May the force be with us
The gift of the Holy Spirit celebrated at the Feast of Pentecost tomorrow empowers every member of the Church without exception. Here Maureena Fritz, the director of a Christian institute in Jerusalem, explains why this sense of empowerment is particularly welcome now
In the tsunami of revelations and rage against the Church after the sexual abuse scandals, do I feel myself addressed, awakened to the power that I have? Do I recognise a voice struggling to be heard? The Churches of today are looking towards Pentecost Sunday, a festival with deep roots in Judaism, which describes a “power” bestowed upon all, each one without exception. At the time of Pentecost (Shavuoth)
Jesus’ disciples, all Jews, went up to the Holy City for the harvest festival of the First Fruits that took place 50 days after Passover. Special aspects of the ceremony were the offering of two loaves of bread and the free will offering of every family. The two loaves of bread symbolised partnership – God’s gift of land and rain and sun, and the human role of seeding, cultivating, harvesting and baking. The free-will offering emphasised that all were included, sons and daughters, male and female slaves, strangers, orphans and widows. Later tradition also emphasised the covenant relationship, where the partnership was sealed communally and individually with the words, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do” (Exodus 19:8). All of these elements are present in the description of the giving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday. In the book of Acts, Luke points out that “they were all together in one place”. By “all” we may consider this included the sons and daughters, male and female slaves, strangers, orphans and widows mentioned in Deuteronomy 16:11, who came up for the festival. At least we must assume that Luke meant to include the 120 disciples of Acts 1:15. And lest we
Just over 10 years ago, Richard Mason established the Kay Mason Foundation (KMF), in memory of his sister who died when he was a child, with funds from the novel The Drowning People which he had written in his late teens. Now, two best-selling novels further on (Usand The Lighted Rooms), KMF looks after more than 70 high-school students, all of whom are given a chance to fulfil their talent in a way that their circum- stances otherwise would not allow. South Africa spends more of its GDP on education than any other developing nation. But the return is frankly poor from teachers demoralised by endless change and hampered by management and training structures that do not ensure resources are used effectively. Recently, Archbishop Tutu told me that he’d visited a school and cried when he’d seen “exactly the same lack of facilities I’d myself experienced 60-plus years before”.
omit anyone, Luke continues: “This is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18). All are empowered: not only the men and the women, but also children and slaves. Is there a residue of this kind of teaching in movies such as Star Wars, Harry Potter and Avatar which have made them so popular. Luke Skywalker, empowered with “the Force”, confronts the evil Darth Vader, and redeems his father and the planet. Harry Potter uses “good magic” to combat “evil magic”. Jake Sully, a paraplegic, saves the planet Pandora against Colonel Quaritch. In all these literary pieces, girls and women have equal power to that of boys and men. Today’s festival reminds woman, man and child of the gift of the Spirit given personally to each one. All are gifted with the “Force”. God addresses each one and says, “I am with you, not merely some time and some where but in every now and in every here.” Of course, such a gift carries with it a responsibility to listen and to do, “We will hear and we will do.” No one can hear the voice for me. God’s spirit penetrates the events in all of my life and all the events in the world around me, everything biographical and everything historical, and invites me to respond. God tenders me the situation to which I have to answer. From the ground ofmy being, from an inner depth, and relying on the power
KMF seeks to address this by ensuring that some of South Africa’s brightest and best are not lost to communities where endemic social problems – poverty, low self- esteem and crime chief among them – create spirals of under-achievement and violence. In a country where everyone pays a fee towards their education, KMF gets the learn- ers to state schools their parents otherwise would not be able to afford.
At a recent workshop for high-school
leavers, one of them, Dominic Fortuin, described his experience as a KMF scholar: “I grew up in a place called Park Wood in Cape Town, which is overwhelmed by drugs, alcohol, poverty, teenage parents and gang- sterism. The KMF changed my life. Every time I walk down the street I see friends I was in primary school with, now drug addicts, dealers and even fathers.” Dominic’s friend, Riyaaz Calvert, whose
of God’s presence, I act. No assurance exists that my decision is right. Although I may have certainty that my decision is the correct one, my certainty is uncertain. Uncertainty is difficult to accept. Many
prefer security in a book of rules that relieves one of personal decisions. But the Word of God that addresses me in this hour is not a word that can be looked up in a guide or holy book; it is a present word that demands my answer by carrying out the responsibility towards it as best I can. Nor can the collective decisions of the group to which I belong, whether community or church, relieve me of this responsibility. I do not look away from the group to whose welfare I cling, yet in my decision I might stand in opposition to it because I become aware that God’s love ordains it to be so. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). The obstacles are bound to be many. But
like a fast flowing river, I find my way around the boulders. No doubt, it takes a hero to abandon the map. It takes a hero to step into the darkness on the strength of a trusted voice – one voice that I trust more than any other: above that of parent, priest, minister or friend. My path will always lead beyond, beyond that which is known and secure. It is by making this path, by following this voice that only I can hear, that a hero becomes a leader. What am I waiting for? Forward to a
new world! As the poet Shelley wrote, “If winter comes, can spring be far behind?”
■Maureena Fritz NDS is academic director of Bat Kol Institute, Jerusalem, Israel.
maureena@batkol.info
father died when he was five, and whose mother has had four children to support, added: “The KMF has given me so much con- fidence and self-respect. It’s changed me from a shy boy with trust issues into an 18-year- old with a bright future ahead of me.” Both young men want to teach. In a country
crying out for teachers of their calibre, they will be a godsend. Both, incidentally, say they will be watching as the 2010 World Cup drama unfolds in Cape Town. But where many will benefit little as the global show rolls in and out of Africa, they both know that the longer- term commitment of a more sustained approach has already made them leaders for a new generation.
■Chris Chivers is canon chancellor of Blackburn Cathedral and formerly canon precentor of St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town.
22 May 2010 | THE TABLET | 9
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