GOING DEEPER A LONG, LONG WALK TO FREEDOM

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Lynette Stone
5 years ago
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1 SERIES: A Long, Long Walk to Freedom WEEK: 2 GOING DEEPER A LONG, LONG WALK TO FREEDOM Reconciliation: Listening to each other s stories. Introduction This Going Deeper resource accompanies the video Reconciliation: Listening to Each Other s Stories (available: This is a tool to help people (as individuals or in groups) to grapple with the various challenges of being reconciled. It is not intended to cover everything there is to know about reconciliation, but rather to provide a gospel perspective on how Christfollowers are to move towards each other, even when we hold different views and experiences. Goals To reflect on our individual experiences of living in a society that is largely divided and unreconciled; To share honestly about these experiences and build empathy towards others struggles and pain in these areas; To find vision, hope and encouragement in the gospel to move towards genuine reconciliation. Some context: why do we look to the past? For South Africa to move forward, we need to recognise the realities of our past. This video encourages us to explore our history, not so that we can bludgeon people for it, but to understand the inherited pain that affects our relationships today. Without

2 examining how we got to this point, we risk perpetuating the very attitudes that have caused our society to malfunction. We have to look at what is causing the pain. Before you start The video is a discussion between Richard Lundie of Common Good and Mahlatse Mashua of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. It is divided into two sections: The first section focuses on the experiences of a range of people living in South Africa. The second section speaks into the hope that the gospel gives us for a reconciled society. If you are watching this as a small group, we recommend pausing between these two sections to reflect and discuss. Questions for this are included below. Remember: People may feel very vulnerable discussing this topic. Hearing others struggles is immensely helpful in normalizing how difficult this is, and how we need gospel truth to speak into these areas of life. Don t force anyone to share more than they are comfortable with sharing. Make it a priority to create a safe space. Lead the way in demonstrating the kind of humility, compassion and vulnerability that will allow people to share honestly about where they find themselves. Avoid getting into a space where people start justifying their views. Rather, focus on where their hearts are right now. Help people to see that this is not about solving issues, but rather learning how to engage with humility, compassion and honesty. Steps to engage 1. Pray Invite God s Spirit to guide your thinking and, if you re in a group, any discussions that arise. 2. Watch Part 1 Play the first section of the video - Different perspectives: Heads and tails - up to 10: Reflect If you are in a small group, this can be done individually in writing

3 a. What parts of the perspectives shared stood out most to you? Why? b. How would you describe your current experience of living in South Africa? What is your heads or tails? (Use the perspectives given in the video as examples.) 4. Discuss a. When sharing your story, how do you want people to respond? What can you learn about listening to others stories? b. What makes it difficult or easy to share honestly from your experiences? 5. Watch Part 2 Play the second section of the video - A Gospel perspective. (From 10:20.) 6. Discuss a. Why would reconciliation between Christ-followers in this country matter to God? (You can reference such scriptures as 2 Corinthians 5:14-21; Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 4:2-6.) b. What gives you hope to see meaningful reconciliation in this country? c. What events, conversations, or experiences have you had that have opened your eyes to the reality that others are experiencing? d. What discourages you or makes you doubt that reconciliation is possible? e. How can we help each other as Christ-followers and members of a local church community to pursue reconciliation? f. What other gospel truths help you to move forward in this area of faith? 7. Pray - Ask God to help you move forward in this journey. Ask him for divine interactions and moments that soften your heart and grow your courage in pursuing this. - Pray for your church; that it would be a picture of the future that God has for our nation. - Pray for our society, asking God for grace upon the hostile, the hurting and the helpless. Different perspectives These quotes shared in the video

4 As a white Afrikaner in this country, my identity is always under attack. The rituals that affirm my culture are heavily scrutinised and despised. My language is under attack on TV, at University and other social spaces. I am not a racist, and I want to contribute towards making this country a better place. I am prepared to do so economically, but I have no place at the table in the national dialogue of this country. My only place, it seems, is to apologise and repent of my white privilege, feel ashamed of my whiteness and make restitution to a system that does not separate between my hard work and my inheritance. I am told that I am not African or will never be African enough, which means that I ve also lost the right to define who I am You should stop feeling sorry for yourself. Welcome to the reality of South Africa. You are only experiencing a piece of what many black people have had to live with their entire lives through generations. You are not welcome at the table because, in keeping with your colonialist attitude, you want to dictate the terms of the dialogue. Your recently-found generosity and desire to give back is a way of pacifying your guilt and to infantise black people by playing the role of their saviour and their helper. I was the first in my family to go to university. My parents starved themselves to get me through my studies. I am haunted by the bill that I was served at the end of my studies on top of the pressure to provide for my family. I have to build a roof for my parents, school my siblings and feed my family. I will be trying to build a career while living under such crushing social pressure. I worked two jobs while studying so I can help my parents pay for my education. I don t deny the wrongs of the past and our need to right those wrongs, but it is painful to get less recognition for my hard work or have my struggles condescended upon because I am white. I have fewer prospects of getting a job or a promotion because of corrective policies. I still believe and say this is my country, but laws like affirmative action erode my sense of belonging here.

5 I feel like, as a post-apartheid young person, I still live under the cloud of an excluded black person. I feel like an outsider in a country I keep being told we won back. When will I be South African enough not be stared at when I m in certain social and academic spaces? As a post-apartheid young white person, I feel like the social spaces where I won t be judged and rejected for my whiteness are fast being taken from me. I don t stick around on campus because I want to be in places where being a white person is not a curse, but just normal and I am accepted just for being me. Foreigners are only coming here to live in our country illegally. They commit crime, they take our healthcare, our jobs, our women. Many of them are living better than us in our own country. We are already living like peasants and we don t have enough. We can t afford to have more of them. They must go back. I left my country that is being ravaged by war and poverty. It was hard to leave my identity, my wife and children without knowing if they would someday join me. I have two degrees in Psychology but I am grateful that I can work as a car guard. Work is work, especially when you don t have to fear that you will be killed with a panga while doing it. I am reminded every day that I don t belong here. I am so homesick. My hope is that my children will not know what the sting of war and alienation feels like, and that they will have a fresh start. I know that people here have their own problems and challenges, but they don t know that while I am at the bottom of this society, it is still much better than being in my home country.

WEEK TWO: RECONCILING GOALS TIPS

WEEK TWO: RECONCILING GOALS TIPS WEEK TWO: RECONCILING GOALS To reflect on our individual experiences of living in a society that is largely divided and unreconciled. To share honestly about these experiences and build empathy towards