I was just listening to a clip from Adolfo Nicolas- a Jesuit Priest. He was talking about the value of Africa to the rest of the world. What caught my eye in particular was something he said about how Asian culture is fixated on method and process – the way, if you will. He then brought up the West and our focus and centrality on facts and science; evidence and proof…..the truth. Africa, differs from these two major cultural dreadnoughts- Africa’s heart beats for life just as so many of its children struggle to hold onto theirs. The raw elemental existence in the vastness of the dark continent is a celebration of life in its distilled form. Africa is present….breathing, tasting, smelling, hearing, singing, walking, working, playing, fighting, dying, crying, laughing….LiVING.

My greatest mentor, announced: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”. There is so much we can learn about the meaning of that statement by submitting ourselves to the lessons of these massive global cultures. For me personally, it is one more reason that I am passionate about promoting the wonder of Africa to those I meet. There is this sense in which we cannot fully grasp the person and character of Jesus without embracing the way/truth/life expressed by Asian, Western and African culture.

Food for thought.
JH