The temporality of sunrise faith. Or is it a timing faith? (Cilliers 2019) Seeing God with the lenses of an 11-year-old boy

The preacher's title of the sermon was "sunrise faith". In that sermon, there were words like: Faith is pleasing God, a Prayer is a powerful tool, what is impossible to men, is possible to God. Under her voice, there is a little boy who watched and experienced his neighborhood whose trust is in God. The difficult challenging times were called “dark times”.  The sermon title, "the sunrise faith" seemed to give everybody in the church hope. Did the sun rose in the eyes of an 11-year-old boy?

Next Sunday, the preacher, preached from the gospel of Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free”. That seemed to be good news for the 11-year-old boy. What does it mean to bring the Good news to the poor?  The preacher did an excellent job exposing and unpacking the meaning of the good news to the poor, captives will be released and oppressed set free. This now really sounds like good news to the congregants. Until they go home and find their situation still the same.  The preacher is staying in the same community as the 11-year-old boy. She is blessed by her sermon. But the good news she preached about, was its good news to her? How does ALL of it, look like?  When the 11-year-old ask the preacher, when is God going to release the freedom to the captives, when are the blind are going to see, and more importantly, when/what are the Good news to the poor? Are the poor, poor because God wants to show off the Good News to them? Is the Good news the crumps of bread that fall from the master's table? Should we say" thank" You God, after all the Bible says, 1 Thess.5:18 “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus”. So, they say!!! The 11-year-old boy wondered, how must be like, to have the actual bread than the crumbs that fall off the table, and quickly corrected himself, "I must not be greedy, I must be content with what I have", so they say!!

The missionaries came to his church and brought toys, bibles goodies, etc. They talked about God who is the Giver of ALL what they gave the children. It was a very nice time for the young people and children of the 11-year-old community. It was called a "holiday club". When the holidays were over, they left. That brought more questions than answers to the 11-year-old. He went to the preacher, who was the person he can talk to and ask questions. The preacher seemed to know more about God than the visitors who brought goodies and Bibles.  However, she never provides those. In the mind of an 11-year-old boy, this was puzzling.  He helped the preacher with her bags to the car. He stayed inside the car and waited for her. ‘’I want to ask you something about God’’, said the 11-year-old boy. The preacher was so excited, thinking that her preaching yielded fruits.  “uhlala phi uThixo? (where does God stay?)  "OH, that? Said the preacher with a rather disappointed voice. Before the preacher could answer, the boy continues as if the question was rhetorical. "I don't see him in my neighborhood". The boy continued as if he was thinking aloud. Nobody has those goodies, bibles, etc. that the missionaries give us during holiday time. God must be more comfortable staying in their neighborhood. The preacher realized that the answer she prepared is not going to work. She asked a question instead, “what makes you think that way Mabhuti? The boy replied with the question. "Can't you see?  Do you see God in this neighborhood? The preacher realized that she has those questions, but she is not honestly asking them as the 11-year-old. On her way home, the preacher was thinking about her sermon in Luke 4: 18. What is the Good news to the poor? She found herself in her mind, going back and forth. Her mind brought her to this Scripture, Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”. What if EVERYTHING is meaningless in this community? Her experiences with God refused to completely wipe out everything about God as meaningless. Maybe the sunrise faith is temporal, and or maybe faith has time and place. However, she kept the lenses of an 11-year-old boy, she developed more questions, that made her uncomfortable. The preaching was no longer a joy, the lenses of an 11-year-old boy caused her to critically look at her sermons as having the potential to insult the people of this community and  God whose home is not in this community.

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THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST OF DEATH: PASTORAL CARE PERSPECTIVE

Death is always something very far until it hits like lighting near you, suddenly it becomes very close. It is a perfectly normal cycle of life but there are two sides to the same coin.  Death has beauty and there is the beast of it. Both of these sides are coming hand in hand with death and these sides cannot be separated from each other. They are the sides of the same coin. You do not get the beauty of death without the ugliness of it, or visa-versa. However, it depends on which side are you comfortable looking for. Death has a twin, and that twin is life.

The passing of the people that I knew and have been close to since the beginning of the year made me face head-on, my mortality. So, I found myself asking this question over and over, “death, oh death, where is your sting? From where I am standing, death is the beast. It uprooted, violated, deprived, and demolished my sense of security, to say the least. Also, (Jeremiah 31:15) paints this picture of being stripped and robbed by death when he says, “this is what the LORD says: “A cry is heard in Ramah— deep anguish and bitter weeping. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted— for her children are gone.”

