Psalm 40 and Nelson Mandela
Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired,
but a body hast thou prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God,’ as it is written of me in the roll of the book.
(Psalm 40:6-8 (LXX), Hebrews 10:5-7)
Here the Greek version makes a huge difference. Verse 6 in Hebrew is “You have given me an open ear”, or more literally, “Ears you have dug for me.” The Septuagint reads instead, “A body you have prepared for me.” The writer of Hebrews in quoting Psalm 40 took this as a Messianic reference to Christ’s body, for “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross was for all people, for all places, and for all time. And yet, to make His sacrifice take effect in real terms among all people, places and times, Christ needs each of us as His followers to sanctify the little patch of life we’ve each been given. We believe in divine-human synergy, working together with Christ to make a difference in His name. And that takes sacrifices from us too.
Early this morning, like millions of others around the world I got up to watch the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in Soweto. How extraordinary. His iron will, his persistence, his refusal to back down, his willingness to make sacrifices and suffer for the cause of freedom, overcoming apartheid and building a multiracial society. And all of this combined with humility, forgiveness and extending a hand of reconciliation to his former enemies. He said,
What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.
I don’t know about Mandela’s personal religious beliefs, but I think we have much to learn as Christians from this one’s man’s life of service and sacrifice to make a difference in the lives of others.
Father Daniel Buda, Orthodox Liaison for the World Council of Churches
The Very Rev Dr Daniel Buda visited the Chancery yesterday for conversations with Metropolitan Tikhon, Father Leonid Kishkovsky, Father Eric Tosi and me. Father Daniel works in Geneva at the WCC headquarters as the staff member responsible for relating to the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches. He is a priest of the Romanian Orthodox Church and was accompanied by the Very Rev Dr Chesarie Bertea of the OCA’s Romanian Episcopate who serves a parish in nearby Elmhurst, NY. Father Buda spoke about the recent WCC Assembly in South Korea [see story here], the state of inter-Orthodox and inter-Christian relations around the world, and the increasingly sharp divide over moral issues. The Orthodox in particular should be using this as an opportunity not just to defend traditional moral views, but to elaborate the Orthodox Christian understanding of “anthropology,” what it means to be a human being.
Week 3: Recruiting 300 Stewards for the Orthodox Church in America
Please take a look at the some of the departmental “wish lists” [see story here] to see what difference Stewards could make to the ministries of the OCA.
Thank you for taking the step of adding your name to the list of Stewards!