Derde Sondag in Epifanie : 24 Januarie 2010 ~ Lukas 4:14-21
“GODKNOWS CHUMA” – JESUS VERKLAAR DIE EVANGELIE VIR DIE EERSTE KEER
Ek gaan die tweede gedagte vir die vierde Sondag van 2010 ‘n bietjie anders benader en deur monde van ander, ons tot Jesus se roeping (Lukas 4:14-24) oproep.
“Ons glo dat God Homself geopenbaar het as die Een wat geregtigheid en ware vrede onder mense wil bring; dat Hy in ‘n wêreld vol onreg en vyandskap op ’n besondere wyse die God van die noodlydende, die arme en die verontregte is en dat Hy sy kerk roep om Hom hierin na te volg; dat Hy aan verdruktes reg laat geskied en brood aan die hongeriges gee; dat Hy die gevangenes bevry en blindes laat sien; dat hy die wat bedruk is ondersteun, die vreemdelinge beskerm en die weeskinders en weduwees help en die pad van die goddelose versper…” (Art 4 BvB)
“It is a sad fact that those who pride themselves most on knowing their Bibles are often the least tolerant of the poor”. The predominantly middle-class nature of most churches has led to the enshrining of the Protestant work ethic as almost an article of faith. Ambition, prosperity, security are seen as virtues to godliness. The corollary, that poverty must be the product of laziness, lack of thrift and rootlessness, seems to be taken for granted.” (John Capon)
“As ons ons afsluit vir die eenvoudiges en armes, dan sluit ons ons ook vir God af” (Julian Müller)
“Wanneer iemand se persoonlike vroomheid tussen hom en sy medemens gaan staan, wanneer sy godsdienstige toewyding hom vir sy naaste toesluit, wanneer die werkinge van die Heilige Gees tot die terrein van die persoonlike etiek beperk word, wanneer Christenskap slegs in terme van heilige handelinge op gesette tye gedefinieer word, wanneer Bybeluitsprake wat met mense se konkrete node te doen het, vergeestelik word, wanneer verlossing tot die mens se persoonlike verhouding tot God beperk word, wanneer ‘n persoon minus al sy verhoudinge gered word, wanneer strukturele en geïnstitusionaliseerde sonde nie aan die kaak gestel word nie, het ons met ‘n onbybelse eensydigheid en ‘n onegte Christendom te doen” (David Bosch)
“Jesus was a ‘liberal’, because in God and in the power of the Holy Sprit he interpreted and appraised Moses, the Scriptures, and dogmatics from the point of view of love.” (Ernst Käsemann)
“… ons kan nie saamstem met die praktyke waarin gelowiges hulle liefde teenoor God wil los dink of losmaak van mense en probleme in hierdie wêreld nie. Christene het ‘n sosiale roeping. God roep ons om sy liefde in hierdie wêreld uit te dra.” (André van Niekerk)
“… faith without a commitment to justice for the poor is a sham, because it ignores the most explicit of all the concerns of Scripture.” (Tony Campolo)
“The real danger in our world may not be failing to read the Bible – It maybe what happens when people actually do read it – especially the over 2000 verses of God’s heart for the poor and oppressed.” (Rob Bell)
“And Justice? That is what we seek. Not just charity, which may or may not be in someone’s long term interests. But justice that flows ‘like a river’ as Amos 5:24 puts it, and to which every man, woman, and child is entitled under God. This way we recognise the unique value and dignity of every human being.” (James Catford)
“Waarom net altyd werk om verligting van armoede te bring? Waarom net altyd hulpver¬le¬ning, diens van barmhartigheid? Moet armoede nie uitgewis word nie? Moet mense nie in staat gestel word om te ontkom aan die kultuur van armoede nie? Die middel – so het hy gemeen – was om die armes se rykdom te ontgin. Die gedagte is eers neergeskryf in ‘n standpuntstelling: The Poor Man’s Capital. Hierdie het uitgegroei tot ‘n organisasie wat genoem is Pela Nambo (”steek die rivier oor” in Tsonga). Die kloof tussen ryk en arm moes oorbrug word, die rivier tussen die formele (kapitalistiese) ekonomie en die informele (oorlewings-) ekonomie moes oorgesteek word.” (uit lewenskets van Eddie Bruwer)
“25,000 people die every day in the world from contaminated water and waterborne diseases (principle dysentery); 10,000 to 20,000 of these 25,000 deaths are children. We have so fouled our water basins that 1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water, and the single largest cause of death on this planet is our pollution of drinking water.” (Leonard Sweet)
“Jesus’ mission is a holistic mission to the poor. Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom because this is what he was sent to do (Lk. 4:43). While we can see no pattern of activity, no ‘model’ for transformation, the gospel story is full of stories of preaching, teaching, healing, and casting out of demons – word, deed and sign. Surely, Christian transformation should aspire to the same – word, deed, and sign” (Bryan Myers)
“The gospel is written from the perspective of the poor man. The basis of the New Testament message is the incarnation: the Word was made flesh. God’s solidarity is not just a matter of words, but of deeds. He comes to man in poor, vulnerable, human flesh. He has taken upon himself the form of a slave (Phil.2:7). He was lowly as the least of the Christian brotherhood. And it is among them that he can still be found today (Matt. 25:31-36). So it is no coincidence that in his opening address in Luke’s gospel the Messiah announces the acceptable year of the Lord (4:18)” (Conrad Boerma)
WAT MOET GOD MEER DOEN OM ONS TE OORTUIG VAN SY ONTFERMENDE GEREGTIGHEID, ONS GENEIGDHEID TOT ‘N ONBYBELSE EENSYDIGHEID EN OM DIE RIVIER OOR TE STEEK?
