May 4, 2010
By Beth DeCristofaro
They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered around him, he got up and entered the city… (Later, he and Barnabas) strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:19-20,22)
Jesus said to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. … the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me. (John 14:27, 30)
Piety
May my mouth speak the praise of the Lord. May you live in me, Lord. May I live in you, Lord, each day of my life.
Study
Recently I heard a radio interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He related a story about a man he met during the oppressive and violent apartheid years in South Africa. This man, forcibly moved to a Black township like thousands of others, lived in poverty. But he greeted Tutu with a joyful smile saying “Isn’t great that God loves us!” Tutu admitted that he had a very difficult time understanding this attitude. But Tutu himself found that even in the worst of times Tutu could not let go of his conviction that “God is in charge”.
In Jesus and the Disinherited, Howard Thurman examines the life and divinity of Jesus as relevant to the African American reality. He speaks about his grandmother who was raised a slave. She told him that sometimes the master’s minister held a service for the slaves. “Old man McGhee was so mean that he would not let a Negro minister preach to his slaves.” However, on occasions, secret meetings were held by one slave minister. She would triumphantly tell Thurman that the slave minister preached to the gathered that “You-you are not niggers. You-you are not slaves. You are God’s children”. Jesus’ message of love that “the kingdom of God is within” and that “there would be room for everyone, and where no man would be a threat to his brother” was freedom, salvation and “it established a ground of personal dignity for her and her fellows.” Her faith was deeply and fervently held all of her long life.
Action
Where do I practice the kingdom of God within in spite of hardship, threat, loss of prestige or disinterest from society? Can I take the challenge to place myself in God’s charge?
In spite of the obvious commercial ties (this clip is from Disney productions) take 3 minutes and 28 seconds to watch the YouTube presentation of Le Roi Lion - Il vit en toi from “The Lion King”. He Lives in Me, He Lives in You can be taken as a lovely metaphor. Enjoy the musicality, the setting, and the obvious delight with which the performers sing and dance. Consider that if apartheid still held tyranny in South Africa, this joyous number would never have been produced.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKTH_1xLdLw&feature=PlayList&p=B7FD6E5427258CFA&playnext=1&index=5
Isn’t it great that God loves us?