That is the violation at its best and the ugliest side of death. It takes away brusquely without any notice; most of the time, what is dear and on what our sense of security is built. As a mother myself, I cannot imagine what Rachel is going through, and I can understand her refusal to be consoled. How do you become calm amid violation, robbery, deprivation, and eradication?  The hurt, anguish, and the bitterness that death brings is evident from the above text. Its ugliness ripped Rachel's heart out of her chest. The sadness, tears, and anguish are attempts to fight back and announce the injustice that death brings. The refusal to be comforted is justice to her. The anguish and sadness are fighting for justice. The life as Rachel knew it turned bitter and sour simultaneously. Where does one begin to make sense of non-sense? When one cannot pray away death?

It is the beast because it breaks the family chain, the collegiality chain, sisterly/brotherly chain, and/or parental bond. A lot of pain is experienced, unlike any other pain. The pains of birth, however, make sense and can be explained, because amid those labor pains there is a joy waiting for you. The writer of the book of (Hebrews 12:2) encapsulates it so well with these words. “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

On the other hand, death brings finality so to speak. In John 16:22 Jesus says, “now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice ….”. There is another side of death and is the beauty of death. This site is where there is joy. Let me explain this, in Luke 23: 45-47” the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” And when He had said this, He breathed His last. When the centurion saw what had happened, he gave glory to God, saying, “Surely this was a righteous man. ”                   

That is beauty, right there in-between the above lines, sorrow, sadness, hurt is mixed with love, peace, and beauty. What a paradox! The beauty of surrender, the beauty of finality, the beauty of getting to the finishing line.  The peace of not having to need security, the love of giving, and surrendering one's soul and beauty of crossing over with no sorrow, no pain. There is preparedness in all of this. However, the sense of preparedness does not mean the management of death, even the management of life for that matter (Louw,2008). Beauty is knowing that there is more to life than just surviving.   The beauty is knowing that we have lived, and did not just simply visit this world, (Mary Oliver). There is the beauty of stepping out of the door full of curiosity, and anticipation of what is waiting. As a pastoral caregiver, I have had the privilege of sharing very sacred and intimate spaces with the people who were dying. There is something about death, that is both painful and peaceful, and in that one finds raw humanity that is mixed with Divinity. In that space, one comes face to face with one’s vulnerability as a person not as a pastoral caregiver. That is liberating because one does not have to know or explain anything. The freedom of just being a human being next to the bed of the other human being, experiencing rawness of humanity mixed with Divinity.

As Peter Fox puts it, “our life essence our connection to meaning, truth, and beauty, our deep relationship to self and others is all part of spirituality. To live and be loved, to be respected, to be forgiven. To be validated to be understood. These are all crucial spiritual needs. Death offers us a chance to see the spiritual wherever we look. To see the sacred in simple objects.”

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THE UNCERTAINTY AND DISORDELINESS OF LIFE: WHO ARE YOU, GOD?

 On the 27^th of March 2020, we had our official shutdown as a Country, (South Africa), due to the Covid-19.  We are staying indoors, and this forces us to look at home in us.

I am reminded of the era of HIV and AIDS when there was no treatment. Working as a pastoral care practitioner, who walked along with people who were infected and affected by the HI virus. We witnessed the brutality of this disease that threatened the future of young people. That era forced us to fight us, because the enemy was/and still is in us, in our blood. The stigma that escorted the disease, who can forget it? The papers were written addressing stigma, workshops were conducted, and sermons were preached, and hope we're given to people infected and affected by the disease. Yet, people died, not from the disease, but from the stigma. Life once again became uncertain and disorderly. I hope we will not forget the lessons God taught us during that era.

Musa Dube (2001) laments: "Mama Africa has been struck by a new disease, and that disease is HIV/AIDS. Mother Africa now is the nurse, she runs home-based care centers for the dying children and people of this continent. This woman who is Mother Africa washes the people, feeds them, holds them in her arms, and rocks them, singing songs while she is waiting for their deaths. When they eventually die, she rises to close their eyes, wraps them and bury them”.

