Greetings

I have been very struck here by greetings. Everywhere we have gone we have been introducing ourselves, and it is very important to say your full name, details of your family, and then to bring greetings from your family and church communities. It has been an interesting thing for me to navigate because if I say I’m single then everyone laughs and nudges all the single men and then I have to deal with endless questions about that. If I send greetings from my parents then everyone thinks they’ve done a bad job by not making sure I’m married at my great age! So I have settled on bringing greetings from ‘my family and my churches’, and that seems to be working!

It is interesting that in the UK when we greet each other we often immediately ask each other what we do, here they say they ask ‘who is your uncle’? Establishing family connections and knowing names helps people connect to each other. There is still such a strong sense of community here, people looking out for each other, and of love and support. It highlights for me another thing that is lost from our society at home. It feels a constant challenge to build a strong sense of community, and I wonder how possible it is when we move in and out of areas much more and are not involved in the lives of our neighbours in the same way? I wonder what it would do if we did ask each other a different question as a greeting? One that values our connections rather than our productivity. Maybe I will have a go when I am back: ‘Hi, I’m Jo, tell me who is important in your life?’

Joy

We have been to visit several different parishes now, plus the Cathedral, Theological college and a Compassion child sponsorship project. Everywhere we have been we’ve been met with great joy and celebration. Singing and dancing and many many handshakes and welcomes. This evening we went to a parish a little way out from Kasulu. The church had been planted with a small group 6 years ago and now has lots of members, and mainly women leading small groups in the church. They had two choirs and they sang songs of joy and thanksgiving complete with excellent dance moves! They enjoyed watching us trying to join in!

As I was sat there looking at the mud floor, wooden frame building covered in nailed on canvas sacks, benches and some colourful cloth drapes, physically it was so poor, and yet there were 100+ men, women and children with the biggest smiles.  There was a real sense of joy and thankfulness to God for all they had, and for our visit. And it made me think that we seem to have so much at home and so many things that make us ‘busy’ and yet here life is difficult, people live so simply and yet they seem have a deep joy, appreciation and pleasure in things that I suspect we would just pass by at home.

Being single

I knew before I came out here that my being single was likely to be a talking point. Today as we got deeper into conversations with people, more challenging questions began to emerge. It seems to be virtually unheard of that a woman would choose to be single. It would leave her very vulnerable both financially and in later life when care would normally happen via children. Every conversation partner has asked when I’m going to get married. 

It is interesting to reflect on the cultural difference with the UK. Here the priority is to have children and the only way to (acceptably) to do that is to be married. When I mentioned that Paul says in the Bible that it is better to remain single than have your attention distracted from God by a husband/wife/children, then they understood more conceptually but I’m not sure in reality that the status of being single and being married would be considered equally acceptable. I found out more about the cultural background, and there is a strong tradition that by choosing to be single you are a ‘world destroyer’ because being married and having children destroys death by allowing your family line to continue. If you choose not to marry and have children you give death the upper hand... More to explore as the week goes on.

In the UK, in some ways the church is not that much better at valuing singleness as a status. And this quite probably roots back to not dissimilar reasons. But I’m hoping to explore here some of what the Bible has to say about the way Jesus redefined the meaning of family. Jesus was a single man with no children and yet the Bible talks about him delighting in his offspring. The Bible is also full of language about those who follow Jesus being children of God and brothers and sisters together. Most importantly perhaps in a culture that values the continuity of names, God promises to remember people’s names, a promise also given to eunuchs (men who couldn’t have children). For me, all this is important in feeling valued as a single person, knowing how God sees and values me in a different way to the culture(s) that surround me. God is interested in my relationship status, but it is the relationship I have with God that is the key one. 

Giving what you have

How do you gather a full day of new people and experiences in one reflection? Today we’ve visited the Cathedral, Theological College, a Compassion child sponsorship project, the market, a village community and ended the day at the bishop’s house for dinner with a football team he sponsors! 

