Invited Out of Exile
Thursday, May 8, 2025
God too is necessarily dependent on love.… God would not exist unless there is someone to love. In such love, we are all invited out of exile and into the holy life.
—Michael Battle, “A Holy Exile”
CAC affiliate faculty Dr. Michael Battle served as chaplain for South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931–2021). He writes about Tutu’s passionate belief that we all belong and are invited out of exile:
For Tutu, God is a fellowship, a community, not an individual or modality. God is unified because love binds the three persons of God together. So, God created us the same way—out of love, not out of necessity. Herein is one of Tutu’s greatest contributions to how a holy life moves out of exile—namely, no one can be human alone.…
I heard Tutu preach often when I served as his chaplain. One of his common refrains was that each of us represents God, not just the clever, the strong, the rich, the beautiful, the tall, or the impressive ones.… Tutu would go on to explain how monumental this was in terms of a paradigm shift—namely that in God, no one is exiled. Now, the old black lady that cleans houses and takes care of white children, whose employers do not even use her real name “because it is too difficult” and simply call her a generic name like Mary or Jane—when she walks down the street, and people ask, “Who’s that?” she will now think with her head in her heart, “I am God’s representative.” This is what I mean by Tutu’s holy life: He facilitated the perspective in others, even among those despised on this planet, that they are holy people. This was Tutu’s genius—that everyone, religious and nonreligious, friend and enemy, are all created in the image of God.
It also must be said of Tutu’s holy life that he said his prayers. He didn’t pray ostentatiously, which Jesus warned against, but through his daily disciplines and rule of life. Tutu prayed the way my Apple watch makes me stop and breathe deeply several times a day. In addition to the Anglican daily office, Tutu recognized the wisdom of the Eastern world that prayer is tied to how we breathe. We all have the spirit of life breathed into us, and life is thus a gift from God. For Tutu, we become God’s breath in the world in order to transfigure creation to look like the Creator. I can still hear Tutu say, in his pastoral visits to churches, that you and I are placed in this world of hatred, violence, anger, injustice, and oppression to help God transform it, transfigure it, and change it so that there will be compassion, laughter, joy, peace, reconciliation, fellowship, friendship, togetherness, and family, and so that black and white people would want to be together as members of one family: God’s family, the human family. We are here to bring others out of exile.
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Sarah Young Jesus Calling
When things don’t go as you would like, accept the situation immediately. If you indulge in feelings of regret, they can easily spill over the line into resentment. Remember that I am sovereign over your circumstances and humble yourself under My mighty hand. Rejoice in what I am doing in your life, even though it is beyond your understanding.
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In Me, you have everything you need, both for this life and for the life to come. Don’t let the impact of the world shatter your thinking or draw you away from focusing on Me. The ultimate challenge is to keep fixing your eyes on Me, no matter what is going on around you. When I am central in your thinking, you are able to view circumstances from My perspective.
RELATED BIBLE VERSES:
1st Peter 5:6 NLT
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.
Additional insight regarding 1st Peter 5:6: We often worry about our position and status, hoping to get proper recognition for what we do. But Peter advises us to remember that God’s recognition counts much more than human praise. God is able and willing to bless us according to his timing. Humbly obey God regardless of present circumstances, and in his good time – either in this life or the next – he will honor you.
John 14:6 NLT
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Additional insight regarding John 14:6: Jesus says he is the only way to God the Father. Some people may argue that this way is too narrow. In reality, it is wide enough for the whole world if the world chooses to accept it. Instead of worrying about how limited it sounds to have only one way, we should say, “Thank you, God, for providing a sure way to get to you!” As the way, Jesus is our path to the Father. As the truth, he is the reality of all God’s promises. As the life, he joins his divine life to ours, both now and eternally. Jesus is, in truth, the only living way to the Father.
Today’s Prayer: Lord, when things don’t go as I wish, help me accept the situation immediately. Prevent feelings of regret from turning into resentment. Remind me that You are sovereign over my circumstances. Help me humble myself under Your mighty hand and rejoice in Your work in my life, even when I don’t understand it. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In You, I have everything I need. Keep my focus on You, no matter what happens around me. When You are central in my thoughts, I can view my circumstances from Your perspective. In Your heavenly name, Amen.
