Editorial.
Gill, Theodore A., Jr. ; Njoroge, Nyambura
What a scandal! We are in the house of Simon, as is his guest
Jesus. A seemingly mannerless woman "from the city" dashes
into the house and performs an unthinkable act in relation to a man
supposed to be a prophet. She pulls out a jar of expensive ointment.
Without excusing herself or even looking up to the host and the guest
for a nod, she starts weeping and wetting Jesus' feet with her
tears (Lk 7:36-50). Worst of all, she wipes his feet with her hair (I am
envious mine is too short). As if that were not too much already, she
kisses his feet and crowns it all by anointing his feet with the
ointment. Such an intimate act performed in the presence of another man
by a woman "from the city", a scorned and stigmatized sister!
It is a scandal--I am embarrassed.
Poor Simon, he could not take it anymore. How dare this sinful
woman touch my guest? Surely Jesus cannot be the prophet everybody is
talking about in town. He should know better. Yet Jesus allowed her to
anoint him a few days before his violent death on the cross. Have we
learned anything from this powerful narrative, which Luke has fashioned
with his own emphases and purposes from details also related in the
other gospels (Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, and John 12: 1-8)?
For three decades this scene has been repeated countless times
albeit in manifold ways, as people of faith respond to the HIV pandemic.
Some of us have responded like Simon by thinking about the sexual
lifestyle of people living with HIV, how sinful they are and how
undeserving they are in the eyes of God. How dare they approach the holy
place of worship and in particular the Eucharist? No, there is no way
they can receive Holy Communion or serve tea or even be seen in the
company of our pastor and our young children in Sunday school. Others of
us prepare performance appraisals of people we hardly know, or whose
lifestyles we hardly understand, and we declare they are HIV-positive as
a punishment from God for their sexual sins. We have been
quick to speak on behalf of God or to read the mind of God in
explaining why people have to be afflicted by such a terrible unknown
illness.
But we have also encountered people who from the beginning of
"slim"--as it was first known in some communities--observed,
listened and sought to understand how they could help the sick and bury
the dying with dignity despite the trauma and confusion. In the
beginning there were church leaders and health practitioners who broke
the silence about the AIDS crisis and urged the churches and the World
Council of Churches to take action and to ensure that churches act as
healing communities in the face of unbearable suffering and needless
death.
On the other hand, there are people living with HIV who like the
woman in Simon's house have encountered the forgiving and healing
power of Jesus and have dedicated their lives to confronting stigma
(self and social), shame, denial, discrimination, inaction and misaction
(SSDDIM). They have clearly understood that God's prophetic mission
must continue because HIV and death do not have the last word. These are
women and men who have come to understand that our mission in life is
not to judge and condemn others. Rather, our God-given calling is to
follow Christ and be the salt and light of the world.
God has revealed Godself through people who have many sins yet are
forgiven, and they have responded with loving kindness and compassion
and are doing the unthinkable by reaching out to the least of these in
our communities, to HIV-positive children and people, orphans, widows
and widowers, sex workers, people whose sexuality we least understand
and/or condemn, intravenous drug users, survivors of sexual violence who
live with feelings of hopelessness and destroyed dignity. These are
women and men (young and not so young) who know they are beloved and
forgiven daughters and sons of God (not necessarily Christians), who
know what to do with the sick and the dying. Above all, they care enough
to prevent HIV transmission in anyone including the unborn child.
These are not people who necessarily live with HIV in their bodies
but are people who recognize that we live with HIV in our families,
religious communities, places of work and our streets--they have
provided much needed leadership. They do everything within their reach
to be part of the solution to end HIV transmission and HIV-related
illness and deaths. Some of these people give their financial resources,
time, knowledge and passion so that others may have life and have it in
abundance.
