Saturday 26 December 2009

Note on Recent Postings

Dear Friends

Please note that many of my recent letters, sermons and statements have been carried on the website of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, at www.anglicanchurchsa.org. On the main page, or on the news page, you will find links to the pieces listed below - as well as other items of interest within our Church. In the New Year, we shall aim to take more care in ensuring that my blog page is kept up-to-date in parallel.

Apologies if you have missed anything that is important to you.

Yours in the service of Christ

++Thabo Cape Town

Press release: Archbishop Thabo honours former Health Minister, 17 December 2009

Message from Archbishop Thabo to Ordination Jubilarians, 17 December 2009

Archbishop Thabo welcomes President Jacob Zuma's intention to attend the Copenhagen talks, 10 December 2009

Message of prayer and support from Archbishop Thabo Makgoba to Marian Walker and Angus, 9 December 2009

Christmas 2009 - To the Laos

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba speaks on World AIDS Day at St George's Cathedral, Cape Town, 2 December 2009

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba's sermon at the funeral of Bishop Les Walker, first Bishop of Mpumalanga, 2 December 2009

Media Statement from Archbishop Thabo Makgoba regarding the FIFA World Cup draw on 4th December 2009

Announcement by the Archbishop of Cape Town on the death of Bishop Les Walker, 24 November 2009

Media Statement from Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, Archbishop of Cape Town, on the resignation of Mr. Jacob Maroga, 6 November 2009

Ad Laos - to the People of God, 3 November 2009

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba's message of support and prayer to the Church in Pakistan, 3 November 2009

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba's statement on restorative justice re developments at the University of the Free State, 29 October 2009

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba's welcome address to the meeting of the Religious Leaders of the Western Cape with President Jacob Zuma, 19 October 2009

Message to the People of God by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, 15 October 2009

The Archbishop of Cape Town joins the Bishop of Natal in condemning the Kennedy Road attacks in Durban, 2 October 2009

Please pray for the Makgoba family as they mourn the death of Archbishop Thabo's mother, Kedibone Makgoba, 21 September 2009

Statement from the Synod of Bishops, meeting in Midrand, 9 September 2009

Ad Laos - to the People of God from Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, 4 September 2009

Message of Pastoral Support to Archbishop Njongo and Mrs Ndungane and Statement from the Archbishop's attorney regard the allegations, 3 September 2009

Politics and the Church — Acting Incarnationally: Reflections of an Archbishop, 2 September 2009

Friday 25 December 2009

Sermon at Midnight Mass, St George's Cathedral, Cape Town

‘Mary treasured these words, and pondered them in her heart.’

Isaiah 9: 2-7

Titus 2:11-14

Luke 2:1-20

‘Mary treasured these words, and pondered them in her heart.’

May I speak in the name of God, the Everlasting Father, whose Eternal Son is born among us – our Saviour and our Prince of Peace – by the power of his Holy Spirit. Amen.

This is my second Christmas in Cape Town, but over the last few days, I’ve gained an impression that things are quieter this year than last. Fewer crowds, less traffic on the roads, shorter queues in the shops.

May be I’ve just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Only next year will we know whether retailers, restaurants and hotels have had a so-called ‘good’ Christmas.

Yet what does it mean, to have a ‘good’ Christmas? Economists tell us that – provided we steer clear of excessive debt – it is good for the economy, good for unemployment, for us to spend our money. Buying more stuff is, they say, a good thing!

But I can’t help wondering if the credit crunch, together with the threat of global climate change, has taught us to be wary of an economic system that operates through an endless cycle of consumption as if the world had infinite resources – something that clearly is not true.

Limitless wealth for all is not something to which we can aspire. Nor can we be content and not outraged by the inequalities in God’s plentiful world. Indeed, even a modest middle-class Capetonian lifestyle for all would take pretty much two whole planets to sustain, if on-line quizzes are to be believed.

This brings me to my central question – to what can we rightly aspire in life? What is the treasure that is life’s goal – the goal of individuals? the goal of our societies? – not only for ourselves, but for our children, and our children’s children?

Tonight I might put that question in other words: What is the present, the gift of greatest value, we would most like to find in our own Christmas stocking? – and in the Christmas stockings of those we love?

