By Rev Majaha Nhliziyo
14 January 2022
Psalm 36:5-10, Jeremiah 3:19-25, 1 Corinthians 7:1-7.
Grace, mercy and peace to you fellow disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Just as we have the three fire stones for our traditional cooking places, we can talk of 3 pillars when considering the issue of discipleship.
Our three readings for today's reflection give us these important pillars to consider as guiding principles.
In actual fact, one can trace these right down the history of the biblical narratives and the church tradition.
1) Love: Following the outline of the Psalmist one finds love and faithfulness as the framework of the text in verses 5-10.
The Jeremiah and 1 Corinthian readings reflect on the same matter of love.
We can then see love as the basis of God's call to all humanity to live together in harmony with one another and in sustainable relationship with the natural environment.
This can happen if and when there is faithfulness in all our interactions.
It is from this point that one appreciates Jeremiah's language of heart break and indeed the Psalmist's deep concerns.
Love and faithfulness can be seen further not only in family matters but as the core of our national calling in socio - economic and political matters.
With love and faithfulness being part of the triad of each person's life, things would be better for all.
2) Righteousness: The Hebrew words for righteousness, tsedeq, tsedaqah, imply ethical conduct in all our dealings whether at family, business or socio-political matters. In this way righteousness is a natural outflow from love and faithfulness.
Which pastor or public servant would act corruptly against the people they love? None. Which "church or NGO" grouping would defraud people of their hard earned resources? None.
3) Justice: The call of the Psalmist and particularly of the 8th century prophets was for justice to prevail. In short justice is the natural outflow of righteousness and gives it substance and rootedness in reality.
There cannot be righteousness when there are still millions of "homeless, hungry poor people" on a land that is so endowed with mineral and other resources. Our missional calling involves changing this situation.
May the steadfast love of God be the sure foundation for our missional calling today. Amen
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