Self-identity is crucial. Who am I? What am I on earth for? Where do I fit in in the grand scheme of things? Where do I come from? Where am I headed? What's my role in the regime of the next generation?
We all must answer at least one of above questions properly, if we are to be useful to our generation. I had the privilege of watching 2 of the 3 parts of Walter Komla Blege's opera titled 'Kristo' on December 19th, 2021, and it was a blessing. I learnt a lot...not only about the history of how missionaries brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Peki, but also about Ewes as a people. Many of us who belong to the Christian faith sometimes 'demonize' everything that looks 'cultural' or 'traditional' (erroneously equating 'ancient rituals' to 'culture' sometimes) but should this be so? Is God not interested in us at the core of who we are and where we come from? What saddens me most is when we shy away from even our languages and local dialects. If God wanted us all to speak the same language and have the same culture, why did He create so much diversity? How is it that on one of the most important days of the Church (i.e. the Day of Pentecost), those gathered heard the Apostles declaring the wonders of God in their own native languages/dialects/tongues?
The Bible makes quite a number of references to what God has in mind for 'all of this' to look like - E.g. The Message translation of Revelation 7:9 puts it this way:
" I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages. And they were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the Throne and the Lamb and heartily singing:
Salvation to our God on his Throne! Salvation to the Lamb!"
The verse above makes it clear that 'everyone' was there. In our world systems today, of course, some languages are 'international' while others are not, but I believe we are stewards of whichever language/dialect we can speak. What we do with that trust matters. Will the language end with us? Are we motivated enough to 'pass down' our dialects to the next generation? How are we handling the challenges we face in this area of our stewardship? If 'everyone' will be there, then we ought to treat people of every race, language, nation, etc. with dignity and respect.
A lot has transpired in the history of Africa at large. We must understand where we are coming from, what has transpired so far, pick up valuable lessons, and then be informed enough to forge a way forward. Until we make peace with who we are, we won't be content with what we have, and we may not fully function as God wants us to - being fully confident that He loves us & that our experiences and stories are for a purpose in His grand scheme of things. We need to keep learning...and growing...and loving. More and more, we should amplify the volume of the things that unite us, and turn down the volume of the distractions and often petty-things that divide us.
Good movies, plays and productions must be watched at least, twice :)....Story-telling is a great way of history-preservation & good stories must be listened to over and over again. :) I look forward to watching this opera again...and you are warmly invited.
PS. Opera is in EÊ‹e but people from all tribes and nations would benefit from the music, dance and be able to piece out a lot from the scenes. :)
Selah.
25th October 2022. Tema. Ghana.
