WCC OPINION: “They have no wine”

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World Council of Churches - Feature

“THEY HAVE NO WINE”

For immediate release: 30 November 2010

By Nyambura Njoroge (*)

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) invites us 
all to
read, digest and reflect on the 2010 Report on the Global AIDS 
Epidemic
and to join in the vision: “Zero new HIV infections. Zero
discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.”

Despite all the well articulated progress, the report highlights that
infections are outpacing treatment by 2 to 1 and 10 million people are
still waiting for treatment. On the other hand, people living with 
HIV who
have shared their experiences remind us always that living with the 
virus
is a very difficulty journey but confronting stigma, discrimination 
and
rejection is even harder and very painful reality.

Certainly, many people are out promoting universal access to HIV
prevention, treatment, care and support campaign but the number is 
still
small given the huge magnitude and intensity of the social injustices 
that
drive the pandemic. Put differently, in the words of Jesus in the
Christian gospels “the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few”
(Matthew 9: 37 & Luke 10: 2).

Africa continues to carry the burden of the HIV and AIDS pandemic 
even as
some other regions are listed as beginning to share in this burden by
increased cases of HIV prevalence. Yet, there are countless stories 
of a
critical mass of children (read siblings), teenagers, women and men, 
among
them millions of HIV positive sisters and brothers scattered all over 
the
continent – from the Arabic North to the Cape of Good Hope, from
Timbuktu to the shores of Djibouti – who are agents of change 
promoting
healthy and positive living in the midst of multiple diseases, scarce
nutritious meals, far in between health care, services and medication 
and
stigma-free voluntary counseling and testing centres. And so it feels 
as
if in the words of Mary mother of Jesus, “They have no wine.” (John
2:3)

So even as we digest the achievements in the UNAIDS 2010 report as
Christian churches and in the global ecumenical movement we are 
invited to
reflect and ponder on the wisdom of Mary to her own son and the 
servants
(John 2: 4-11) as she (during this advent season) joins millions 
waiting
for their turn to receive HIV treatment, compassion, love and restored
dignity.

Mary’s faith in Jesus and her actions in this particular wedding 
incident
in Cana in Galilee invite the followers of Jesus (the body of Christ) 
to
speak out, act and to provide insightful, courageous, compassionate 
and
effective leadership in finding solutions to the many social 
injustices
and violations of human dignity that have been so eloquently revealed 
by
the epidemic.

“They have no wine”, nor food security, nor security from bodily
violations (sexual and gender-based violence), nor equal access to
education, health care, economic opportunity, nor political power, nor
cultural respect, nor dignity because they are orphans, children, 
poor,
women, widows, widowers and HIV positive.

Mary, mother of Jesus, stood among the people who had no wine, and her
actions revealed God’s glory made manifest as women and men drunk the
good wine and celebrated the wedding feast. The call to journey with
people living with HIV and those most affected by the pandemic is a
challenging plea for Christian churches and the global ecumenical 
movement
to rethink our understanding of God’s hospitality and the divine reign
of justice and peace on this earth.

(*) The Rev. Dr Nyambura Njoroge is the programme executive for the
Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA) of the World 
Council
of Churches.

2010 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=6ab42eabf1cb7a83d16f )

Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=6b6c7b23b6426983b530 )

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect WCC 
policy.
This material may be reprinted freely, providing credit is given to 
the
author.


The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, 
witness 
and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship 
of 
churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 
Protestant, 
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 
million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the 
Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse 
Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, 
Switzerland.



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