After the service on Sunday, Tata Maka said “Ndiyanambitha”, a Xhosa word meaning “to chew, keep in the mouth, or relish”; he was relishing the message, so much so, he said, that he felt like going straightaway somewhere to be alone without even saying hello to people whom he might pass on the way. I thought immediately of Jesus’ command to the “seventy others” he “sent on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go” (Luke 10:1). I had always wondered why, specifically among the other commands, Jesus told them to “greet no one on the road” (10:4). Not greeting struck me as an act of coldness not befitting those who would follow Jesus. Tata Maka’s response helped me to wonder, however, if Jesus’ command to “not greet” is simply the proper response to a teaching deeply received. One must keep all else out of the mind—out of the mouth—until one has truly reflected upon, processed, indeed relished, that which has gone in.
-Joe
No comments:
Post a Comment