There is a popular Swahili saying that is translated "To be called is to be sent." Another version is "We are called. We are sent." This African saying is used in instructing the newly baptized adult Christians during the liturgy on Holy Saturday night and applies to all of us. We are called first to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Then we are sent as apostles. This spirit of being sent in mission is reflected in the missionary characteristic of humility as portrayed in the Sukuma proverb "Even an elephant (that is, an important person) can be sent." This African proverb uses the symbol of the elephant, the largest and strongest animal, to teach missionary humility and service. The use of this proverb in an African context is seen in the true Tanzanian story "The Sukuma Bishop Who Was Sent By His Worker:"
One day a Sukuma bishop in Tanzania prepared to go on a safari to a distant parish in his diocese. One of the workers on the compound of the bishop's residence wanted to send a package to a friend who lived in the very place where the bishop was going. Before asking help from the bishop, he used the Sukuma proverb "Even an elephant (that is, an important person) can be sent." Realizing the wisdom of this proverb, the bishop immediately agreed to take the package.
The amazing, the almost unbelievable, news of Christianity is that even God was sent. In fact, God sent God. God the Father sent the most important person, the greatest person - Jesus Christ his beloved son - to redeem humankind. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (John 3:16). Yet Jesus "humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8). We try to imitate Christ in humility and service.
Joseph G. Healey