Today has also involved a few tears. My niece and nephew gave me some of their pocket money to buy paper and pencils for children here. It was very moving to see the children of very similar ages rushing to queue up to each get a pencil and a couple of sheets of paper. They were so excited and grateful with something so little, it made the contrast with home so stark. I wished my niece and nephew had been there to see how much impact their little gift made.

And there we were also given a gift in a ceremony that involved lots of singing and dancing and bowing and smiling. Each of us received some lovely African material which they wrapped around us once we’d unwrapped it. Together with feeding us meat, they blessed us generously from the little they had.

It all made me think about how God is in the business of taking the little we have to offer and multiplying it. In the story of the feeding of the five thousand, it was the packed lunch of one boy offered to God that fed the crowd. But nothing multiplied by anything, however big, remains nothing. We have to be prepared to offer something if we want to see God multiply it. And I think God is often waiting to surprise us with what God does with even the smallest thing we give with an open heart. As they say here all the time: Bwana asifiwe! 

Out of Africa

We have been in Tanzania now for 16 hours and I already feel quite overwhelmed by new sights and sounds, the people we’ve met and the early taste of a very different culture. The international airport of Dar Es Salaam quickly gave way to sunrise over the plains and mountains and on arrival at Kigoma taxiing across compacted earth to a tin roofed shelter where our suitcases were passed one by one through a hatch brought it home that we were now somewhere very different.

The smiles of our hosts gave a warm welcome and then it was amazing to see our suitcases piled on to the roof of the land cruiser and we were piled inside! First stop was to see where Livingtone met Stanley then we visited a couple of parish churches before stopping for breakfast of fish soup and chapati. The whole fish winking from the bowl had been caught a couple of miles away in Lake Tanganyika earlier. As we left the restaurant we had our first encounter with significant poverty as 3 boys aged 4-7ish fought over a small bottle of water one of them was given. We were told they were too poor to be in school. Tanzania has about 25% of children not in primary education. As we began the 2 hour journey weaving up the mountains that border Burundi, we saw many children on or playing by the road aged 2 and upwards mostly with no adults or older children. The contrast with home was stark and increased as we saw many women carrying huge items on their heads, people moving piles of mattresses and firewood balanced on bicycles, and road side stands selling piles of fresh pineapples and more.

Our final destination was reached and it has been a blur of meeting new people and familiarising ourselves with where we’ll be staying and what we’re doing. Much more could be said about the animals we’ve seen and the new sights and sounds. But all day I’ve been wondering about how I glimpse God when everything around me is so different to normal. Kim said one of our challenges is learning to be guests not hosts. To graciously receive food that’s costly to give and yet you’d avoid in other situations, to feel helpless in the midst of an unfamiliar language and culture. These are the places we glimpse God, because we are discomforted and out of control. When everything is cosy and controlled I can begin to forget I need God. So here we go, adventure underway and I wonder what will come out of Africa...?

The Glory of Becoming

The Glory of Becoming


The Glory of Becoming
    is not the toil of individual pursuit


The Glory of Becoming
    is the realisation of purpose
        the joy of connection


The slow swell of a roof edge raindrop
    the becoming of an upside-down kingdom
        light and life held in the pregnant pause
And should it fall....
    What then?
        life lost?
            life given?


The Glory of Becoming
    is the coming towards
        elation
            erosion
                the gentle exploration of the in between
bookended by beginning and end


The Glory of Becoming
    lies beneath letters of law
        hidden in the glistening pulse
            of a human heart
                thrilling to freedom's call


The Glory of Becoming
    lifts the shy veil of hope
        and breathes




(c) Jo Pestell 2018: A riff on 2 Corinthians 3.

#liedentity

Today I have been at the #liedentity conference run by the Diocese of Gloucester (click here for more details). The campaign around this hashtag is addressing the growing issue of negative body image and the resulting mental and physical health difficulties especially for young people. The message the campaign is promoting is that who you are is more important than how you look. Not that appearance doesn't matter, but our image-focused society is over-emphasising this. 


