Meditation: FREEDOM FROM FEAR OF THE "OTHER" by John de Gruchy

FREEDOM FROM FEAR OF THE 'OTHER'

Galatians 5:1, 12-15

John 8:31-36

"For freedom Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, therefore and do not submit

again to the yoke of slavery."

"If you continue in my word...you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

Paul's letter to the Galatians is often called his "epistle of Christian freedom."  There were undoubtedly some freed slaves in the Galatian churches, but Paul had chiefly in mind those Jewish converts to Christ who had been liberated from slavery to religious legalism and intolerance.  Paul himself knew all about this slavery because as a strict Pharisee he had persecuted Jewish Christians and even put some to death because they no longer kept all the ritual and dietary requirements of the law.  But now, as a follower of Jesus, he had learnt to embrace those who were different from himself and regard them as brothers and sisters,  For had not Jesus embraced publicans and sinners, prostitutes and Samaritans, and even had meals with them?  So, too, as followers of Jesus, the Galatian Christians had been liberated from slavery to those laws that kept them separate from Gentile believers, laws of social exclusion and ritual purity which also made women inferior.  But now, having been set free in Christ,  some were squandering their freedom in an attempt to keep themselves pure and righteous in the sight of God.  Women, Gentiles and slaves were all being shunned as inferior, unclean and at best, second class citizens in God's kingdom.  So Paul writes to remind them that as followers of Jesus they been set free from slavery to such legalism in order to love others and should not "submit again to the yoke of slavery."  

As a former Pharisee of the strictest kind, Paul knew how precious this freedom was.  But he also knew that such freedom did not mean doing what he liked irrespective of others,  as though the law did not matter.  Legalism as well as the irresponsible use of freedom had the same outcome.  The freedom Jesus gave him was the freedom to embrace others as brothers and sisters, rather than exclude them as unclean sinners and enemies. Like Jesus and the prophets before him, Paul knew that whole law was summed up in love for others as well as God..  In Christ, he told the Galatians,  "there is neither Jew nor Gentile, male or female, slave nor free person, for we are all one."  It was therefore the responsibility of every Christian to protect and nourish their freedom responsibly in love and not abuse it for selfish interests and gain.  Freedom from legalism was not licence to do as you please but freedom to love and allow by fear or hatred of the other to determine our relationships. 

The attack on the gay night club in Orlando, Florida, and the murder of Jo Cox, the British Labour MP were two awful consequences of hate speech and homophobia in countries where civil liberties are traditionally cherished, but in which uncivil vices are becoming far too prevalent.  When the self-proclaimed "land of the free," becomes the land of the greedy, religious intolerance and hate speech,  it is no longer free,  no longer the "leader of the free world," but a land in the grip of fear.  When people like Jo Cox's who live to serve others, speak up for those who are despised and oppressed,  oppose unjust policies, are murdered for doing so, something seriously wrong in the state of England.  But, of course, such deeds of fear and hatred are happening across the globe with frightening regularity, and  we in South Africa are by no means immune to the hate speech and greed that fosters violence as current events painfully demonstrate.

In the midst of this bad news we have been celebrating  snippets of good news which gives us hope.  When our national cricket team, the Proteas, beat the West Indies decisively last week, the stars of the game were two South African Muslims, Hashim Amla and Imram Tahir.  This was something unthinkable not so long ago in apartheid and so-called Christian South Africa.  In a world where the fear of Islam has become a political tool in the hands of trumpeting politicians, and where religious intolerance and jingoistic nationalism are on the upturn, this  is significant even if only on a small scale.  On a larger scale has been the outpouring of support for the LGBT community across the world for those affected by the Orlando massacre and Jo Cox's murder.  People  have come to see that homophobia breeds hatred, hatred breeds fear, and fear breeds violence, though too many politicians, preachers and their followers have yet to get the message,

And here on Volmoed last Thursday, June 16, we celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the Soweto Uprising of 1976, an event which, back then, stoked white fears even as it awoke black hopes.  Respect and embrace not hatred and exclusion were the order of the day as we celebrated in the chapel and formally launched the VYLTP programme.  It was a wonderful time of song, conversation and challenge, of making friends and having fun, of rejecting fear and expressing hope.  It was also an expression of confidence in the next generation, the "born frees," who are learning the true meaning of following Jesus and the importance of the ongoing struggle to ensure that the freedom we have to embrace the other is never surrendered.  We still have a very long way to go as a nation as the Tswane riots demonstrated, but we have also come a long way. 

As Christians and citizens  we have been set free from the bondage that kept us separate on the basis of race and religion, and  we should not allow ourselves to be dragged back into the slavery of that fear that feeds hatred. That is why we have to resist and reject racism and xenophobia at every turn whether in the church or the state.   So let us take to heart what Jesus said. "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."  Fear is nurtured by lies; freedom thrives on truth, and for us that truth is embodied in Jesus.  That is why we have to continually listen to Jesus' words.  And that is precisely what Paul was telling the Galatians. For only when we truly follow Jesus will we know what is true, and only then will we be free -- free from fear, free to seek justice, free to be compassionate,  free to love one another.