 Daniel Louw (2008) calls that era the great tragic drama that challenged theology and showed theology the difficulty of offering clear answers to questions regarding the significance of our lives. One of those quick and cheap answers was the fact that HIV/AIDS was seen as punishment from God. We were in the state of not knowing, yet some of us gave answers and promised miracles to heal the HI virus. Not so long ago, grass and petrol were amongst the “God-given” answers to human suffering. We thank God, for the Anti Retro Viral treatment. The treatment saves lives, amongst those are the lives of unborn babies.  We once again, let our guard down and moved on.

There comes another fierce enemy, Corona! This one goes at a very high speed.  We are back at the firing line, fighting the violent enemy. We are experiencing messiness of life, while our routines are disrupted once again. We are back in the not in control state. Unlike with HIV/AIDS, there is no one to bring comfort and hope to the people who need it the most.  This enemy isolates us, separate us, segregate us from each other. And this exposes the inequalities here at home, South Africa, the inequalities that we became immune to. Maybe, just maybe we need to change the questions we ask God as we are isolated.

The theological question I think we should be asking is not, why me? nor where are you, God? But who are you to me, God? It is convenient when we ask God this question as a collective, in the congregations. However, it is different when one is asking this question on a personal level. Therefore, in the isolation and messiness of life, we encounter God on a personal level. Let me qualify this statement by pointing us to the gospel of Mark 4:35-41, The waves disrupted the boat in which the disciples were in. They woke Jesus up, in fact, they asked Him, don't you care?  “When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.  Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” It is interesting, they did not ask “where” or why questions. But, “who is this man?  When the question is who? The relationship becomes personal. I want to believe that, this Coronavirus can give us an opportunity as we are isolated, locked down to be in a personal space with God. And I am sure that God will encounter us in this disruption and uncertainty we found ourselves in.

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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND LEADERSHIP

I have been reflecting on my life and in what does it mean to continue to grow, not to grow in only one dimension, but to grow comprehensively.  Emotional intelligence is one dimension that I believe separates the great leader from the good ones. I am wondering if we, (as a church) are intentional enough about talking/teaching on emotional intelligence?

 What does the Bible say about emotional intelligence, and what does it mean to be emotionally intelligent?

  According to the Cambridge Business English dictionary, “emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and control your own feelings, and to understand the feelings of others and respond to them in a suitable way”.  Emotional intelligence is not the suppression of emotions. It is rather the ability to comprehend the effects of your feelings. This is crucial for making sound, objective decisions when a leader’s pride and self-esteem are compromised. Let me take this further by saying, this is the place where the leader is comfortable in the discomfort of being wrong and makes space for the follower/other to be "right" and be comfortable in the "comfort" of being right.

The Bible, on the other hand, refers to discernment. This is the ability to obtain sharp perceptions or to judge well, and that is Godly wisdom. Wisdom can be found/asked from God. Solomon asked for wisdom when he said, “give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong” (1st Kings 3:9).

In the New Testament, we are introduced to a young woman, whom I believe had a godly wisdom/emotional intelligence/discernment. Her name is Mary. The Bible tells us in the gospel of Luke 2; from verse 8-12 that "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”, The shepherds were told the above by the angels. They went to Bethlehem to see what was said. When they found exactly what the angels said to them, the Bible says in verse 18, the people “were amazed when the shepherd told them what the angel said to them.”  Verse 19, on the other hand, says this, “but Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”. If the above is not a sign of a Godly wisdom/discernment/ an emotionally matured young woman, I don't know what is. And I believe that I don't need to do any analysis of this verse, it communicates the heart of Mary as it is.

I am of the opinion that the greatest measure of the best leader is her/his level of emotional intelligence. It is my belief that emotional intelligence is as important if not more than academic intelligence. Our emotions are a very important part of who we are as human beings. They are a powerful tool to serve, not to manipulate, and emotions can also be a powerful tool to destroy each other. For example, the lack of emotional intelligence produces the following: insensitivity, coldness, thoughtlessness, selfishness, tactlessness, inconsiderateness, inattentiveness, etc. Who would want to be under that?

 How did Jesus tackle this important dimension of His life? Let’s look at Jesus’s activities.

The woman at the well is but one of the great examples. I must acknowledge my biases in that this passage of John 4:1-26 is one of my favorites of the Bible.  Those who are not familiar with the Bible, it is a well-known Bible passage. I will not write the whole 26 verses down, but I will highlight what I am going to emphasize.

