I’m always surprised by how God is able to speak to us through inanimate objects. I suppose I shouldn’t be, as the Old Testament is full of physical symbols used to point to spiritual realities, from a humble stone set up as a memorial to the glories of the tabernacle and temple.
This object is one which I obtained in Genadendal, South Africa, the site of the first Moravian missional community on the African continent. It’s a small agricultural or vine-dresser’s knife, and how it came to be made there is deeply intertwined with the story of the original OMS.
The first refugee family to be welcomed on Count Zinzendorf’s land at Herrnhut were the Neissers. They were knife makers by trade and as the first generation of missionaries were trained at Herrnhut they passed on their skills so that these gospel messengers would have a means to support themselves financially. The Moravian missionaries taught this trade to the Genadendal community, many of whom were the descendents of formerly enslaved people who had come there seeking freedom and safety. For a while these ‘Herrneuter’ knives were considered to be the best available anywhere in the Cape, even being awarded a medal at the London Great Exhibition of 1851. Here you have echoes of hospitality, creativity, mission, justice, and learning, all in one beautiful object.
I love the story, but God can also use the same object to speak into our present and even our future. When I think and pray about our Order, I’m often drawn to John chapter 15. This passage describes God the Father as a master vine-dresser, who grafts us in to Christ and prunes us so that we might become a community of love and fruitfulness in the earth. I imagine him tenderly using a blade like this to prune and shape our lives, and am challenged to submit to the sometimes painful process of pruning knowing that my health and fruitfulness depend on it.
This morning at the OMS prayer watch we were praying that God would speak to us and guide us, in whatever way he chooses. I’ve just added physical objects to the list of possible ways that I am listening out for.