Manry Family

This Sunday, I preached my first sermon in Lusoga (by mostly reading a message I translated earlier) to several of our churches meeting for a "Super Sunday" in Kagoma village .  As we approach the one-year mark of our time in Uganda , this was an encouraging ministry and cultural milestone to reach.  More than the accomplishment, however, preaching in Lusoga was a faith-shaping experience for me.  I believe Jesus is the ultimate translation, as the apostle John puts it, "the Word became flesh."  But witnessing this gospel emerging through the strange construction of words I had written and sounds I was making helped me value Jesus entering our world even more.  Jesus is continually being translated into the lives of people in order to give them life.  I thought I would post the message I shared in Lusoga (with English translation following) just to illustrate in another way, at least for me, the "Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us."

 

A Message of Hope: Romans 5:1-5; 8:31-39

Nnenda okubabulira leero ku eisuubi mu Yesu.  Bulimuntu mu ensi abalin'eisuubi mu kintu oba mu muntu.  Eisuubi litegeza okwenda ni okulindirira ekintu ky'ozira.  Eisuubi litegeza okwenda n'okulindirira embera okuba obulungi.  Abantu mu Busoga basubiraki?  Tusubira amaandhi gaidha.  Tusubira gavumenti etuyamba ni n'kulakulana.  Tusibira abaana baiffe basobola okufuna emirimo bwebava mweisomero.  Abantu babindi basubira nti mu obulogo.  Tusibra nti banawona sirimu.  Tusubira nti tulin'obulamu obulungi. Eisuubi lyetulina mu bintu bino tilya n'kalakalira, kubanga obulamu mu ensi eno tibuli n'kalakalira.

Nnenda okubakobera kw'eisuubi Bibli ly'eyogeraku.  Engeri eri obubaka kw'eisuubi.  Engeri eri obubaka ku okwenda ni okulindirira bintu okuba ebikali okubawo.  Engeri etuwa eisuubi nti Katonda alikola ebintu ebulugi era singa tibiri bulungi mpagano.  Katuyogereku ku ki kye kitegeza okubawo ni eisuubi lino era ebintu bwebiba bibi, biba bibinho.

Mu Bibli, waliwo muntu gweb'etta Paulo.  Mumuidhi?  Paulo yali omuwereza wa Yesu olwendawulo, yali ayettebwa omutume. Emirimu gye gyali okwogera eri abantu ku engeri ni okuzimba ebibiina bya abantu abaaidikiriza mu Yesus.  Waaliwo ekinisa mu Rooma Paul yeyasimbayo.  Ekinisa yaatandika okufuna ebizibu era abantu bakinisa baabonabona.  Abantu bangi baabonabona kubanga baaikiriza mu Yesu.  Kino kyali ekizibu kubanga kiba kizibu okuba n'eisuubi nga tukabonabona.  Abantu basobola kukoba'nti: Lwaki twandikiriza mu Yesu nga tukabonabona.  Twaidha eri Yesu nga tulikusubira obulamu obulungi.  Aye embera yaiffe yaba nbi.  Tusobola tutya okusubira?

Nnenda okubasomera okuva kiwandiiko Paul kyeyawandiika eri ekinisa mu Rooma.  Mulowozze ku ekinisa mu Rooma.  Baaikiriza mu Yesu era baasubira nti Yesu yaliasobola okubayamba okufuna obulamu obulungi.  Muwulire Paul kyeyabakobera muyege Katonda ky'atukobera ku eisuubi bwetuba tubonabona. Soma Rooma 5:1-5.

Okusooka, yabakobera'nti mu Yesu Kriso baba walala ni Katonda.  Mali, yabakobera'nti balin'eisuubi mu Katonda ni omwana we ni Yesu Kristo.  Mali Paulo yabakobera ekindi ekiwunisa.  Yabakobera nti mu Yesu tusobola okuba basanufu nga tubonabona. Obubaka butwewunisa.  Paulo yategezaki?  Tusobola okusanuka kubanga okubonabona kutugumya nga tuli walala.  Okubonabona kutukulembera mu eisuubi.  Bwetusubira mu Yesu titunakuwala kubanga twidhi nti katonda agonzainho abantu ba'tonda.  Katonda atugonza era atwendainho ni yawereza omwana we yatuffirira.  Obubaka buno buli engeri!

Engeri eri obubaka bw'eisuubi.  Aye engeri teri ekisuubizo nti obulamu buliba bulungi mpagano.  Engeri tetusubiza nti abaana baiffe tibalilwala oba tibaliffa.  Muidukire nti Yesu omwana wa Katonda yabonabona era yaffa!  Engeri tetusubiza nti tuliba bagaiga oba tuliba n'emirimo ekiseera kyona kyona.  Aye abantu bakasubira ebintu bino.  Kitufu?  Bwetwikiriza mu Yesu, Twenda okumanha nti Yesu asobola okutuyamaba okuba n'ebintu bino.  Aye, engeri tetusubiza ebintu bino.

