One of the things I observed in Africa was the playing out of a comment I had heard in Oz. Dale Stephenson (Crossway Baptist) was speaking at the NSW Churches of Christ Minister’s Day and he mentioned something about a “bigger story to say ‘yes’ to”. At the time it resonated with me, but it wasn’t fully fleshed out until the Amahoro Conference outside of Johannesburg.
One of the key things I witnessed there was a panel on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission held in the aftermath of apartheid. The main draw on this panelwas Adrian Volk, the former Minister for Police in South Africa during the 1980s. By all accounts, Volk was a hated man, in charge of a brutal institution that had no qualms about beating (and worse) those that were bravely seeking to end apartheid. About three years ago, Volk found Christ. He has been quietly going about seeking forgiveness of those he felt responsible for harming, including the washing of some people’s feet. So, the stories emanating from this panel were pretty powerful, but they paled to (almost) insignificance against what happened in the last few minutes.
Sitting next to Volk was “Mike”, a white South African, and he had been pretty quiet all session. He then turned to Volk and told his story, which I am paraphrasing here:
“When I was 17, I was conscripted to the police and was used in death squads. For the last 15 years I have suffered post traumatic stress. My counsellor told me that I couldn’t blame a system, I had to blame a person, so [looking at Volk] I blamed you. In my home, whenever I needed to swear or curse, I didn’t take the Lord’s name in vain, or swear, I used your name. And now I want to ask your forgiveness.“
Wow.
Volk looked straight at him. “Let’s put an end to this now.” Volk then asked for his forgiveness, forgiveness for all the things that Mike had to do when he was in the police force. And then he asked to wash Mike’s feet.
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” was his reply.
Well, by now we’re in tears. Andwe’re Aussies. For the South Africans present, it was bringing up a whole lot of stuff (as you could imagine). Right in front of our eyes, wounds were being opened and washed and healing was beginning. It was powerful. Using glasses of water, they proceeded to wash each others’ feet and embrace.
So this is a theme I’ll return to: the bigger story. The problems in South Africa were probably encapsulated in these precious moments. Pain, suffering, the wounds of a recent past. Healing happening, but person to person in their own time. The role of the church in South Africa is that of a reconciler. Talking to South African pastors was amazing: they knew the importance of the church as a healer. They knew the Body of Christ has something to offer. Not for them this existential wondering about the role of the church – every day it faces them. If the church fails, reconciliation, equality and unity will struggle in a South Africa beset by problems of inequality, crime and poverty.
We all need a bigger story that connects to the Kingdom of God, a bigger story that helps with our daily purpose and clarity. For me, part of my wandering and pondering is trying to nail down whether Africa – or parts of it – constiutute how the bigger story of the Kingdom of God will be played out in my life. I want a bigger story. The story of me is too small. The story of consumerism shrinks. It’s in full blown service to the Kingdom via the realities of peoples and nations that I think I may find my role in Jesus’ grand narrative.
Tags: africa, bigger story, reconciliation
June 22, 2009 at 10:21 am |
Awesome …