David's second letter from Uganda
"The earth is God's field. But monkeys have come and eaten the good seeds. Elephants have eaten the grass and lions have been eating the sheep. Jesus came with a big gun to chase off those destroying God's field and to save his sheep."
He's an elderly man but Archdeacon Paul speaks with clear strong voice as he begins to preach. I first met him as soon as I arrived at Dorothea's house in Arua. He was with the team members who were working with Alice on a discipleship manual and after initial warm greetings Archdeacon Paul led us in prayer together.
Today is Sunday and we are at the Mundu service that meets under the mango trees beside Seme's house on the outskirts of Arua. The area is full of thatched houses in-between which small plantations of maize flourish and look healthy and strong following the heavy rain overnight.
The Mundu church that meets in Arua is part of the Episcopal Church of Sudan and all the people who meet here today are originally from either Congo or Sudan, except for Dorothea, myself and Alice. We have been singing hymns and following through Mundu translation of the Anglican Prayer Book and now it is time for the sermon. Archdeacon Paul is a Mundu who belongs to the diocese of Yei in Southern Sudan and is the father of Seme, one of the Mundu translation team. He stands in the shade of the huge mango tree in the centre of the circle of worshippers - some 20 adults and 25-30 children and teenagers - and speaks with enthusiasm. He's a small man who with his head of tight grey curls, simple black suit, olive green shirt with its short clerical collar and gentle gestures cuts a Mandela-like figure among the congregation.
"The earth is God's field. But monkeys have come and eaten the good seeds. Elephants have eaten the grass and lions have been eating the sheep. Jesus came with a big gun to chase off those destroying God's field and to save his sheep."
He is preaching from John 13, read to us earlier in Mundu by one of the younger men in the congregation, and following his introduction he retells the story of Jesus and the disciples making their way to Jerusalem for the Passover. He recounts the foot washing episode but presses on through the account of Judas' treachery to reach his key text and intended theme for the morning, John 13:34-35, which in the Mundu translation says, "Therefore this is the new commandment which I am giving to you: you must be continually loving each other, just as I love you with my whole heart. If you love each other like that, everyone will know that you are truly my people." He preaches with great force on this theme and his words are translated into English for my benefit by Dorothea and into Arabic by Enoka, as today we are joined by Arabic speaking members of the Sudan Church who now also live in Arua.
"Are you still in the place of anger?" he asks. "Are you saying bad things about your neighbours, are you worrying about the things of this earth like possessions and sweet food, the things of the earth? Well I am saying to you Mundus, you Sudanese, you white people, that we must love one another. We who are baptised as Christians have been given a uniform, we have been given a gun. What are we going to do with these things? Are we going to leave them lying on the ground? My friends, the gun that God has given us is the gun of love, so you must take up your weapon. Jesus used the gun of love to save us from our sins, we must take up the gun of love and do his work."
This from the Archdeacon whose town of Yei is repeatedly attacked by planes from the Khartoum government in the North attacking not only SPLA positions but schools or hospitals to terrorise the community. The roots of the Sudan conflict run deep in history and have been a fact of life since independence was granted to this former British colony. These people, whose official status in Uganda is as refugees, know what it means to be displaced from homes and lands in both Congo and Sudan. Here this morning with these people sitting under the mango trees I hear gospel truths proclaimed to gospel people and it is a privilege to be among them. We plan to travel to Mundu land on Wednesday, returning to Arua on Sunday evening after spending Saturday and Sunday in Aringa visiting the Here is Life projects which Naomi and Alison worked with last year and to which Naomi is returning this summer.
Remember our Mundu brothers and sisters in your prayers and join with them as they pray for peace in Congo and peace in Sudan.
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To letters from Uganda.