I was struck by the degree of inevitability of this shift with the advent of social media. When our relationships are conducted at arms length, and often now with people we don't physically meet, then the image we project has the potential to become much more significant than our character. And yet what came out so strongly today was that when young people were given the tools and opportunity to say what they valued in each other the real basis for deep friendship and true identity was revealed.  And of course it was never about the way someone looked.


So my challenge coming away from today, that I challenge you with too, is to be less lazy in my conversation, particularly with young people.  If I really value the person I am talking to, it is not enough to say, 'that's a pretty dress', or 'love that jacket on you', or 'that makes you look so slim'. These are nice things to say, but they are all about valuing appearance.  What about asking why they chose to wear them, or just go for a different conversation starter: what has made you smile today? What's the best thing about living here? What were you thinking about when you woke up this morning?


The Christian story is one that believes in the uniqueness and value of each person, and is totally committed to healing and restoring relationships between us and God, between each of us, and between us and creation.  This is only possible when we know, value and love who we are, and are truly interested in knowing, valuing and loving others. So take a risk, be vulnerable, and get to know someone deeper than through their appearance.

Ugly bulbs

For the first time in a few years I have been growing an amaryllis lily.  When I planted the huge ugly bulb 5 weeks ago in a pot that was almost as big as the bulb I had forgotten what an extraordinary process it is watching the stem, bud and flowers emerge.  The stems are now 72cm!  And the flowers that have been opening in the last few days are quite beautiful. Who would have imagined all that life and beauty was waiting to burst free?  Certainly the look on my little nephews face when I showed him the bulb at Christmas said something along the lines of 'you must be mad, that is like the worst and weirdest Christmas present in the world!'


A couple of weeks ago my sermon was on 2 Corinthians 5.11-21.  In that passage, we are reminded that Jesus looked like nothing special, but turned out to be God, and so we should learn from this not to judge people by what we see.  God is at work in people bringing new life (new acts of creation the verse says). It can be pretty discouraging sometimes looking around at the world, wondering if things are going to change or whether they will stay ugly and broken.  And then I look at myself, and think about the changes that God has helped bring about in me, sometimes in the blink of an eye and sometimes in the imperceptible process of reflection, repentance and forgiveness.  We all look pretty ugly inside from certain angles, maybe in places so hidden from others that only God sees.  But watching my lily grow reminds me that God is not fazed by the ugly and the broken, because God sees the potential of life and beauty held within that and always wants to call it forth.

Dragons (or being distinctive)

It's Chinese New Year (well it was yesterday really) and so it was fun to see some dragon dancing for the first time in a while. The colourful outfits, drumming and well choreographed dancing transport you to a different place, seems so incongruous seeing it moving down the High Street past Poundland!

It made me think a bit about being Christians in our culture.  The Bible talks about Christians being in the world but not of the world (John 17.15-18).  The dragons today really stood out as something different. But surveys have shown little difference between Christians and non-Christians in our society. What does it mean for Christians to live in such a way that we stand out (for good reasons)? I find it a challenge.  I meet many people who seem more generous or kind than me.  What makes my decision to follow Jesus, to try and live the way I think He is calling me to live, distinctive?  

Perspective

Today I popped in to visit a lady who moved into a care home a few months ago. She is an amazing woman who worked as a missionary teacher in India for many years. I enjoyed hearing her talk about disembarking the boat at Bombay (as was) and the close to 24 hour journey by steam train to Madras. As I prepare to go to Tanzania it was good to be reminded that even though my trip is going to take me well out of my comfort zone, it is nevertheless considerably more accessible and connected than similar ventures in the past!


As we chatted she showed me the Bible that she is currently reading.  It is in the Tamil language as she maintains the vividly remembered connection with India.  And we talked about the last meal she ever made for herself, cauliflower cheese, and the suddenness that big changes can arrive with.  Then we talked some more about the Bible, and I was amused after yesterdays post to hear her talk about the Bible she received for her confirmation, that was edited by Stirling and included what sounded wonderful illustration, in that the 'boring bits' (her words!) were in smaller font and three columns to a page.  So we shared a chuckle at what I had written about yesterday.  I was wondering if she still had that Bible, but no, she had recently given it to one of her carers who asked if she had a Bible the carer could have. I was touched by the generosity of giving away a Bible that obviously had many precious memories. And she just said, "well I had read it right through!"

