The Most Revd Dr Thabo
Makgoba
Archbishop
and Metropolitan
Diocesan
Family Day
Diocese
of Matlosane
25th
October 2026
Readings:
Deuteronomy 34:1 -12; Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17; 1 Thess 2: 1-8; Matthew
22: 34-46
May
I speak in the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear
sisters and brothers in Christ, the Dean of the Province, Bishop
Stephen, members of Chapter, recipients of the Order of Simon of
Cyrene, distinguished guests, Diocesan family – dear people of God,
it is a great honour and joy to celebrate this day with you today.
Thank
you, Bishop Stephen and your team, for inviting me to the Diocese
this weekend, and to this service as we celebrate together who we are
as a family. Thank
you for your warm welcome to us. Let me in turn extend a very warm
and special welcome to the guests who have joined us today, including
all who have come from beyond the borders of the Diocese.
A
big thank you to the team responsible for preparing
the service and a brilliant service booklet. I
also want to give thanks for your forebears, the unsung heroes and
heroines who through the years have kept the fires burning in this
part of God's vineyard, from the days when you were part of the
Diocese of Johannesburg to that welcome day when you came into your
own as an independent Diocese able to set your own priorities
according to your own needs here in North-West.
It
is always a joyous occasion when the people of God in our dioceses
meet and worship
together as a family. And today, this being my last service in this
Diocese in my capacity as your Archbishop, it is a particular joy to
share in this momentous day in which we give thanks to God for His
gracious care.
As
we gather in the presence of God today, we also attest to the special
gift of the Holy Spirit, which God, out of His goodness, graciously
gives to us. In the first reading in Deuteronomy (34: 1 -12), we are
presented with Moses’ last act of obedience as he goes up to the
rocky heights of Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah. By this time, he
was very old, most of his generation had passed away and his mission
– the mission to bring his people to within sight of the Promised
Land – was accomplished.
Before
his death, his prayer that he would be able to gaze on the Promised
Land, although God decreed that he would never enter it, was granted.
The view he witnessed describes what you can see on a clear day, from
snow-capped Hermon, Galilee, the Mount of Olives, Bethlehem, to the
Dead Sea and beyond.
Sisters
and brothers, to be the servant of God is to know that we must always
step aside and take our place in the background, precisely in order
that the glory might be given to God. Moses died at an old age with
the highest accolade which could be bestowed upon an individual of
outstanding character and practical ability. By any standard, Moses
had led an unusually rich, productive and beneficial life. He was in
many respects a model servant. And yet it was not his role to enjoy
crossing over into the land of Canaan.
Turning
to the Gospel account we heard today
(Matthew 22: 34-46), we find Jesus confronted by the Pharisees about
which the greatest commandment was in God's law. The question at
issue was one that was keenly debated among the religious hierarchy
at the time, but we can regard the Pharisees' questioning of Jesus
here as not so much an attempt to engage him in good faith discussion
as an attempt to test him with hostile intent. In the language of
today, they were hoping for a “gotcha!” moment in which they
could trap him into saying something they could use against him. But
Jesus's response showed us what is at the heart of the Old Testament;
that love flows from a commitment of the will, something that can be
commanded as a duty, and involves loving God first and then also
neighbour.
Jesus
then turns the tables on the Pharisees and challenges them as to what
their views of the Messiah really are: “What do you think about the
Christ? Whose son is he?” (v.41). According to Matthew, they
replied that the Messiah is the Son of David. But Jesus then
challenges them to explain how David could call the Messiah “Lord”
if the Messiah was, as usually thought of at the time, going to be
just a king, only a political leader. Jesus makes clear that the
Pharisees' concept of the Messiah was not a sufficient designation of
Him. He is in some sense Lord as well. The Pharisees were unable to
challenge that, and it became clear to them that they could not
defeat Jesus in the field of argument. When they next appear, it will
be with force.
What
can we learn from
the Deuteronomy and Gospel passages we heard today? What do we
imagine Jesus to be in our lives? What is the one thing that each of
us can take back to our parishes, our communities, our families and
into the Diocese?
When
South Africa emerged from apartheid and colonialism just over three
decades ago, we hoped that we were not only seeing our promised land,
the new South Africa, but that we would actually enter it. Although
some of us have seen aspects of a promised land, we still have to
ask: do we, in public as well as in our private lives, reflect
Jesus's commandment to love our neighbours as ourselves?
When
the leaders of a major city fail to tell their people that they have
run out of chlorine, so the water is contaminated to the extent that
more than 400 people, mostly children, are suffering from
gastro-intestinal illness, can we say that those leaders love their
neighbours as themselves? When the leaders of another major city
cannot maintain a consistent water supply to all communities, or when
leaders of towns enable greedy owners of water tankers to get rich as
a consequence of a failure to deliver water to taps, can we say that
those leaders love their neighbours as themselves? When those
responsible for supplying our hospitals cannot keep pharmacies
properly stocked with medication, can we say that those leaders love
their neighbours as themselves? When we see self-serving elites
lining their own pockets through corruption and steering contracts to
their families' companies, can can we say that they love their
neighbours as themselves? When we see violent mobs looting the shops
of their migrant neighbours, can we say that they love their
neighbours as themselves?
