Tuesday 3 November 2015

Meditation: INTERPRETING THE PRESENT TIME by John de Gruchy

INTERPRETING THE PRESENT TIME


Luke 12:54-56
"Why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"


My father taught me when I was young that if even a small cloud settled on the top of Lion's Head, which we could clearly see from the veranda of our house in Cape Town, then it would soon rain.  However, if there was a "table cloth" covering Table Mountain, and a howling Southeaster blowing down into the city, then it would not rain, but it would do so in Johannesburg.  So I soon became an expert at predicting the weather by reading the "signs of the times" just as Jesus remarked to his disciples:

When you see a cloud rising in the west you immediately say that it is going to rain -- and so it happens.  And when you see the south wind howling you say, there will be scorching heat; and it happens.

However, Jesus then went on to say to his hearers that they were hopeless at interpreting the signs of the times in which they were living.  They were clueless about the significance of what was happening before their very eyes at that moment in history. 

You hypocrites!  You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

This, too, is true of many people today. We can all know what the weather is like from Alaska to Samoa by looking on TV or checking the web, but we are not so good at interpreting the times in which we live and therefore how we should respond.

There are many Christian preachers in the world today who claim to be interpreting the signs of Jesus' Second Coming to solve all our problems, so all we have to do is wait and pray.  But Jesus was not speaking about a Second Coming, he was speaking about "interpreting the present times,"  about what God was doing in and through him right there and then, not at some future date, and therefore about what they had to do in response. In his sayings and actions, Jesus kept on trying open his hearers eyes to see what God was doing in the unfolding events of his day.  Sadly, even his disciples failed to understand.  and I fear that is sometimes true of us.  We know what is happening in the world, but we don't interpret them in terms of what is God doing and what God requires of us.   So we respond in fear not faith, in terms of self-interest rather than the common good.  But Jesus pushes us to ask what is God doing in what is happening, and what does God require of us.   

This brings me to the two dramatic events of the past week or so -- the #Feesmustfall student protest movement and the huge protest march by the EFF in Johannesburg and Sandton on Tuesday this week.  These do not herald the Second Coming of Jesus, though that would be a relief for university administrators, stock brokers and the government.  Like them we might also wish that it would all go away so that things may return to normal, but they won't.  But what if we interpret these events differently, that is as a God-given opportunity to make our country a more just society?  After all, the students are rightly protesting against something that is wrong, something that needs to be changed not just for their good, but also for ours and for the future of our country.  I do not know any academic, from Vice-Chancellors to Lecturers who would not agree.   After all, the demands are for a living and fair wage for all in South Africa.  This is surely not outrageous, it is what the government has been promising for twenty years but not been very good at delivering.  It is about spending our taxes rightly so that wealth in our country can be shared not squandered; it is about everyone having what they need to live meaningful lives, not a few having so much that they don't know what to do with it.  Uncomfortable as it may be, as Jesus followers, we have interpret the present times as God's call to us to  help find ways to respond to this cry for economic justice.  We cannot continue living as if the enormous gap between the rich and the poor, Sandton and Alexandria Township, plush Hermanus and overcrowded Zwelihle is acceptable.  It is not, and something has to be done else the consequences are going to be far worse than an occasional protest march.  

Many years ago when Isobel, Steve I were driving through the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York we came across the legendary place where Rip van Winkle slept through the American Revolutionary War.  The story, written by Washington Irving and published in 1819 is a classic.  You probably know how Rip van Winkle went to sleep before the Revolution and when he woke up afterwards he discovered that the world had changed beyond recognition.  The story is universal.  We humans often sleep through a revolution that is taking place all around us. We prefer to turn out the light, go to sleep, and hope it will all go away.  But that is not an option for the followers of Jesus.  The present times are not the time to bury our heads ostrich-like in the sand, or sit back, blame the government and pass the boerewors around. 

If we truly interpret these times in which we are living as a God-given opportunity to work for a more just world and society we will have at least made a start as Jesus' disciples in discerning what we might be able do, and acknowledge that as followers of Jesus we have to find ways to share the wealth of our country with those who are in need.  So let us pray that there is much wisdom for government to manage the process and find solutions that achieve the outcomes needed.  Let us pray that big business will get the message the EFF delivered on their doorstep and respond in ways that help change things for the better.  Let us pray for the Overstrand Council to use its resources wisely and rightly especially where they are most needed.  And let us keep asking ourselves what can we do within our own spheres of influence and with the resources we have, limited as they may be.  

As Christians we know that we cannot throw up our hands in despair, or wash our hands as though all this had nothing to do with us.  We know it has everything to do with us, and many of our community are already are involved in trying to make a difference in our society.   So let us spend less time forecasting the weather and more time seeking to discern what God is calling us to be and to do in these present times. 


John W. de Gruchy

Volmoed    29 October 2015

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