Desmond Tutu
Learning to be a Community of Reconciliation (1)
"So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)
I. Required readings
Christian Biography for the Day: Desmond Tutu
Sermon, “The Ministry of
Reconciliation”
(Copyrighted article through
Canvas under Files tab)
Desmond Tutu, Speech
at
"Seeing White" Podcast, Episode 13 ("White Affirmative Action")
II. Quotations for the
day
“When will we learn that human beings are of
infinite value because they have been created in the image of God, and that it
is a blasphemy to treat them as if they were less than this and to do so
ultimately recoils on those who do this? In dehumanizing others, they are
themselves dehumanized. Perhaps oppression dehumanizes the oppressor as much
as, if not more than, the oppressed. They need each other to become truly free,
to become human. We can be human only in fellowship, in community, in koinonia,
in peace. Let us work to be peacemakers, those given a wonderful share in Our
Lord's ministry of reconciliation.”
--Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Lecture, 1984
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
III. Journal prompts
1. At the center of the good news (gospel) of God’s reign is that God is reconciling all things in Christ (Colossians 1:19-20). How do the readings for today broaden your understanding of the biblical notion of reconciliation?
2. The readings for today remind us that the church does not simply have a message about reconciliation, but that God has also given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). As Desmond Tutu elegantly reminds us in his speech, this means that we are also partners and agents with God in the work of reconciliation. Do you think most Christians understand themselves as being part of this ministry of reconciliation? In what ways do you see the church carrying out this ministry of reconciliation?
3. The "Seeing White" episode assigned for today raises more uncomfortable questions about U.S. history when it comes to matters of race. Up to this point in your life, how has the wider culture shaped your understanding of "affirmative action" and what questions does this episode raise for you about your previous understanding?
IV. Links of possible
interest
Desmond Tutu on Compassion A brief interview with Tutu about compassion, justice and forgiveness that appeared in Psychology Today (March/April 2005).
"A Long History of Affirmative Action--for Whites" Although many of us are unaware of it, affirmative action started long, long before the last third of the 20th century and has consistently benefited White people.
“Reconciliation as the Mission of God: Christian Witness in a World of Destructive Conflicts.”