Presbyterian News Service
Spending should reflect 'God's family,' Tutu tells Presbyterian crowd
South African anti-apartheid legend: Divestment 'worked for us'
by Toya Richards Hill
NEW YORK CITY - From Jew to Muslim, American to Iraqi, all are part of the family of God, South African icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu told a packed sanctuary at Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church here May 16.
So how, then, can "obscene amounts of money" be spent on "defense budgets of death and destruction?" he said. How can we "sink almost into indifference" and not recognize that the dead in Iraqi are "members of your family * members of my family?"
How can we sit and not know "that people in New Orleans are still struggling, wanting to return home?" the famed anti-apartheid activist said. Each one is "a member of God's family."
The 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner was here at the invitation of the Rev. J. Oscar McCloud, a personal friend of Tutu's and the outgoing moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Presbytery of New York City.
Tutu's remarks were the prelude to the presbytery's business meeting, which included the installation of incoming moderator the Rev. Christopher L. Smith and other officers.
Spry and full of good humor, the 74-year-old Anglican archbishop emeritus cast a loving spell with his warm smile and wise countenance. A good portion of his comments echoed his 2004 book God Has A Dream - A Vision of Hope for Our Time, yet at the same time Tutu expanded the message to fit current realities.
"We might find it difficult to understand that Saddam Hussein is God's child," Tutu said. And, he added, "even George Bush."
Yet "God has no enemies," he said. "The Bible says, 'if I be lifted up * I will draw all men unto me,'" Tutu said, citing Jesus' words in John 12: 32.
"All will be embraced in this incredible love that will not let you go," said Tutu, whose comments were especially poignant given his and his fellow South Africans' long-term victimization under apartheid.
An outspoken critic of the system of racial segregation and political and economic discrimination for many years, Tutu ultimately was appointed in 1995 by then-President Nelson Mandela to chair the Truth and Reconciliat ion Commission. The commission investigated human rights violations between 1960 and 1994, and presented its findings in 1998.
Today, years after the overt struggle, Tutu's strong religious conviction still remains unmistakably intertwined with a political message.
Just a "small fraction" of the billions of dollars being spent on defense would ensure God's children everywhere had clean water, enough food to eat, adequate homes and affordable health care, Tutu said.
And, it would ensure "levees that don't need repairing," he said, referencing the Gulf Coast fiasco surrounding Hurricane Katrina.
During a brief, exclusive interview with the Presbyterian News Service following his public talk, Tutu also reflected on the pain surrounding the conflict in Israel and Palestine and highlighted such de-humanizing tactics occurring there such as the leveling of homes.
Many have drawn a correlation between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the South African struggle over apartheid.
Tutu recalled traveling to the contested land and being with a man shedding tears as he pointed to the place where his home once stood.
South Africans, too, have cried as they looked at land that was taken from them, he said.
Tutu also affirmed the use of economic divestment as a means of ending conflict, proclaiming, "It worked for us." The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has led the way among Protestant denominations in considering divestment from corporations contributing to violence in Israel and Palestine.
The PC (USA) is currently engaged in a process of "phased, selective divestment" - a decision by the 2004 General Assembly that has caused much controversy, particularly between the PC(USA) and the American Jewish community.
Ultimately, though, Tutu firmly believes resolution for the world's woes rests in recognizing and lifting up each individual as part of God's family.
"God does not see us in mass," he told the audience gathered at Good Shepherd-Faith church. "God knows each single one by name because their names are engraved in the palms of God's hands."
"Black, white ... rich, poor * beautiful, not-so-beautiful * Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhist," Tutu called out. "God loves you; God loves me; God loves each one of us as if we were the only person on earth."
And together, we make up "the human family - God's family," Tutu said.
To read this story online go to http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2006/06282.htm.