 |
| Dove by Vae Hamilton |
One of the most helpful definitions of 'justice' I've heard is 'restored relationships and redistribution of resources'.
And 'peace' is not just an absence of conflict, but a proactive working for wholeness and health in all aspects of life.
And 'peace' is not just an absence of conflict, but a proactive working for wholeness and health in all aspects of life.
I also understand that the root of the New Testament Greek word for ‘joy’ is 'grace': it points not to the happiness of positive circumstances, but to an appreciation of the grace given to you in whatever circumstance.
This song is rooted in the tradition of contemplative meditation; chewing on ideas through repetition and imagination. The initial inspiration for the song was coming across the words of a well known Taize song, with no knowledge of the existing composition.
Expanding on these commonly used phrases by translating into different languages made sense to me. It's an act of solidarity: a reminder of the global nature of our alternative citizenship. But different languages also speak of different perspectives and perceptions. That’s important when meditating and deliberating, and crucial when it comes to conceiving new (or very old) ways of 'doing' justice, peace or joy.
Expanding on these commonly used phrases by translating into different languages made sense to me. It's an act of solidarity: a reminder of the global nature of our alternative citizenship. But different languages also speak of different perspectives and perceptions. That’s important when meditating and deliberating, and crucial when it comes to conceiving new (or very old) ways of 'doing' justice, peace or joy.
I was proud and pleased to record the voices of Rwandan friends of mine from a church
in Kigali, in a nation that has had particular cause to wrestle with these
issues in the last twenty years.
__________________________________
The Kingdom of God
is justice and peace
And joy in the
Holy Spirit
Come LORD and open
in us
The gates of your Kingdom
El reino de Dios
es justicia, paz
Y gozo en el
Espíritu Santo.
Venga Señor
y abre dentro de nosotros
las puertas de tu
Reino
Ufalme wa Mungu ni
haki amani
Na furaha kwa Ro' Mtakatifu.
Njoo Bwana,
na utufungulie
Milango ya ufalme wako
Milango ya ufalme wako
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.