Paulo yaabakobera nti bwetusubira mu Yesu, titulinakuwala.  Ate, ategezaki?  Ekisuubizo ekituwa eisuubi lino kiriki?  Ate, kansome ekiwandiko kya Paulo eri ekinisa mu Rooma: 8:31-39.  Paulo yaabakobera nti tuli n'eisuubi kubanga Yesu akatuleeta okuba walala ni Katonda ekiseera kyona kyona.  Tuli n'eisuubi kubanga Katonda yatuwa Yesu asinga ebintu byona byona obulungi.  N'owlwekyo, tuidhi asobola okutuwa ebintu byetwetaaga, era Katonda aidi asinga yiffe tweena tweena obunene ebintu byetutaaga.  Tuli n'eisuubi kubanga Katonda eyakola ebintu byona byona yamala okuwangula okuffa.  Tuidhi nti bwetuffa asobola okutuwa obulamu mu Yesu.  Ate muwulire: mu Yesu tuli walala mu maka ga Katonda ni ku teamu ya Katonda, n'owlwekyo tuidhi nti tuliwangula walala ni Katonda.

Abantu mu Uganda bayendainho omupira.  Kitufu?  Bayenda teamu ki?  Arsenal?  Manchester United?  Chelsea ?  Lwaki bab'enda?  Kubanga bawangula buli ekiseera!  Ekiseera ekindi bazana bubi.  Aye, kunkomerero y'omwaka gwemizano, bawangula!  Nnenda Tottenham Hotspur.  Teamu mugiidhi?  Tibawangula buliekiseera.  Bwebazana ntandika n'eisuubi aye nfuna obunakuwavu.

Bwetuba walala ni Yesu, tuidhi tuli ni n'anaawangula. Embera yaiffe mbi, Katonda ali walala n'iffe mu Yesu eyabonabona nga iffe atuwe obulamu atuwe eisuubi.  Ebintu bingi mu obulamu bwaiffe bitunakuwaziza.  Maka gaiffe gatunakuwaziza.  Gavumenti yaiffe etunakuwaziza.  Abaminsani baimwe batunakuwaziza.  N'owlekyo tubonabona.  Tusobola okulwala ni okuffa.  Tutawana okufuna esente ni emirimo.  Tubawo tutya n'okubonabona ni obunakuwavu.  Tusanuka tutya nga ebintu ebibi biriwo.

Musubire mu Yesu Kristo.  Ali obubaka bwa Katonda butulaga nt Katonda atuyenda okuba walala naye.  Muidukire nti Katonda n'omutonzi era asobola okwiza ebintu obuyaka.  Katonda affayo ku abantu be.  Katonda atugabula kyetwentagga.  Emirimo giri kintu kirungi.  Obulamu buli kintu kirungi.  N'kulakulana eri kintu kirungi.  Aye tituta eisuubi lyiffe mu bintu bino.  Ebintu bino biidhi era bino bija.  Eisuubi lyaiffe liri mu Katonda.  Eisuubi lyaiffe liri mu Yesu Kristo.  Tusubira nti Katonda aliiza ebintu byona byona obuyaka.

Kubanga tuidhi nti Katonda aliiza ebintu byona byona obuyaka, titutya okubonabona.  Tuidhi nti tusobola okukola walala okutuuka ebintu ebirungi bwebira.  Manchester United oba Chelsea bwebazana omupira, tibakoba nti: tuidhakulemwa leero.  Tusobola okukolaki?  Be!  Bakoba nti: "tusubira tusobola okuwangula.  Tuikidiza tusobola okuwangula.  Katuzane nga tuidakhuwangula."

Mu geri n'endalla, Paulo yaakoba eri ekinsa mu Rooma yalyebonabona: "Singa Kotonda abaku luuyi lwaiffe, ani asobola okutulwanisa."  Ekisuubizo tikiri nti buli kintu kiriba bulungi ekiseera kyona kyona.  N'ekisuubizo nti Katonda aba niffe bwe embera yiffe nga nungi oba embera nga nbi.  Tubawo tutya n'eisuubi?  Katukobe, "Eisuubi lyaiffe liri mu Yesu Kristo.  Katukole ni Katonda tubewo walala."  Mukole entekateka yaiffe, Mulime mw'enimira, musomese abaana baiffe, muzimbe ebizimbo, mubonabone walala kubanga Katonda aba kumpi niffe tweena tweena.  Ani asobola okutulwanisa?  Ani asobola okutulwanisa?