Miskien lees ek te veel in die storie hieronder, besluit maar self… – Godknows
humanitarian news and analysis
a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
local produce for sale
ZIMBABWE: The seeds of plenty
HARARE, 13 January 2010 (IRIN) – In 2009 Zimbabwe withdrew the local dollar and allowed the use of foreign currency to bring down hyperinflation, but outside of urban centres this money is often scarce and also makes food expensive, so Godknows Chuma started growing his own and discovered that his green fingers could provide for his family.
“As is the case in many rural areas, the foreign currency was hard to come by and we were struggling to get money to buy basic commodities,” Chuma, 34, told IRIN.
He decided to turn his yard into a market garden to produce fruit and vegetables to sell directly to consumers in April 2009, soon after the Zimbabwe dollar became obsolete. Crippling hyperinflation had rendered the local dollar all but worthless and in February 2009 the economy was officially “dollarised”. Economists stopped measuring inflation after it hit 6.5 quindecillion novemdecillion percent – 65 followed by 107 zeros. Using the United States dollar, South African rand and Botswana pula as legal tender has helped rein in inflation, but they are seldom available in remote areas like Seke district, some 50km south of Harare, the capital, where Chuma lives.
A family affair
“I sold two chickens and bought the seed with which I started the garden project. Now the story is different because I make about US$10 a day, enough to buy foodstuffs and save for school fees and uniforms,” said Chuma, a father of three. “Growing vegetables is a hard job, but since I started this project my life has improved.” He irrigates the garden with water drawn from a well he dug, but his family sometimes still has fetch extra water from the river a kilometre away.
Every morning he and his family pick the vegetables that are ready and make them into bundles that Chuma sells along the nearby road.
Getting organised
Innocent Makwiramiti, a Harare-based economist and former chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, also urged villagers to form cooperatives, as this would increase their chances of securing loans from financial institutions. He said the government should improve rural infrastructure, particularly water sources and roads.
“There is a need for the government and local authorities to play an active role in promoting market gardening in rural areas,” he suggested. “This is a sure way of ensuring greater circulation of money in such communities, and reducing rural household poverty.”
Lees gerus “Zuma-seun, Malema se peperduur pretvaarte” Die artikel eindig met “In ’n vroeëre onderhoud met Rapport het Malema laat blyk sy leefstyl dien as voorbeeld vir die armes “dat die ANC ’n township-man se lewe kan verander” in /www.rapport.co.za/Content/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/ 2315/79d75096 12cb4f80b6ac2 c860f47006a/16-01-2010-10-55/Zuma-seun,_Malema_se_peperduur_pretvaarte
Ek eindig met ‘n 2010 sokker nuusbreker…
“… It also highlighted the two worlds — and economies — that will exist during the World Cup right here in South Africa. A concern that Dutch economic minister for development cooperation Bert Koenders voiced to the M&G: “My hope is that the South African World Cup will not only be for a small elite who will go to the games but also for many other ordinary people. Likewise, there must be something to ensure that not only Fifa and companies connected to the Fifa brand will benefit from this World Cup … I don’t believe in the automatic trickle-down effect of the World Cup or that there is no monopoly by Fifa-linked companies,” said Koenders. A Rainbow Nationphile who has spent much time in South Africa, Koenders singled out the “large informal sector” as one area that “should benefit from the World Cup, but I don’t think this is being done properly”. He warned against the country considering the World Cup as a “silver bullet for economic development”, which would be “very superficial”, and noted that South Africa had “the worst Gini coefficient in the world”. “The country needs a follow-up plan to ensure the enormous inequities are addressed,” Koenders said. “You must keep asking: ‘What is the sustainability of the jobs created [during the World Cup]?'” Koenders conceded that, with host cities having already signed agreements with Fifa that restrict everything from street-vending to where citizens can take their dogs for a pee, the horse may have bolted for South Africa to dictate the terms of a “developmental World Cup” with Fifa. www.mg.co.za/…/2010-01-11-the-tale-of-two-world-cups
Pieter van Niekerk
Seisoen van Luister Powerpoint
Geen verdere preeksketse in Argief