African Shepherd King
P. Pondy , Direction Catholic Schools Yaounde
It is urgent and necessary for us to proclaim and to express the message, the life and the whole person of Jesus-Christ in an African artistic language, in our language, which is the expression of our day-life, of our culture. Many people of different cultures have done it before us and will do it in the future, without betraying the historical Christ, from whom all authentic Christianity arises. We must not restrict ourselves to the historical and cultural forms of a particular people or period. The creation of a black Christ in Africa does not diminish at all the historical Christ, on the contrary, it enriches the universal meaning of the message of God. This God who became one of us in order to proclaim Christ as the Lord of all nations of the world, through all their authentic riches: their languages, their gestures, their art, their whole life and culture. Evangelization means to give the message of the historical and eternal Christ to all nations, following the apostles who made themselves Jews with the Jews, Greeks with the Greeks, similar to their Master who identified himself with every weak and persecuted human being when he said to Saul the persecutor: "Saul, why do you persecute me?" Doesn't this daring and unspeakable identification go far beyond what we are trying to express by these pictures? It shows not only their legitimacy but their necessity.
It is urgent and necessary for us to proclaim and to express the message, the life and the whole person of Jesus-Christ in an African artistic language, in our language, which is the expression of our day-life, of our culture. Many people of different cultures have done it before us and will do it in the future, without betraying the historical Christ, from whom all authentic Christianity arises. We must not restrict ourselves to the historical and cultural forms of a particular people or period. The creation of a black Christ in Africa does not diminish at all the historical Christ, on the contrary, it enriches the universal meaning of the message of God. This God who became one of us in order to proclaim Christ as the Lord of all nations of the world, through all their authentic riches: their languages, their gestures, their art, their whole life and culture. Evangelization means to give the message of the historical and eternal Christ to all nations, following the apostles who made themselves Jews with the Jews, Greeks with the Greeks, similar to their Master who identified himself with every weak and persecuted human being when he said to Saul the persecutor: "Saul, why do you persecute me?" Doesn't this daring and unspeakable identification go far beyond what we are trying to express by these pictures? It shows not only their legitimacy but their necessity.
Today's Devotional
A Prayer for a Courageous Soul - Your Daily Prayer - April 26
We have been given a remarkable gift through God and His redemption story. Not only have we received eternal life with our Creator, but we have received courage in Christ that will change the trajectory of our lives and the lives of those around us forever.
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