Again
and again, when we look at our corporate life as a nation and as
communities today, the answer must be “No!” But in 10 days'
time, all adult voters will have the chance to do something about
this, when we go to the polls for municipal elections.
The
great thing about municipal elections is that they enable us to take
action in the very place where, as they say, the rubber hits the
road; where we get to decide who can be trusted to provide taps, to
ensure clean, drinkable water flows from them, to give us toilets and
efficient sewage and drainage systems, and to ensure that the rubbish
is collected, that local clinics are properly staffed and stocked; or
that the roads aren't filled with potholes.
So
I urge you with all the energy I can muster, please go and vote. As
the church, we won't tell you whom to vote for, just make sure you
vote. And to encourage and guide you, let me draw on the scriptures.
Firstly,
from Jeremiah: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you,
and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will find
your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:7) These words encourage us not only to
pray for the welfare of our town or village, but also to do something
about it. Jeremiah's audience was being encouraged to act at a time
when the city and its politics were far from perfect. Despite this,
they were being told: just because your situation is not perfect does
not mean that you can set aside your responsibility to do something
to make it better than it is now.
Next,
Genesis 41 records how Joseph helped Israel prepare for famine. He
studied the problem. He planned. He managed resources. Joseph taught
us that competent governance matters. So when we enter that voting
booth on November the 4th, let us also take Joseph with us. However
much we may have been seduced by posters, however strong our
emotional attachment to particular parties may be, the issue we face
is not whether we like a candidate or their party. The fundamental
question that Joseph places before us is: Are they capable of
governing?
I
also want us to take Moses into the voting booth with us—Moses,
whom Jethro advises in Exodus 18 on the art of leadership. Jethro
gives Moses a remarkable and practical criterion for choosing those
who will govern: they must be trustworthy and honest people who hate
dishonest gain. That is the real test we face at this election, at
this time as we ponder the lessons of the Madlanga Commission.
Corruption
is not merely poor administration. Corruption is a moral issue
because fundamentally, it is theft from the poor. Money stolen or
diverted to favoured projects is money taken from schools and
clinics, from housing, water, roads, and social services. Anyone who
excuses or tries to explain away corruption is not fit to govern. So
when we choose people we want to trust with leadership, we must ask:
“Can they be trusted with that which belongs to everybody?”
Then
there is Samuel, who when he is looking for a leader, sees Jesse's
handsome son Eliab and thinks, “Surely this is the Lord’s
anointed.” But God responds: “Do not look on his appearance...
because the Lord looks on the heart.” Elections and campaigns are
filled with appearances: posters, slogans, speeches, social media,
promises, and political theatre. But faith asks us to look a little
deeper. Our faith challenges us to ask: What kind of character lies
behind this candidate's campaign? Character matters.
Another
person we need to take into the voting booth with us is Nathan. You
will remember that Nathan was not afraid to confront King David when
David has done wrong. No matter King David's power, Nathan does not
hesitate to call him out. This is one of the Bible’s great
statements about accountability. Rulers are not above accountability.
Nor are they above morality. And candidates for municipal councils
are not above accountability, nor are they above morality. Nobody is.
We should never become so loyal to political formations or individual
leaders that they can no longer recognise wrongdoing.
Finally
there is perhaps the figure who is most important for us to take into
the polling booth: Amos. The fundamental question of Amos, repeated
throughout his prophetic ministry, is: What is happening to the poor?
Recall that it is Amos who says: “Let justice roll down like
waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos
5:24). The plight of the vulnerable should have a profound
influence on our discernment when considering politics. What do the
policies being proposed mean for the poor, for the unemployed, for
young people, for children, for elderly people, for women vulnerable
to violence, for people with disabilities, for migrants and refugees,
and for communities without adequate services?
Today,
as we celebrate as the people of Matlosane, I challenge you, and I
challenge all lay and ordained in this part of our Province, to open
your minds and your hearts to the invitation extended by God. It
is in times like
these in your lives and in the lives of our communities and our
country that our destiny is shaped. Destiny is a matter of choice,
not of chance, and so I
appeal to you, as you embrace Jesus's call to be his disciples, to
allow him to shape you and form you in accordance with His will for
your lives.
As
I conclude, I want to thank all you for your faithfulness to God and
the Church. Also for giving us an opportunity to lead with you in
Episcopal ministry. In 1 Thessalonians (2:8-9) Paul says: “We loved
you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the
gospel of God but our lives as well because you had become so dear to
us…”. These words remain true even today.
To
those who minister, thank you for your dedicated work. You are among
the most under-appreciated vocation in our society. Thank you for
what you do to help God’s people live in harmony with one another,
to guide them away from simply fulfilling selfish earthly ambitions.
May
you all be open to the moulding of God who calls you and holds you in
his palms like clay, working to perfect you as you seek to follow
Christ's example in the world.
Congratulations
on your successful Diocesan Family Weekend, and may God
bless you, your family, this Diocese, South Africa and the world.
God
loves you and so do I.
Amen
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