all nations
In the Republic of Transkei, summers of 1991-1994, I volunteered as a teaching assistant in a Christian elementary school. It was a volatile time in South Africa, when American English instruction was highly valued as apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela became president. I was beginning college, still studying Russian, but moving towards something else. Becoming a doctor? I enjoyed working in the clinic with the kids, but halfway through sophomore year, I decided that organic chemistry was no longer for me. I switched to Anthropology.
I tried adding Black Studies as a second major junior year, but found that at a small college with a limited faculty, fulfilling requirements of distribution between Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, the United States, and the African Diaspora was almost impossible to complete in time for graduation. There is so much to learn, and college years go by quickly. That was thirty years ago, and seems so far away.
When Jeff Trask invited us to the screening of Bound: Africans versus African-Americans at the Unitarian Church in Urbana this Saturday at 6pm, where he will facilitate discussion afterward, I was intrigued. Even though I am not a “movie person”, this is a free opportunity to keep learning, all these years later.
Lenten scripture readings begin with Jesus’ temptations in the desert after his baptism, so I’ve been thinking on the juxtaposition between the devil’s offer and the vision in Revelation, how Jesus rejected the first to hold out for the hope of God’s future.
Next the devil led him to a high place and showed him in a single instant all the kingdoms of the world. The devil said, “I will give you this whole domain and the glory of all these kingdoms. It’s been entrusted to me and I can give it to anyone I want. Therefore, if you will worship me, it will all be yours.” Luke 4:5-7 (CEB)
What was it like to see all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time- on all the continents, from thousands of years before to thousands of years into the future of our own present reality, and beyond? That must have been a powerful vision of all the glory of the nations. All history and future, all languages and cultures, all over the world unknown to each other. Awesome, and tempting, except for the betrayal and loss of faithfulness in God’s promise.
Jesus replied to him, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” Luke 4:8 (quoting Deuteronomy 6:10)
Jesus held out for a different vision, a different kind of power, to be part of God’s future for the nations. This is where the very best of all nations is brought to the city of God, where all is brought into the light.
I didn’t see a temple in the city, because its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. The city doesn’t need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day, and there will be no night there. They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. Revelation 21:22-26 (CEB)
We see such a small piece of history, know just a little about these kingdoms and nations and their glory. Do we see ourselves in these visions of the peoples of the world? There is so much we do not know. The ability to learn and discover is one of the great gifts of being human. I am grateful that our education doesn’t end with our college major or our current career. We can keep on learning- about nations past and present, about the glories and the difficulties- and we can keep on seeking God’s way for our lives, day by day.
May we choose to not be satisfied with bread alone, or settle for promises of worldly power, or choose transactional religion to protect our personal safety. May we be fed by the true food of doing the will of our Father, as Jesus did. May we worship and serve God only, as we look forward to the vision of all nations walking by the light of the Lamb in the city of God.
–Renée