Today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and I wanted to share with you the African image of the Sacred Heart above, and the lyrics of the Vineyard song, Humble King, below.
Perhaps for some seeing an image of Jesus with African features is a little disconcerting, and yet - although He was Jewish and Middle Eastern in origin - He is often portrayed with northern European features without notice. Depicting Jesus with African features is an authentic way of inculturating the Gospel and allowing Africans to identify with Him and His message. This is part of the reason for the overwhelming resonse to the Jesus film dubbed in the Lotuko language that we showed earlier this month, as well as the films on the Ugandan martyrs and St. Bakhita. Theologically it's grounded in the fact that Jesus embraced the common humanity we all share. That is part of what is represented by His human Heart, which we focus on in a particular way today. The heart is the core of our humanity, and it is the same in every corner of the globe, below any color of skin or any kind of physical features. Isn't it amazing that Jesus made it His own!
We sang the song Humble King at a fellowship gathering of missionaries this past week in Torit. With the exception of Dennis Kiyimba and myself who occasionally attend, the rest are all Evangelical Christians. Without knowing that the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart was being celebrated this week in the Catholic Church, Vereena - the musician - chose this song. I think it expresses beautifully the qualities of the Heart of Jesus in which we hope to share. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine!
Oh kneel me down again
Here at Your feet
Show me how much You love
Humility
Oh Spirit be the star
That leads me to
The humble heart of love
I see in You
You are the God of the broken
The friend of the weak
You wash the feet of the weary
Embrace the ones in need
And I want to be like you Jesus
To have this heart in me
You are the God of the humble
You are the humble King
Oh kneel me down again
Here at Your feet
Show me how much You love
Humility
Oh Spirit be the star
That leads me to
The humble heart of love
I see in You
You are the God of the broken
The friend of the weak
You wash the feet of the weary
Embrace the ones in need
And I want to be like You Jesus
To have this heart in me
You are the God of the humble
You are the humble King
You are the humble King
You are the God of the humble
You are the humble King
Finally, I wanted to share with you the fact that our recent CFR/MOC mission made it onto the front page of the Diocese of Torit's occasional newsletter. It's an indication from within the diocese of the impact of the visit of the Friars and Missioners.
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