The discovery of the right moment to speak and to act is an art life teaches us. Yesterday was such a critical moment when Mu somebody decided his time had come. A commentator said the Egyptians had been waiting 8 000 years for this moment. This is the literal truth. It is an ancient country and never before had the people been able choose their leader.
There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune,
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
Julius Caesar Act 4, Sc 3
Another commentator spoke of the amazing maturity of the people in the Tahrir Square in Cairo. They were restrained, orderly and focused day and night for close to 20 days. And the military too were restrained and made it clear they would never open fire on unarmed civilians.
The gospel speaks of the fullness of time (Mark 1:15), the moment when the Word appeared amongst us. Those of us who used our local currency in Zimbabwe in 2008 have some idea of what it is for the universe to be billions of years old and our own little planet as one billion years old. And then we come to humans who have been around for a mere 200 000 years. All this adds flesh to the book of Genesis, which launches us on the journey to the Jordan where Jesus appeared 2000 years ago when the times had run their course (Eph 1:10).
This can all be the background to events in Tunisia and Egypt. The Herald tells us this wont happen here just as Ian Smith told us in 1974, when Mozambique slipped from Portuguese control, our situation is different and such a thing will never happen here. Well, we dont know what will happen here but one thing we can be sure of: a moment comes which people grasp and no power on earth can stop them.
Post published in: Opinions