Ate muluzungu:

I want to speak to you today about hope.  Everyone in the world has hope in something or someone.  Hope is wanting and waiting for something that you don't have.  Hope is wanting and waiting for our situation to be better.  What do people in Busoga hope for? We hope for rain to come.  We hope for the government to help us with development projects.  We hope that our children can get jobs when they leave school.  Some people hope in witchcraft.  We hope for a cure for AIDS.  We hope for a better life.  But the hope we have in these things is not certain, because life in this world is not certain.

I want to talk with you about the hope the Bible talks about.  The Gospel is a message about hope.  The Gospel is a message about wanting and waiting for things to happen that have not yet happened.  The Gospel gives us hope that God will make things good even if they are not good right now.  Let us talk about what it means to live with this hope.  Let us talk about what it means to live with this hope even when things are bad, very bad.

In the Bible, there was a man named Paul.  Do you know him?  Paul was a special servant of Jesus called an apostle.  His job was to tell people the gospel and to build communities of people who believed.  There was a church in Rome that Paul planted there.  The church was getting problems and the people of the church were suffering.  Many were suffering because they believed in Jesus Christ.  This was a problem because it is difficult to have hope when we keep suffering.  People can say, "Why should we believe in Jesus if we keep suffering?  We came to Jesus hoping for a better life.  But things are bad.  How can we hope?"

I want to read to you from a letter Paul wrote to the church in Rome .  Think about the church in Rome .  They believed in Jesus and hoped that they could have a better life. Listen to what Paul says to them to learn what God says about hope to people who are suffering.  Romans 5:1-6.

Paul tells them first that in Jesus Christ they are together with God.  He then tells them that they have hope in God and his son Jesus Christ.  But then he says something that confuses us and makes us wonder.  He says, "we are happy even when we suffer."  How can we be happy when we suffer?  This is a strange message!  What does Paul mean?  We can be happy because suffering makes us strong together.  Suffering leads us to hope.  When we hope in Jesus we will not be disappointed because we know God loves the people that he made.  God loves his people and sent his son to die for us.  This is the gospel!

The gospel is a message of hope.  But it is not a promise that life is perfect right now.  The gospel does not promise that our children will never get sick or die.  Remember that even the Son of God died! The gospel does not promise us that will be rich or have jobs always.  But we hope in these things.  When we believe in Jesus we want to know if he will help us have these things.  But the gospel does not promise these things to us.

Paul says that when we hope in Jesus we will not be disappointed.  What does he mean?  What is the promise that gives us this hope?  Let me read again Paul's letter to the church in Rome : Romans 8:31-39.  Paul says that we have hope because Jesus has brought us together with God for all time.  We have hope because God has given us Jesus, the best of all things.  So we know that God can give us what we need, and he knows what we need better than us!  We have hope because God who made all things has defeated death forever.  We know even when we die he can give us life in Jesus!  Listen again:   In Jesus we are a part of God's family and on God's team and we know we will triumph. 

Do you like football?  What teams do you like?  Arsenal? Manchester United? Chelsea ?  Why do you like them?  Because they win every time!  Sometimes they play bad.  But when the season is finished, they are on top of the league.  I like Tottenham Hotspur.  Do you know this team.  Probably not.  When they play I have hope but I usually get disappointment. 

When we are together with Jesus we know that we are with the one who will always win.  Even when things are bad, God is together with us in Jesus who suffered like us to give us life and to give us hope.  Many things in our lives disappoint us.  Our families disappoint us.  Our government disappoints us.  Your missionaries disappoint you.  So we suffer.  We get sick and we can die.  We struggle to get money and jobs.  How do we live with suffering and disappointment?  How can we be happy even in bad things are happening?

Hope in Jesus Christ.  He is God's message to us that God loves us and wants us to be together with Him.  Remember that God is the creator and he can make things new and give life.  God cares about his people.  God provides for his peoples.  Jobs are a good thing, health is a good thing, and development is a good thing.  But we do not hope in those things.  These things may come or they may go.  Our hope is in God and in Jesus Christ and that God will make things good.

Because we know that God will make things new we do not fear suffering.  Because we know that God will make all things new we can work together for make good things happen.  When Manchester United and Chelsea play football they do not say, "We will lose today.  What can we do?" They say, "We hope we can win.  We believe we can win.  Let us play like we will win."

In the same way, Paul says to the church in Rome that was suffering: "If God is on our side, who can be against us?"  This is not a promise that everything will be good all the time.  It is a promise that God will always be with us even when things are good or when things are bad.  How do we live with hope?  Let us say, "Our hope is in Jesus Christ.  Let us work with God so that we share life together."  Work on your projects, dig in your gardens, teach your children, build buildings, and suffer together because God is with all of us, who can defeat us?  Who can defeat us?

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