‘Mary treasured these words, and pondered them in her heart’ said our reading from St Luke’s Gospel.

The words worth treasuring were these: ‘Do not be afraid, for there is good news of great joy for all people: the birth of a Saviour.’

‘Do not be afraid.’ Life is hard – sometimes very hard indeed – but God is bigger, and therefore we should not have to live with fear, in the face of life, nor in the face of death.

Jesus stands with us, and we can put our hands in his. He will be with us, through thick and thin – a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a source of strength, a voice of encouragement. This is why we call him Emmanuel – ‘God with us’.

Jesus alone can travel with us that final journey from this life to the next, because he has walked that way before us. So, we never need be afraid.

This is good news – this is joy – this is a Christmas present worth having.

Our other readings told us more about what it means for Jesus to come as our Saviour.

‘The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined’ wrote the prophet Isaiah.

Where is there darkness in this world? Where is there grim depression, despondency, dejection and despair? Where is there woundedness and brokenness, misery and grief?

Jesus – as it says in the famous words of the Gospel according to St John, is the light who shines in every darkness; and no darkness can ever extinguish it.

The prophet Isaiah has more to tell us: the Saviour will establish a realm of endless peace, and uphold it with justice and righteousness. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Where is there no peace? Where is there injustice? Where is there a lack of righteousness – where is there dishonesty, malice, and downright evil?

Jesus will step in – if we invite him, if we make space for him. For he loves us, and is zealous to bring peace, justice, righteousness.

This is what we sung about in our hymn just now – he is the God who comes, righting wrongs.

Yes, Jesus is the source of all hope – real, concrete hope. His zeal will see to that.

No, the darkness of this world cannot win.

Not if we receive the Christmas present who is Jesus.

Not if we take the gift that God offers, and unwrap it and make it our own.

Here comes the challenge – because if we unwrap this gift, we have to do more than put it on a shelf to gather dust as we forget about it.

What Christmas presents will you receive this year? Some gifts are to put on display; some are to wear; some are to use; some are to eat.

Jesus is all of these.

We are to display Jesus’ presence in our lives – through our actions, our words, our attitudes.

We are to share Jesus’ zeal. This is what St Paul wrote, in our second reading: He gave himself, to purify a people of his own, who are zealous for good deeds.

Therefore, we are to be zealous in displaying Jesus, and all that he stands for: by pursuing justice and righteousness, and bringing light wherever there is darkness, by being agents of healing and hope.

This is what it means to ‘put on Christ’, says St Paul – like wearing our new Christmas outfit, for all to see.

Because God’s gift of himself demands from us some personal transformation. We cannot welcome the Christ child, without allowing him to change us and our society.

Anyone who has had a new baby come into their home will know that life is never the same again!

By the arrival of the Christ-child, God wants to change us, too – so that through us, he can change the world!

Jesus is a gift to be used.

The world around us may not acknowledge him as Saviour, but people everywhere need to know his peace, his justice, his truth, honesty, healing, comfort, encouragement, courage – his hope.

It is our job to communicate Christian values, so God’s best may be acknowledged and shared across communities, societies, nations.

It is God’s best:

• that will help us move beyond Copenhagen globally, and take the next steps locally in preserving our planet;

• that can bring substance to World AIDS Day, which we marked on 1 December, or prompt individuals to set up projects in their own communities, like Beauty, who I met on 1 December, and whose sewing project helps HIV-positive people like herself to support themselves;

• that enables us to do the right thing, ethically, morally – in our communities, our businesses and work-places, our schools and colleges, our personal lives.

• That will move us from outrage to action - when infants die at birth or before the age of five or their mothers die at birth; or when the majority of God’s people continue to lack shelter; when Palestine- Israel lacks peace or when countries pass legislation that undermine and demean the sanctity of life.

Finally, I said some Christmas presents are to be eaten.

Jesus says ‘feed on me’ – feed on my body and blood, given for you, he says.

And so we come, with open hands, to the altar – to be nourished by him, to be strengthened by him, to be sustained by him.

We need Jesus himself, within us, if we are to live the life to which he calls us.

So, tonight, come and receive the greatest gift, the most valuable treasure of all – Jesus himself – and let yourselves be transformed by him, to share his treasure with the world.

