Friday 29 January 2010

We end the week with a quote from Bishop Tutu on Jesus' Ubuntu.

Jesus' ministry was one of identification with the victims of oppression, thus exposing the reality of sin. Liberating them from the power of sin and reconciling them with God and with one another, he restored them to the fullness of their humanity. Therefore the Church's mission is the realization of the wholeness of the human person...Our conviction is that the theologians should have a fuller understanding of living in the streets, for this also means being committed to a lifestyle of solidarity with the poor and the oppressed and involvement in action with them.

I want to comment briefly on the phrase "liberating them from the power of sin." When this is used by many folks, it is used to mean that we religious folk will help deliver people from their "sinful ways." We forget that what is really taking place is that our witness to the Lord, Jesus, is one that liberates people from the power of sin that rules and oppresses and treats people as less than the beloved people they are. The power of sin is part of the everyday reality that does not allow for all people to be free to embrace one another. So when someone is liberated from the power of sin, they are released into a new domain in which they are now called beloved before any other word has the opportunity to shape them and break them. Unfortunately, many who are trying to "liberate people from the power of sin" are, in part, a part of that power of brokenness that attempt to "break" people so that they will give their lives away to a religious organization or movement that is all about counting people like notches on a gun - got one!

Connection: The Church is a living body that embraces without exception. Therefore, the world in which we live today is one that will not step away from anyone. The leading thinkers of the church must be those who think while they are actually embracing the world about which they write and talk.

When you move us, O God, your Spirit patiently pulls us and bids us to come and see your glory as it is present in the least among us. For when they are among us, the opportunities to be come more truly human in your name increases and surprises. Amen.