As we have turned south, we are flying somewhere over Texas. Most of the team is catching some sleep from the looks of it, except two young girls who shall remain nameless - they are giggling and cackling about what, I'm not sure, but the flight attendant just brought them gas masks as a joke for them to pace over their mouths... I'm sure the Behr's and Migliozzi's would be proud. Whoops - sorry.
As I as walking out of my room this morning, I glanced at my shelf where I collect my unread books and grabbed one hastily: "death comes for the archbishop"... Now, I didn't really read the title - they're all purchased because I have decided I want to read them - so I just grabbed the one that said "archbishop" thinking it was a biography had picked up. Then I pull it out of my bag and the title would seem to be a bad choice... I thought, "is it the story of a late 19th century archbishop who had to die to get the message of the gospel across?". No would seem to be the answer - but I don't read that fast - I'll let you know.
However, it actually seems to be a good choice as it tellsa beautiful story of the spread of the gospel into Spanish speaking parts of the southwest in the late 1800's... Namely Old and New Mexico. As the main character, Father Latour, comes to a remote village in old Mexico, he discovers the remnants of old faith deposited their by the Spanish years ago. As he's examining some of their relics, in a move that reminds me of Pauk in Athens in Acts 17, he discovers a wooden Virgin Mary - "dressed in black, with a white apron, and a black reboso over her head, like a Mexican woman of the poor. To them, this woman is a god... who is one of them. If Paul was Latour, he would point out this statue and then proclaim how Jesus had indeed become one of them.
In regards to how people in other view their gods, and particularly Jesus, you often find they strongly desire their god to be identified as one of their own, so that they have a god who has suffered like them and understands them. Even in views of Jesus, you see this - the Latino image of Jesus looks strangly familiar to Che Guevera, the 70's had a revolutionary Jesus that looks like he sang for Earth, Wind and Fire. Regardless, whether it's Mary, Jesus, or a tribal god... Different cultures all share the same heartfelt desire for god to be like them...
And the great news of the good news is that the God, has become one of us, and still moves among all peoples working to reveal himself.
Would you pray for us in two specific ways, as we travel:
1. That Jesus would open our eyes to how the people we meet have been holding on to their own localized versions of god.
2. That would be able to partner with God's Spirit in order to "proclaim" that god to them (see Paul's words in Acts 17) as having become human in tv person of Jesus (John 1:11)
I guess you should pray for safe travel too, but I was just assuming we already had you doing that!
Okay - gotta run... Gotta read the second half!
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