Pig of God, You Take Away...

Written Tuesday June 1, 2010

Ahhh the close of another day spent in the larger Kisumu area of Western Kenya. The exhaustion after a day with Joseph Okuya is not to be matched very often yet it is not exhaustion accompanied by heavy sighs or downtrodden faces but with dear memories and tears of gladness hidden behind sunglasses. We have an itinerary for our first week in Kisumu so that we know the names of the places we are going that day. Of course as resident aliens we have no idea what this means for us until we are at these schools and homes and interacting with principals, headmasters, men, women, and of course the students. The majority of our time at these schools is spent in the office of the principal or school administrator and/or getting a tour of the facilities. Each school we have been to barring St. Gabriel's Junior Seminary (where I will be hosted for one week starting June 6) is a school that has at least one Umoja scholar. The Umoja scholars have been present at their schools when we arrived and were promptly called to come meet their 'supporters' as we have been deemed. I will remember some of the principals and some of the facilities without pictures but I will remember all of the children who we have met. Their humble thankfulness and soft spoken voices accompanied by their shy handshakes leave a lasting impression when you are who they see as the face of their providers. But further than that is the interaction of the students with Ellen Daniels-Howell. Laura has fully captured and embraced the encouraging nature of Ellen with the students and brought it to my attention so that I can no longer go back to the van while she remains with the student but stay and be involved. It is so beautiful when the students and Ellen interact because of Ellen's spirit with the students and the truth that you can see in her eyes when she speaks to them and lets them hear how much she, Umoja, and the people in the U.S. care about each student. Not just that, but encouraging the students to seek after their dreams and to truly reach for the sky. And you can tell she is not blowing smoke in their ears but she means it and for me this is why I am here. It is truly a privilege being a part of a project like Umoja that does not just DO but that BELIEVES in what is done and what can be done. I praise God for this opportunity and ask God to impart into me that sort of drive and love of God's people that Ellen so obviously has. These moments between Ellen and the students as well as the overall humble generosity and radical hospitality of the Kenyan students, guardians, school teachers, and simply everyday people we meet is what has imprinted in my head the dear memories and what has caused my eyes to water behind my big Western sunglasses a number of times. Sitting at Lisuku primary school with the guardians WITHOUT my sunglasses on was emotionally overwhelming listening to these guardians of orphans and each of their stories and having to restrain watering eyes so that I did not make a fool of myself. It is in these times so far in Kenya that I have no doubt seen God working and been encouraged by the emotion I feel and the things I see because I get to be here in the middle of it.
Moving slightly away from the emotional drawings of our first few days meeting students and guardians, an interesting conversation took place today and I have a feeling it is yet to be finished. As I awoke from a brief eye-resting session at Charles's home today, I heard Joseph ask Ellen if he could consecrate (as in Eucharistic consecration) milk and mashed potatoes. Of course I felt the urge to jump right in this conversation and it developed into quite a theological discourse on the Eucharist and biblical interpretation, particularly the concept of 'lamb of God.' Four Kenya, Ellen, Joseph, Winnie, and Vitalis (driver) were all present and contributed, except Vitalis who was silent and Laura who was asleep for the majority of the conversation. The issue was not really about mashed potatoes and milk as elements as much as it was about how we understand Eucharist and how to handle unique situations as clergy and leaders that revolve around issues like allergies to wheat or gluten, grapes, or simply not having access to the traditional bread and wine/grape juice. The consensus seemed to be that it is not as much the elements in bread and wine form that constitute the sanctity of the Eucharist but it is the way in which whatever elements used are consecrated and taken as Eucharist. I am aware of the slippery slope of Eucharist theology this approaches which is why I will table this conversation. The move of the conversation into biblical interpretation came from Joseph as he pondered how to relate the notion of Jesus as the "lamb of God" to a place that did not have lambs and possibly only had pigs. We debated for a while and Laura chimed in later at dinner time after having the situation explained. Regardless of what we decided on the issue, I want to turn the questions back to you as a reader. How do YOU respond to someone not understanding what "lamb of God" means because they don't know what a lamb is? How do you relate scripture to people who are not familiar with the metaphors scripture itself uses? The reason I am challenging you is because this is a challenge we will face here in Kenya but that all confessing Christians will face wherever they are. My two cents is that we have to maintain the integrity of the biblical scripture while being able to 'make plain' the revelation of God in ways that carry substance and meaning for anyone who may not understand. This is easy in theory but quite different in the field. Can I get an amen? (especially from you fellow seminarians in FieldEd right now!)