A week ago i shared a piece from Sarah Bessey's new book 'Out of Sorts' on Justice and Shalom and so i want to share the second part of that with you. This is from Chapter 11 which is titled ‘Beautiful Facade’ and subtitled ‘On Justice and Shalom’: = = = = = = = = = = When I start getting mad at the facade, I peek behind it and guess who I find? The [...]
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Or maybe just the most hectic of times. Having just moved across to a newer fresher website and blog for Irresistibly Fish, i wrote two posts which really got people responding A LOT in the last 48 hours. The first being the provocatively titled, 'Sodomy: A South African Love Story' and the second the way more controversial [somehow] 'The Passion of the Chris' [which despite the [...]
The Search for Justice. i have seen and loved that cartoon many times before, because it helps shift perspective. Some of us might have been clamouring loudly for Equality [or for the things that make us feel equal but still leave others behind a fence] when in actual fact what we are needing to champion is Justice. That simple cartoon illustrates this so powerfully. [Side Note: The people who get to see over the fence [...]
i really enjoyed reading this book by John Perkins recently. Despite being about his experiences in Americaland i found that so much of it resonated with the present conversations happening in South Africa. The passage i posted on Why Do You Live Where You Live? gave much food for thought and there are some other pieces i would love to share, but as always, you will do much better if you just make some effort [...]
My lovely wife Val was of course the hostess for Friday's dinner and deep dive into Race, Boundary and Location conversation that i wrote about over here, and she shares some of her thoughts from the evening: The idea is simple: gather good people around good food and good discussion and see what happens. So we did. We turned off technology and tuned in to people. It was messy and it was chaotic, it was painful and it [...]
The other day i wrote a poem titled 'to them who have ears' and just thinking about it a little more today, have dubbed it a choir poem - as in those who get what it's about and who agree will totally be reading and nodding and cheering and liking and sharing... but those who don't, are unlikely to even read it and if they somehow do, unlikely to understand the point trying to be made... [...]
A rendition from the heart: Wouldn’t it be great to wake up one day and see everyone living at peace with each other? Wouldn’t it be wonderful that no one harboured feelings of resentment and injustice with the other instead we stand side by side as brothers? I yearn and hunger for a South Africa of equality in life and in living standards. I long for a land where the needs of the majority are [...]
During our weekend at Robben Island, there were many moments or phrases that stood out in terms of being quick "Aha!" flashes of inspiration and here are some of the ones i captured: "Man's potential for justice makes democracy possibly Man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." [Njongonkulu Ndungane] # "The Church is so silent these days. The voice of the church is very important. The voice of the youth is very important. God's word of [...]
My good friend, Linda Martindale introduced me to a friend of hers, Nkosivumile Gola at the TRC Re-Enactment meetings we both went to a week or so ago in Stellenbosch. When i heard that Nkosi had a blog i immediately asked him if he would consider writing a piece for mine. Not to give him an easy ride, i posed this topic to him - the fact that for white people who do want to [...]
i don't feel very strong right now. i feel wronged. badly done by. hurt. betrayed. disappointed. and yet again and again it comes back to me that the call is on me to forgive. pride. ego. self-righteousness. my idea of "justice". all these things rally against me, trying to convince me that i am in the right [maybe i am] and that the other should approach me [maybe they should] and seek peace and restoration. [...]
