These are the words of “Barakasy”, the King of Nosy Mitsio
(sub-King of the Antakarana people in Madagascar). It is copied out of
literature from Africa Inland Mission. The language is quite exotic; but let’s
not dismiss it as foreign craziness - this is our society too...
I was in a home last week being shown photos from (what I
think was) a faulty camera. There were blurs and lines of colour that the owner
was convinced were spirits and ghosts. Following a recent death, she believed
this was evidence of some sort of communication from the deceased.
‘Ancestor worship’ is not confined to tribes of far-off
lands. It is practiced in Leyland. All around town are shrines inscribed with
messages to the dead (especially those who have died young). I have recently
been asked to pray to (not only for) dead relatives, heroes, and even pets.
Living in fear of ancestors (deceased loved ones) breeds not
only superstition, but the sort of ‘taboos’ mentioned by Barakasy. In
particular, this fear stops people taking Jesus seriously.
Take the lady with the photos: for me to say, ‘I think your
camera’s faulty. Forget ghosts and orbs - the spiritual mystery you need to
know about is that Jesus is alive, sees everything, and will judge the world.
He offers mercy to all who call on him’ - you might think that was appealing to
someone who believed in a spiritual world. But to take it seriously would mean
possibly offending the unseen ‘beings’ who may be in the room. And who knows
what they might do?
We need to pray for the Spirit’s power to overcome these
fears, superstitions and misplaced worship.