"For freedom Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, therefore and do not submit

again to the yoke of slavery."

John de Gruchy

Volmoed   23 June 2016

Meditation: THE CREATIVE BEING by John de Gruchy

THE CREATIVE BEING

Genesis 1:26-31

Romans 8:18-25

"Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.'"

Someone asked me the other day why I took up woodworking as a hobby.  My answer, a little facetious I admit, was that I did so because I try to follow Jesus, and he was, as far as we know, a carpenter.  But, then, we might ask, why don't all Christians become woodworkers? Or do you have to be a woodworker to be a follower of Jesus?  So there must be a better answer to the question why did I take up woodworking..  I suggest it has to do with the biblical claim that human beings are made in the "image of God." A statement that comes as the climax to the first story about creation in Genesis. "Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.'"  The meaning of these words has been discussed and debated many times over the centuries, and there are several plausible understandings of what they mean.  One is that human beings have a self-conscious relationship with their Creator.  But another has to do with the creativity of God, to God as artist,.  For if the creation story says anything about the mystery we name God, it says that the creation is an inspired work of a creative and even playful mind.  Therefore being in the "image of God" we are created to be stewards of creation and co-creators in the unfolding drama of the earth. 

In the beginning before the universe was born, there was nothing, emptiness, a void, a blank canvas if you like.  All was dark, there was no light, no beauty, no colour, no movement.  But gradually the canvas was filled in as the Spirit of creativity got to work inspiring each step towards the emerging, evolving masterpiece full of wonderful forms and shapes, full of life, colour and movement.  All of this revealed the splendour of God, for "the world was alive with the glory of God" as Gerald Manley Hopkins so aptly said.  And yet, as God stepped back from the canvas to take a look, there was something missing, a final but significant addition was needed to make the painting complete.  It was, of course, God's personal signature. "Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.'"  Like many a great painting, the artist includes a resemblance of himself or herself.  There in the corner, we say, is surely a self-portrait or selfie if you like, of Rembrandt or Michelangelo.  That signature is us!  As the Psalmist puts it:

You have made human beings just a little lower than God,

and crowned them with glory and honour.

                                      

Today we have welcomed the first cohort of the Volmoed Youth Leadership Training Programme to our weekly Eucharist.  And because VLYTP is such a mouthful, we have baptised the group as  the "voeltjies" or "little birds."  So if you hear many fresh and vibrant sounds breaking the Volmoed silence over the next nine weeks, it is the song of the "voeltjies" adding sound and colour to creation.  What led to this naming was that someone misspelt Volmoed recently, writing instead "Voelmoed!"  So "voeltjies"  it is.   And, what is more, the "voeltjies" will sing each Thursday here at the Eucharist!  This is not singing for their last supper. but singing with joy and thanksgiving for the gift of life and the wonder of creation.

Each week the "voeltjies" focus on a different theme related to those in the Volmoed Prayer Book.  Last week it was on building community, next week on healing and wholeness, the fourth on justice and peace, and the fifth week on reconciliation.  Then the cycle repeats itself.  But this week it has been on creation.  We have not spent precious time on the silly debate about whether the creation narratives in the Bible are literally true, or whether believing in creation contradicts evolution.  That debate misses the point of the story.  The creation narrative not history or science, but "myth" which simply means a story that is profoundly true.   

To believe that God created the universe does not mean that evolution is wrong, but that there is meaning and purpose to the universe.  It is an affirmation that we "live, move and have our being" in the mystery we name God.  The Creation story probes what that meaning is all about and where we humans fit into the picture s painted in the opening chapters of the Bible.  What emerges is that we are part of the animal kingdom interconnected with all other forms of life, and yet we have a special place within this remarkably diverse creation that is still in process.  We are the gardeners, we are the workers, we are the sculptors and actors.  For creation does not end on the sixth day in reality.  God may take a break to step back and admire what he has created, but come the eighth day and God is back at work.  Creation is a work in progress.  And we human beings have  the awesome responsibility to  care for and nurture what has come into being.  In other words, we are called to be creative artisans, adding to the canvas of which we are a part.  Imagining fresh possibilities, inventing new artefacts, building bridges of reconciliation and making peace when conflicts arise. 

St. Paul tells us that the whole creation is groaning as it awaits to be set free from its own travail by those who have already come to know the redemption of God, those who have recovered their humanity as being "in the image of God" and therefore stewards and co-creators.  That is why we have to imagine fresh possibilities in anticipation of the birth of a renewed earth in which everyone will find a home, have sufficient for their needs, and make peace instead of war. As Archbishop Tutu said to the "voëltjies" when he met them in Cape Town last week, "make the world beautiful, especially for the poor."

John de Gruchy

Volmoed  2 June 2016