Walking into the church early April 25 on that Friday morning, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. We were reminded that it wasn't a sure thing we would meet Desmond Tutu, but I had put a little extra thought in getting ready that morning - putting on the mascara that so rarely graces my face - just hoping for the moment that Desmond Tutu would make eye contact and indulge me with a smile.
The church was quiet aside from a smattering of whispers in the small back room where the chairs were quickly filling up, mostly by other visitors much like ourselves. The sound of people standing up and adjusting their chairs filled the room and I quickly joined them as the church leaders, including Desmond Tutu filed in from the back room. As Andrew leaned over and whispered, "There's Tutu!" I couldn't stop the smile that grew across my face and the skipping beat of my heart as the excitement of just being in the same vicinity of Tutu sunk in. I couldn't tell you much of what the service was about besides the fact when Karen took a jabbering James out, Tutu yelled to her, "You're not leaving are you? We like the sound of his voice." My appreciation and admiration of Tutu grew in that moment because I have found that a lot of people try to "get rid" of kids during church services because they make too much noise and need their own service. I, however, appreciate the sound of kids talking in the background and I believe that they belong with the rest of us in the service and I laughed as Karen made her way back to her seat.
Throughout the service I got a chance to see a little of Desmond Tutu's character and humor as he cracked a few jokes here and there. I appreciate the way that he made the service more lively and wasn't so caught up in reciting the passages but adding his personality to it. Also during the passing of peace to one another (where I got to shake Tutu's hand) he stopped to play peek-a-boo with James which was just precious. He did this a few more times over the course of the morning and in hindsight he may have done this not just because he loves kids, but maybe because James was someone who wasn't demanding anything from him, expecting him to be this person that they thought he should be, or treating him like some kind of celebrity. Tutu, I think, has come to expect this from people though as at the end of the service and communion, he said that he would be willing to take pictures. Well 80% of the service goers - including me - took advantage of this opportunity. I was so excited to be able to get a picture with him as were the others as they snapped pictures, selfies, and even had a few books signed by him.
I almost wish I hadn't been so selfish, though, as I felt sad as the realization sunk in that because we view him as such a great man, he can't even lead a church service without getting pictures taken or being asked to be interviewed in the middle of the service. Many of the attendees, including myself, were only there to meet and get a picture with Desmond Tutu. I didn't care much about the service but the man leading it. If there ever is a next time I get to meet Desmond Tutu, I will smile at him, shake his hand, and I want to ask him how he is. I want to see him as a person just like me. A person who just wants to be recognized for who he is and not treated any different. A person who wants to have an every day conversation that doesn't revolve around the himself or what he's done, but his hopes and dreams and the things that matter to him. I want to see HIM.
As you have read, I big highlight of my past couple weeks, was getting to meet Desmond Tutu. I recently had the opportunity to go to Cape Town with my team and the Sudermans since they had a dialogue there with some people from ANiSA (Anabaptist Network in South Africa). A lot of my thoughts from the aftermath of meeting Desmond Tutu were because of this dialogue. At one point in the dialogue it turned to how we can help others and how we see people. We need to see each other for who they are, who they really as a person. See their humanity and not their situation. See their hopes and dreams, not their failures. See them as a person like yourself, not as someone higher or lower than you on the totem pole. Give people back their identities and not the identities others placed on them. "I see YOU." This mindset is something I want to try and remember throughout the rest of my life. Jesus treated everyone the same and as equals and I want to do this also. It's not about actions and the situation so much as the person behind them.
While a lot of my thoughts from the dialogue came from that segment of the dialogue I also came away from the dialogue thinking a lot about the church. The topic of the dialogue was Jesus and Politics. The definition of politics is "how we relate to one another in the polis (city)." How do we take Jesus and the way he related with others to our lives and the way relate to one another? One of the men at the dialogue brought up the fact that the church is a polis. Well if the church is a polis, how are we relating with one another in the church? In the church as an individual and in the church as a denomination? As a church in the Mennonite denomination and as a church in the greater body of believers in the world? The church as a polis makes it a political being and it being a political being gives it power. If we have power as a political being in the church, how much more of a difference could we make if we could all work together as one body? The Church as I see it right now is a polis under apartheid. We have all our separate denominations and if we disagree, there's another split or people leave without resolving anything. How can we as members of the church expect others to join, when we can't even live in harmony with each other as fellow believers? What happened to make us shy away from those with conflicting ideas? We should have healthy debates to figure out our strengths. Imagine the impact we could have if we put all our strengths together, worked together to resolve issues and work through our problems, and took Jesus's politics into our lives and into the world to reach all the separate townships to put together what the apartheid system tore apart. We all have one common goal, purpose, and commissioning - why not resolve our differences and work together under Jesus's politics?
