“There is a saying in Rwanda that ‘God travels the world by day, but He rests at night in Rwanda.’ God makes His home in Rwanda because no other place exhibits so well the glory of His creation.”
Janelle has asked us all to read the book, Mirror to the Church: Resurrecting Faith after Genocide in Rwanda, by Emmanuel Katongole, before Kwibuka, the time of remembrance, comes in April. When I finished, I really wanted to share some parts of the book that spoke to me with you.
Katongole starts the book talking about the influences and history that eventually led to the Genocide. These next two quotes are him explaining and trying to put those influences into perspective for us in Western society, and more specifically, Americans. “I worry they do not see how Africa’s problems are tied up with the problems of the West. But even more, I worry that by operating under the assumption that they are going to ‘save Africa’, they miss the face that Christian mission is not so much about delivering aid or services as it is about the transformation of identity.”
This next quote I thought was an excellent way of framing what happened for those who may not understand the deep cuts that colonization made on this country. “Imagine that they year is 2020. Extraterrestrial forces descend on Capitol Hill with powers previously unknown to humankind. Not knowing any of the history of US politics, these ETs – let’s call them Muzungus – notice that the people on Capitol Hill are divided into two groups, Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans, they can see, are in control. They meet in committees, write long documents about how their society will be organized, and then push these bills through Congress and into law. These Republicans seem to be shrewd, capable, and effective leaders. Democrats, on the other hand, seem scattered and ineffective. They make arguments against the Republicans in the newspapers and in debates, but they never win.
Now, imagine that a Muzungu who is part of this invasion sits down to write in his journal about Republicans and Democrats. He observes these general differences between the two groups and tries to explain them. The Democrats, he notes, are generally smaller. They have less money and appear to be intellectually inferior. (These are exceptions of course, but he thinks they only prove the rule.) Republicans, on the other hand, are natural-born leaders. They are good in business and strong in national security. Our Muzungu explorer records all of this in his journal, carries it back to his home planet, and publishes his eyewitness report of the people in this newly discovered land.
Imagine that the Muzungus, realizing their superior strength and the resources available on planet earth, decide to take over the United States. Rather than relocate a large number of their population to earth, the Muzungus decide to cultivate a good relationship with the “naturally superior” Republicans and put them in charge of things. They give Muzungu technology to the Republicans and ever give some of them opportunities to travel to planet Muzungu and get further education. They take land from Democrats who, it is simply assumes, do not know how to manage it anyway – and give it to Republicans instead. In short, they develop and entire set of social institutions that assume Republicans are not only superior, but also essentially different from Democrats.”
Further into the book, he talks about the betrayal of the church to its community, its congregations, as brothers and sisters in Christ, leaders, priests all in the church put aside Christianity and chose national identities first. “This is why we bother to learn the prophetic posture in the world. Because we are invited to be part of God’s new creation now, we seek to embody the identity we have been given in Christ. Accordingly, the global mission is not primarily aid (humanitarian assistance); it’s not even partnership. We engage in mission to establish friendships that lead to the formation of a new people in the world.
The Church’s primary purpose is not to make America more Christian, but to make American Christians less American and Rwandan Christians less Rwandan. We are no longer Rwandans or Americans, neither Hutu nor Tutsi. If we are in Christ, we have become part of a new creation.”
This last quote is my favorite, it rings out true and strong in our society today. In a world with so many divisions, why can’t we put them aside, and be one in Christ? Turi Kumwe.
“The denominational church that is so grounded in racial, tribal, ethnic, and national identities is dead. Any church that thinks Hutu and Tutsi or black and white are natural does not have the life of Christ in it.”
Janelle has asked us all to read the book, Mirror to the Church: Resurrecting Faith after Genocide in Rwanda, by Emmanuel Katongole, before Kwibuka, the time of remembrance, comes in April. When I finished, I really wanted to share some parts of the book that spoke to me with you.
Katongole starts the book talking about the influences and history that eventually led to the Genocide. These next two quotes are him explaining and trying to put those influences into perspective for us in Western society, and more specifically, Americans. “I worry they do not see how Africa’s problems are tied up with the problems of the West. But even more, I worry that by operating under the assumption that they are going to ‘save Africa’, they miss the face that Christian mission is not so much about delivering aid or services as it is about the transformation of identity.”
This next quote I thought was an excellent way of framing what happened for those who may not understand the deep cuts that colonization made on this country. “Imagine that they year is 2020. Extraterrestrial forces descend on Capitol Hill with powers previously unknown to humankind. Not knowing any of the history of US politics, these ETs – let’s call them Muzungus – notice that the people on Capitol Hill are divided into two groups, Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans, they can see, are in control. They meet in committees, write long documents about how their society will be organized, and then push these bills through Congress and into law. These Republicans seem to be shrewd, capable, and effective leaders. Democrats, on the other hand, seem scattered and ineffective. They make arguments against the Republicans in the newspapers and in debates, but they never win.
Now, imagine that a Muzungu who is part of this invasion sits down to write in his journal about Republicans and Democrats. He observes these general differences between the two groups and tries to explain them. The Democrats, he notes, are generally smaller. They have less money and appear to be intellectually inferior. (These are exceptions of course, but he thinks they only prove the rule.) Republicans, on the other hand, are natural-born leaders. They are good in business and strong in national security. Our Muzungu explorer records all of this in his journal, carries it back to his home planet, and publishes his eyewitness report of the people in this newly discovered land.
Imagine that the Muzungus, realizing their superior strength and the resources available on planet earth, decide to take over the United States. Rather than relocate a large number of their population to earth, the Muzungus decide to cultivate a good relationship with the “naturally superior” Republicans and put them in charge of things. They give Muzungu technology to the Republicans and ever give some of them opportunities to travel to planet Muzungu and get further education. They take land from Democrats who, it is simply assumes, do not know how to manage it anyway – and give it to Republicans instead. In short, they develop and entire set of social institutions that assume Republicans are not only superior, but also essentially different from Democrats.”
Further into the book, he talks about the betrayal of the church to its community, its congregations, as brothers and sisters in Christ, leaders, priests all in the church put aside Christianity and chose national identities first. “This is why we bother to learn the prophetic posture in the world. Because we are invited to be part of God’s new creation now, we seek to embody the identity we have been given in Christ. Accordingly, the global mission is not primarily aid (humanitarian assistance); it’s not even partnership. We engage in mission to establish friendships that lead to the formation of a new people in the world.
The Church’s primary purpose is not to make America more Christian, but to make American Christians less American and Rwandan Christians less Rwandan. We are no longer Rwandans or Americans, neither Hutu nor Tutsi. If we are in Christ, we have become part of a new creation.”
This last quote is my favorite, it rings out true and strong in our society today. In a world with so many divisions, why can’t we put them aside, and be one in Christ? Turi Kumwe.
“The denominational church that is so grounded in racial, tribal, ethnic, and national identities is dead. Any church that thinks Hutu and Tutsi or black and white are natural does not have the life of Christ in it.”