Part of one unfolding story Week 1: Thursday Reading Ephesians 4.1-6 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: ‘Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.’ The eunuch asked Philip, ‘About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’ He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. Reflection Found on the “wilderness road”, an Ethiopian eunuch – a most unlikely character – learns the good news from Philip. He is devout. He is desiring to know the Hebrew Scriptures. But he is Black. He is a eunuch, which means that he is ritually impure according to ancient traditions. This is someone deemed illegitimate in every way, but nonetheless, one who is strategically part of the one unfolding Christian story begun in Acts. When we consider the history of Christianity, it is easy to forget how it has Black and marginal beginnings, and how Black and African wisdom and insights have formed it through the writings of Tertullian, Abba Moses, Augustine of Hippo and many others. The Christian church had been established in Ethiopia for over a thousand years when the European missionaries we mentioned yesterday arrived – supposedly – to “Christianise” Africa. Watch Take note of your reactions to the importance of Africa to the Early Church. ...and pray for a deepening openness to the Spirit's movements in all people and places. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
The dangers of dualism Week 1: Wednesday Access an audio version of this reflection via our free app for Apple and Android devices. Reading Ephesians 4.1-6 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. Reflection Ancient Greek and Roman thinking was strongly influenced by the notion that nature and life needed to be separated between the world that we can sense and the perfect world that we can only imagine: between the real world, and the ideal world. The Letter to the Ephesians rejects this kind of “dualism”, insisting on the reality of one God, one faith and one Christ. Yet dualistic thinking has caused problems for the Church from the outset. Accepting non-Jewish believers was the first hurdle of the Early Church. Later, European Christian missionaries to Africa and the Americas from the fifteenth century onwards treated indigenous cultures as idolatrous. Yet, these cultures were fertile grounds for the development of Christianity. Such “dualism” is dangerous because it creates division and conflict unnecessarily, hindering the good news of Jesus Christ. Watch Notice any moments when you begin to see life in black-and-white terms. ...and pray for the humility to accept grey and multi-coloured realities in life. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
Reuniting all thingsWeek 1: TuesdayAccess an audio version of this reflection via our free app for Apple and Android devices. Reading Isaiah 11.6-9 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Reflection Yesterday we heard St Paul assert not only that God is one, but that God’s deepest desire is for all things to be reconciled as one. This is a challenging statement that might – especially after a glance at today’s news– seem too good to be true. Today’s reading from Isaiah’s vision of the peaceable kingdom is perhaps one of the most hopeful parts of the Bible. Such passages remind us that God’s endgame is peace across a violent and fractured world. Even the predator and prey lie down together in peace. Black Spirituality insists that regardless of the harsh conditions of life, union and communion have the last word. Peace and healing lie deeper than pain and suffering. There will be a reconciliation of all things, and all time, in God. And, finally, all shall be well in the end. Watch In the news and in your own life, look for any signs of hope, of harmony. ...and pray for God's justice and for God's healing in our world. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
Week 1: Unity The unity – the oneness – of the Christian faith is a key emphasis in Black Spirituality. However, from the earliest days, Christians have often lost sight of the God who St Paul declares “is above all and through all and in all”. We look this week at how all God’s people might grow in unity and wholeness. Prayer for the Week Holy and mighty Trinity, teach us of your oneness. Give us grace to see the ways in which we reject the unity you desire in favour of division and conflict. Amen. The oneness of God Week 1: Monday Reading Colossians 1.15-20 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. Reflection The poetic language of Colossians 1 that describes the nature of Christ and the nature of God points to the deep truth of Christianity, also echoed in the other Abrahamic faiths, Judaism and Islam: God is one. God, alone, is God. Christianity has wrestled with this for the first few centuries of the Church’s life, and the ancient doctrine of the Trinity was developed: God is one God in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our reading from Colossians brings us to the deep mystery that “in Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell”. African and African Caribbean spiritual traditions always begin from this place of the oneness of God. God’s life is present in all of creation, God’s very image within every human being. Watch Be aware every person you meet today is loved by God, is made in God's image. ...and pray for God's Holy Spirit to dwell within you and guide you. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