Amen.

Sunday 23 August 2009

Resolution of the Diocese of Cape Town on Ministry to Gays and Lesbians in Covenanted Partnerships

The Anglican Diocese of Cape Town agreed on August 22 to a resolution asking the church’s bishops to provide pastoral guidelines for gay and lesbian members of the church living in “covenanted partnerships,” taking into account the mind of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The Synod of the Diocese also resolved to ask Archbishop Thabo Makgoba to appoint a working group, representing church members of varying perspectives, to engage in a “process of dialogue and listening” on issues of human sexuality. This is in line with a “listening process” which is being pursued throughout the Communion.

The resolutions were passed in a session of the Synod, which was held at St. Cyprian’s Church, Retreat in Cape Town from August 20 to 22.

The resolution on pastoral guidelines was proposed by the Revd Terry Lester, sub-dean of St. George’s Cathedral, who said the parish had come to be seen as “a safe space, a sort of liberated space” for gay and lesbian Christians in Cape Town.

He said the cathedral needed guidelines to help it provide pastoral care to gay and lesbian members in “faithful, committed” same-sex partnerships.

In a meeting earlier this year, the Anglican Consultative Council, which represents Anglican churches around the world, reaffirmed a moratorium on what it called “authorization of public rites of blessing for same-sex unions.”

The original text of the synod resolution included language which some members of the Synod said would lead to the blessings of same-sex unions. This, said the Revd Dr James Harris, “will bring us into conflict with the wider Anglican Communion.” The language was later dropped.

The Revd Sarah Rowland Jones successfully proposed an amendment to the resolution which provided that the pastoral guidelines which the Synod requested should take “due regard of the mind of the Anglican Communion.”

Speaking after the Synod ended, the Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Thabo Makgoba said:

“In Bible studies and discernment sessions during the Synod, I felt the people of the Diocese were committed really to wrestling with the Scriptures and with what they meant in our context.

“I was very encouraged by the way in which the Synod was sensitive both to the pastoral needs of gay and lesbian couples and at the same time affirmed the stance of the wider Anglican Communion, not charging ahead and doing our own thing but rather committing ourselves to a process of listening and dialogue on how to move forward.”

The full text of the resolution on gays and lesbians in committed partnerships reads:

This Synod,

Affirming a pastoral response to same-sex partnerships of faithful commitment in our parish families;

Gives thanks to God for:

--The leadership of our Archbishop Thabo Makgoba and his witness in seeking to handle these issues in a loving and caring manner; and

--The Bishops of our Province for their commitment to the unity of our Communion and Province, working together seeking God’s way of truth and reconciliation;

Notes the positive statements of previous Provincial Synods that gay and lesbian members of our church share in full membership as baptized members of the Body of Christ, and are affirmed and welcomed as such;

Affirms our commitment to prayerful and respectful dialogue around these issues, mindful of the exhortations of previous Lambeth Conferences to engage with those most affected;

Asks the Archbishop to request the Synod of Bishops to provide pastoral guidelines for those of our members who are in covenanted partnerships, taking due regard of the mind of the Anglican Communion.

Friday 21 August 2009

Archbishop's Charge to Synod

The full text of the Archbishop's Charge to the 2009 Synod of the Diocese of Cape Town: 

 

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba

Diocese of Cape Town: Synod Charge

Our Vision and Our Mission:  God's Faithful People,

Loving and Serving God's Church and God's World”

20 August 2009


Mark 12:28-34

28One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ 29Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” 31The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ 32Then the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that “he is one, and besides him there is no other”; 33and “to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength”, and “to love one’s neighbour as oneself”,—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’ 34When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ After that no one dared to ask him any question. (NRSV)


Dear members of the Diocese of Cape Town, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I greet you in the precious name of the God who is love, and who calls us to live in love with him and with each other. May I also extend a warm greeting to all our guests? Thank you for being with us. And at this point, may I also thank Bishop Garth and the Advisory Committee, all those in the Diocesan Office, at Bishopscourt (especially my communications team), our hosts at St Cyprians, and everyone else who has contributed to the preparation of this Synod, and of my Charge. My family deserve particular gratitude for their patience and forbearance!