The Bible's boring bits

This year I am reading the Bible through in a year.  I try and do that every other year so I can keep in mind the big picture of the story of God and God's people, whilst on the alternate year I try and drill down deeper into themes or books.  Anyway, each time I read it through I of course find myself getting to the 'boring bits' that we can often just feel like skipping over. And I have to admit that I approached the start of the book of Numbers a couple of days ago with a slightly heavy heart. If you know me, then you know that I am the sort of person who finds it hard to skip past a footnote, and I want to work out the connections between things. So the book of Numbers can be a bit tricky because I find myself checking the numbers do add up and that the relationships between people match what we know from other parts of the Bible.  It makes for a lot of calculating and page turning!  However, leaving my personal quirks to one side, as I was reading Numbers 7 I was asking God: why on earth is this same list of gifts for the tabernacle just repeated over and again 12 times?! (and yes, I did check it is exactly the same!)


As the tabernacle is dedicated as the space for worshipping and meeting with God, each of the twelve tribes of Israel sends exactly the same gifts (see picture above) with their leader to be given to Moses.  But rather than saying that in a sentence, the Bible has 60 verses detailing the gifts.  And let's be honest...that is just not as gripping as a virgin birth, astonishing miracles, or the simple confirmation that God is love.


So what should we do when we are faced with a 'boring bit' of the Bible?  I think the answer is to read it with the same question in heart and mind with which we read the 'exciting bits': "Lord, what do you want to show me through what I am reading?" And as I read those 60 verses, the importance that this act had in the early life of the nation became clearer.  We are meant to dwell on the significance of the presence of God, and the worship that results, being at the heart of the peoples lives. Whilst a summary would've saved time, it would also have rushed past the 12 days of each tribe taking their turn to make their offering. I thought how wonderful that every tribe gave the same, whether the tribe was bigger or smaller, each gave exactly a twelfth of the offering.  Each tribe equal before God, named and valued, and fitting into the plan and purpose of God's intended life for God's people.  In its own way quite beautiful as a passage in its simplicity and constancy.   


I wouldn't want to read a passage like that every day, but that is the joy of the Bible, so much variety and different ways of telling this one amazing story.

Ash Wednesday

This morning we had 'ashes imposed' as part of our communion service. The sign of the cross is made using ashes which often come from the burning of the previous years palm crosses from Palm Sunday. While the sign of the cross is being made on your forehead, these words are said: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.

Today I was struck for the first time about the significance of using the palm crosses for ashes.  The palm crosses remind us of the welcome that Jesus had as he came into Jerusalem the week before he was crucified. As he entered Jerusalem that day, the crowds hailed him as their king in great hope that Jesus was about to save them and bring about the restoration of Israel. The palms were all about how people expected God to meet their hopes and expectations.

But of course, Jesus was about the business of salvation on a much grander scale - for all humanity in every generation - setting aside nationalism and hopes driven by selfish desires. In the end the people who had welcomed Jesus as king either didn't get the truth, or didn't want it, and so their cries turned to 'Crucify him'!

So I was struck today how right it is that we burn up our palms. To follow Jesus is to decide to stop trying to conform Jesus to our expectations, but to begin to conform ourselves to his expectations.  This can feel like death, and the bible tells us it is in fact putting our 'flesh', our selfish desires to death. We are 'but dust', but we are dust with the life of God breathed into us, created out of love, and for purpose. I cannot imagine a 'better' life than deciding this is true, and so turning away from sin (doing things my way) and back to God (doing things God's way).

So Happy Ash Wednesday! And Happy Valentine's Day! May you know and love the one who fully knows and fully loves you.