Emotional intelligence of a leader enables her/him to break the societal walls.  There were walls that Jesus had to break to get into the humanity of the Samaritan woman. One of those walls was the gender wall, (Jesus, a Jewish Rabbi speaks to a woman). Second wall, a racial wall, (Samaritans were despised by Jews because the Samaritans were--a mixed-race people.) For instance, the Bible says, “The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans” (John4:9).  Breaking the wall in order to meet the other human being in his/her humanity, takes a very matured person emotionally. The reason I am saying this is because one cannot meet another human being in his/her humanity without your humanity being touched. Jesus knew and was okay with the fact that His own humanity will be exposed in the process of breaking the walls to enter in another human being's humanity.

 And thirdly, Jesus exposed Himself by being vulnerable to the Samaritan woman by asking her for water,” Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” (John 4:7). And that is the sign of emotional maturity.  Jesus uncovers His humanity by revealing who He was to this woman and what His mission was to her. “The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”, (John 4: 25-26) The point is, there was no way that Jesus could break those walls and His walls remain protected.

It goes without saying; this behavior of Jesus shocked the woman and liberated her.” The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ", (John 4:28). Who is now being vulnerable? Who is now aware of who she was? Who is now in touch with her emotions? This is evidence that one cannot meet/encounter this kind of leadership and remain the same. And the leader continues to grow as a result of continuously having to break the walls that are the barrier to meet the humanity of another person behind the walls.

Jesus, (not ONLY because He was God) as an emotionally cultivated leader, was aware/in touch with His emotional state, and therefore was in control and able to position Himself as a human being. As a result, He was able to meet another human being in a human/heart level. It takes an emotionally developed person to meet someone on that level and be comfortable. From the Christian Spiritual perspective, it takes the closeness and intimate relationship with God to grow emotionally. (Psalm 51:6) Surely You desire truth in the inmost being You teach me wisdom in the inmost place. One becomes a holistic individual who is available intellectually, spiritually and emotionally. A well-rounded leader who can find? 

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VULNERABILITY OF A LEADER: THE CROWN OF THORNS

Time flies. It was yesterday when we had to book two weeks in advance at the gym for a spinning class because in January the classes were filling quickly. Sadly, now it is no longer the case, things are getting to normality. Consistency or sticking it out is but one of many leadership attributes we discussed. It is applying very much so in leading one's self.  As mentioned earlier in these devotionals, leadership starts with an individual leading her/himself. The challenges of leading one's self are the same as leading a group of people. The vulnerability affects both. One example of a leader who showed vulnerability is Jesus during the crucifixion. These two Scriptures below paint a clear picture for me.

Matthew 26: 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is very sad. My soul is so full of sorrow I am ready to die. You stay here and watch with Me.” AND  Matthew 27: 38-40 They nailed two robbers to crosses beside Him. One was on His right side. The other was on His left side. Those who walked by shook their heads and laughed at Him. They said, "You are the One Who could destroy the house of God and build it up again in three days. Now save Yourself. If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

Many people see vulnerability as weak. As a result, they hide their vulnerability/weaknesses. There is tremendous power in vulnerability. Though it feels safe to pretend to be immune in the messiness of life. Unfortunately, no one is immune in the mess of life, even Jesus was not. Rick Warren says, "when you share your strengths, you create competition, but when you share your weaknesses, you create community”. And that is the community of people who are aware of the fragility and messiness of life. The two robbers who were on the cross with Jesus, their words in Matthew 27 could have killed Jesus before His actual death. But, their words did not because Jesus, knew His limitations. Jesus knew that He needed others, not just any other, but His followers. To say to his followers, I need your help! help! me. It takes great strength of a great leader. The great leader is not in the business of "impressing" people, or wanting to be popular, but on the business of "influencing" people. It is very easy to impress people because that happens from the distance, but influencing people one needs to be close enough for people to see ALL, which means strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, the greatest strength of being a vulnerable leader is to be able to influence people. After all, is it not what leadership is about? Nonetheless, one cannot be close to anybody, if one is not close to her/himself. Seeing you as you are, and be okay with that, it takes a strong woman/man.

In light of the above Scriptures, everybody could see both Jesus's strengths and weaknesses. And yet, He continued to influence people. To be a leader is to have a crown of thorns and be prepared to lead one's self and others anyway.

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