Ubuntu

Colossians 3. 9-14



Ubuntu



…As the Lord has forgiven you… (V.13).



September 11 reminds us of two important events: first, the destruction of the World Trade Center six years ago (2001) by terrorists and, secondly the introduction of the most nonviolent form of resistance --Satyagraha -- by Mahatma Gandhi a century ago (1906)in South Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu Mpilo, who has been in the forefront of resistance to apartheid, in his book, No Future Without Forgiveness (1999), stresses the need for reconciliation and forgiveness in the post apartheid South Africa.The central idea of his book is expressed by the term, Ubuntu, which is related to a Zulu concept -- umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu -- which is vaguely translated as “My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in what is yours” or “I am what you are.” Bishop Tutu says that the only way to learn ubuntu and forgiveness is through suffering, and gives the example of Nelson Mandela. The New Testament makes clear that the forgiveness of God is revealed in the experience of suffering and rejection in the life and crucifixion of Jesus. Forgiveness breaks the chain of causality and makes it the basis of working for peace and justice in the world. It gives us the power to accept the world of sin and death.