Like the woman in Simon's house these are people who do not
wait for "permission" to take their place at the table or even
ask Jesus if he wants to be washed, kissed and anointed. They usually do
very little talking, but are busy being and doing what must be done
before nightfall comes. They do not wait for religious leaders to tell
them what their role and place is in God's prophetic mission. They
have no time for endless debates on the role and place of people living
with HIV in the churches and the ecumenical movement, for instance. They
keep doors open and provide opportunities for people to follow and serve
God irrespective of their social location, sexual orientation, marital
status or economic ladder.
By allowing a scorned and stigmatized woman to anoint him and by
rebuking those who scolded her for being wasteful, Jesus bequeaths us a
very effective and empowering message for the churches and theological
institutions in this time of HIV pandemic and endemic sexual and
gender-based violence. Through this text and many others in the Bible,
we are invited to repent for missing the mark and to know in truth the
great joy of being forgiven which invokes loving kindness, courage,
resilience, compassion, wisdom and guidance when faced with hard
realities of life.
The woman--acknowledged by Jesus as having many sins--may not have
had as much theological and practical training as the male disciples but
she became a powerful illustration for Jesus of what was to become of
him in a few days time. In fact, Jesus wanted his followers never to
forget her prophetic action and legacy, but the church has failed
miserably. "Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached
in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of
her" (Matthew 26:13 & Mark 14:9 RSV). Jesus revealed God's
loving kindness, steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness and justice
through such characters, whom we choose to ignore, stigmatize or even
demonize (Matthew 25: 31-46).
This issue of Ecumenical Review gives us a glimpse of how people of
faith, mostly Christians but not exclusively, have struggled with the
hard reality of HIV and AIDS in our midst for 30 years. It has been a
journey of trial and error through a valley of misery for some and
mountains of forgiveness and healing for others. Others are still
waiting to hear the voice of Jesus through us saying: "Let her
alone, why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to
me" (Mark 14: 6). Many children, youth, people living with
disability, women and men living with and/or affected by HIV have tried
to reach the foundation of the church--Jesus Christ who was anointed by
a woman with many sins--but in many cases we contine to keep them away.
Through these pages, as we listen to one another from different
parts of the world as well as from other faiths, we realize that there
is much that we can learn from one another. On the other hand, we
recognize that this is work in progress and much remains to be done,
especially hearing and learning from theological voices of those in the
margins of the churches, and theological and ecumenical institutions at
all levels.
We particularly long for critical engagement by the senior church
leaders, administrators, decision- and policymakers who have ultimate
say on budgets and the agenda of strategic gatherings such as assemblies
and congresses, synods, women's conferences, theological fora,
Sunday school and youth programmes. Jesus taught and demonstrated what
effective leadership in communities of faith looks like: Let us listen
to him, take his yoke and follow him. Preach the gospel of Jesus Christ,
and tell her story!
It is no secret that periodicals are most dependent on staff
members with humble titles, or with none. The "Editor" or
"Publisher" of a journal often receives credit for the hard
slog undertaken by a "managing editor" or unsung associate.
In mid-2006, the Rev. Jane Stranz began to receive credit on our
masthead for her work as Production Editor. Later, the description came
to be Deputy Editor.
Neither term is adequate to reflect the tremendous debt we owe Jane
for her leadership in the recent evolution of this publication. Her
heroic contribution was classed under the minimalist rubric "other
duties as assigned," adjunct to her "real job" as
coordinator of the World Council of Churches language service.
In October 2011, Jane began a new assignment in Paris as ecumenical
and interfaith officer for the Federation of French Protestant Churches.
We will miss her presence in these offices, yet we dare to seek ways of
collaborating creatively on future projects and--in her words--of
"enchanting ecumenism" to the extent that the Spirit empowers
us.--The "Editor"
DOI 10.1111/j.1758-6623.2011.00127.x
Nyambura Njoroge is a Presbyterian Church of East Africa minister.
She holds a Christian Social Ethics doctorate from Princeton Theological
Seminary and previously coordinated WCC's Programme for Ecumenical
Theological Education (ETE). She is now is in charge of WCC/ Ecumenical
HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA).
Editor
Theodore A. GILL, Jr.
Guest Editor
Nyambura NJOROGE
