It's Complicated

This devotion originally appeared on the West Ohio UMCNext Facebook Page on February 5, 2020.

Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee; Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and Mighty! God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!

I was recently reminded of my summer 2018 trip to the North Katanga Conference in the Democratic Republic of the Congo while chatting with one of our pastors, who is Congolese. Together we reminisced about one of my favorite hymns, “Holy, Holy Holy,” which we sang on a couple of occasions while in the Congo. At one worship service, there was a large crowd, and hearing nearly 800 voices sing this hymn was an awe-inspiring experience.

My friend, the Rev. Dr. Kabamba Kiboko, asked me, “Do you know what the Kiluba translation (one of the two major Bantu languages spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) of the word ‘holy’ is?” The word translated is “Ukola,” which means problematic. And further, in her home language Kisanga, the word is “Wafya,” which means complicated.

We’re living in a very complicated time. There are huge divides on many issues across the gamut of the human experience. In the United Methodist Church, we’re coming to the precipice of the end of a 48-year long conversation regarding human sexuality. It’s complicated. It’s been complicated. It’s been complicated by fear – the fear of dominant culture to make room for difference. However, there is some hope. The Protocol for Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation has offered a multipartisan pathway forward and has given many who have been harmed, for so long, hope. 

And yet there’s much work to do. There are other complicated matters, which, of course, means that God is in our midst. Women and persons of color, returning citizens and immigrants of all kinds are experiencing continued marginalization, stereotyping, and harm. These areas of intersectionality require our faithful attention and action. God is at work. The hymn text suggests that God is merciful and mighty – notice that merciful comes first. It’s mercy – the attention to it and the practice of it – that makes God mighty.

I’m grateful for my conversation with Dr. Kiboko and for her opening up the word ‘Holy’ to me. She closed our time together by telling me the translation of the cover of the Bible. You guessed it – “It’s a Complicated Book.” The complication is the beauty, of course, because it holds a multiplicity of interpretation and considers the breadth and depth of human experience in its relationship with each and with God. I can never imagine singing this hymn again without thinking of anything other than the beautiful complexity of God.

It’s Complicated, It's Complicated, It's Complicated! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee; It’s Complicated, It's Complicated, It's Complicated! Merciful and Mighty! God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!