Maridi Team Blog: Great Commandment, Great Commission
Christ calls us to be obedient to the great commandment and to the great commission, to love God and to love one another and extend our love into all the world. Mary listened at the feet of Jesus, while Martha attended to the daily chores. Mary’s devotion to Jesus was a reflection of her priorities and her closeness in relationship with him.
Since arriving here we have been able to listen to what God has been saying to us and become aware that our tendency to live such busy and distracted lives at home so that we fail to recognise God’s plans for us and how we can be his servants in our world.
We are also called to obey the great commission to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. So today we made the harrowing off–road journey along pot–holed tracks flooded by recent storms, to the remote Parish of Eddi, only 17 miles, but a 3–hour drive from Maridi and near the DR Congo border.
There we met relatives of people killed by Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) incursions 3 years ago and others who were displaced from their homes. We heard many horrendous stories of beatings, shootings and other atrocities. Of the 355 families originally living there only 55 remain. Despite their trauma these people, with the encouragement of the Church, are rebuilding their lives and serve as wonderful examples of their continued commitment to Christ and their heartfelt faith in the face of adversity. They present a real challenge to us in the west and a reminder that each of us can only forgive the hurts inflicted on us by others, through God’s grace.
We have much to learn from these people, their courage and vision and how they continue to serve God and each other in their communities trusting in him and not giving up in difficult times.
[Trevor Buchanan]