this for me?” My impression is that he was asking himself, “Is this the payment I get for all the good work I have done?”  Though our friend was innocent, and his innocence was quickly established in the driveway of his family's home, the police insisted on taking him in for questioning…on Christmas Eve. They eventually released our friend and never apologized for the way the officer acted alone in entering the home, a breach in police protocol.  Moreover, this officer was not reprimanded for this violation nor was the violation documented in his official record.  It is unbelievable to me that the Police Commander defended the raising of the firearm by the 'lone acting' officer in the family home, even though our friend had been accused by a stranger (falsely) with no corroborating evidence.  Only after persistent requests by our friend did the police issue a statement of innocence, though the authorities not only misspelled our friend's name but they did not detail most of what was done during this misguided episode for which our friend would have liked an apology.  Lastly, the officer in charge never followed up on his promise to exonerate our friend in "the court of public opinion” by speaking with the Homeowners Association, making it clear the police had made a terrible mistake. It feels as if it did not matter in the minds of the police that our friend was innocent; to them, he was just another black man that needed to be ‘kept in check’.

These six weeks have been emotionally heavy. These devotions led by our siblings of color are difficult but necessary. We have been invited into a new way of seeing the world.  We have been confronted, in love, by the trauma of racism, the very pathos of our African American colleagues who are generously sharing their stories with us.  Our friend adroitly intuits that White Christians do not sympathize with black pain because we do not understand the realities African Americans daily face.  We choose not to look.  We choose not to engage.  Thus, we do not understand and we do not act.  We fail to seek and promote a more just and equitable world.  We stand outside the circle of Jesus' greatest concern, to love our neighbor.  Author Cheri L. Mills describes how the greatest cause of atheism among Black Americans is White Christianity (Mills, 2021). 

 A common reaction for those of us who are white is to quickly deflect, justify, defend, or turn away. We invite you, reader, to join us and lean into the discomfort of these uncomfortable truths and to see how God can change us and our attitudes. We live in a racialized culture which requires a different lens for seeing the world, the lens God provides as God stands firmly in the circle of the marginalized and the oppressed. Yahweh hears the cry of the afflicted, delivering the children of Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. Jesus, God incarnate, stands as a victimized Jew in the concrete particularities of the first century dominated by Roman occupation and oppression.  Jesus eschews all forms of power, wealth, and worldly success. May we who call on Christ no longer fool ourselves.  Jesus does not share the ‘American dream’ defined by the white dominant culture.  Rather, Jesus and his followers dream of a kingdom or a "kin-dom" where persons of all tribes and nations and colors are one, equal at the foot of the cross and who live in fellowship with one another.  As we peer deeper into the scriptures, may our imagination be drawn up into this Jesus, this Jesus who dreams of justice, mercy, repair, reparation, and reconciliation.  The journey towards healing is long but not impossible.  As we approach Holy Week, I invite you to join us, to lean into the discomfort and the pain of our broken world and to lean into the shameful history and legacy of American Slavery so that we can find ultimate healing and transformation, together, as God's people.  May we lean in together…

“…the church as the possession of God must stand where the Lord stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged; that in following Christ the church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others. ” (Belhar Confession)