Although I have been at Bishopscourt for well over a year, sometimes I still feel like the new kid on the block. Today is one of those days – my first Diocesan Synod, and my first Charge. This is a little daunting! Yet when I look around, I recognise I am not among strangers. No: I am among familiar faces, among friends. So let me say thank you, Diocese of Cape Town, for the generous and loving welcome you have shown me and my family since our arrival in this beautiful city. Thank you that you have opened your hearts to us, and shared so much of yourselves, as we have begun to get to know one another – as friends, and as members together of the family of God.

It is as family that we meet in this Synod – brothers and sisters within the body of Christ. I therefore want to begin my Charge by reflecting on what it means ‘to be the body of Christ’. This phrase has become something of a motto to me, since I used it in my Installation Charge. There, I asked that we be partners in seeking ‘afresh to discover what is it to be the body of Christ in our time, and who God is in Jesus Christ, for us here and now.’ The same questions are before us tonight: Who are we, as the body of Christ? And who is God in Christ for us?

Our identity and our calling, as Christians, as Church, are dependent upon relationships: first, ours with Jesus Christ, and second, with everyone else who is also ‘in Christ’ – this is our basis for engaging in ministry and mission. In other words, first, we must grow in loving God, and second, we must grow in loving our neighbours: those within the Church; and then – in company with one another – those beyond our walls. This is why I have chosen, in my first Charge to you all, to focus on these key areas – our identity and our calling, and what these mean for our mission and ministry.

Becoming Archbishop has deeply challenged my understanding of all this, in terms of being ‘the body of Christ’. One of the unexpected delights of becoming Primate has been encountering other Christians, other Anglicans, from every part of the world, and every imaginable culture, language, background and experience. In January I was in rural Mozambique: you can hardly imagine a place more different than Bishopscourt! Yet we share in the same Province. Then there was last year’s Lambeth Conference, with Bishops from the whole world; in February, the Primates met in Egypt and encountered the situation of Christians there; and in May I shared in the life of the Jamaican church during the Anglican Consultative Council meeting. Last month I was in London – where people every year celebrate and support the work of the Sisters of the Community of the Resurrection of our Lord in Grahamstown. And in May I was in New York, meeting the people of the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund who have provided extensive support to our Province over many years.

Everywhere I went, I found a strong sense of family, and joyful belonging together, which arose from recognising one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter how foreign these people seemed in other respects. In ways I had not anticipated, I recognised Christ in them: I saw that he dwelt in them, and shaped their words, their actions, their lives. This has given me a passion for the unity of all Christians, for which Jesus prayed at the Last Supper, asking the Father that we might all be one, so that the world may believe in his Son (John 17:21).

It has also shaped my praying for the Anglican Communion, giving me an aching grief over our present divisions; and a deep yearning that we may overcome them, and, especially, that we set aside the sometimes appalling ways that brothers and sisters speak about, and deal with, each other. It breaks my heart to witness this. Yet I also remember that we are God’s church, because he has called each of us into relationship with him through his Son our Lord. Faith is his gift, far more than it is our choice.

So when I consider what it means to be the body of Christ, I am challenged, and reassured, and challenged again.

First, I am challenged to take time to get to know those who say they follow Jesus as Lord – who are earnestly desiring to love God with all their heart and mind and soul and strength – and yet whom I find different, even incomprehensible. I am challenged to set aside my prejudices, and be ready to be surprised by encountering Christ at work in their lives – making his home in them in ways I had not imagined, as they allow him to work his purposes in them and through them. I have seen the hand of God upon people in ways I was not expecting – and, having seen it, I could not deny it. Sometimes this has been unsettling.

But then I was reassured – because if I am in Christ, and you are in Christ, then no matter how great our other differences, neither of us can be separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus – and therefore we cannot be separated from each other, within his embrace of love. Therefore we have a safe context for addressing our differences, knowing that we are bound together as the people of God. Within our own Diocese this means we do not need to be afraid of the diversity among us – and there are considerable differences of culture, language, wealth, education, circumstance, and more besides. Some, like poverty, we need to address; but some, like culture and language, we should treasure.

So then I am challenged again. How shall I share God’s love – not grudgingly, but wholeheartedly – with every sister and brother across this whole broad, rich, spectrum, who are each God’s gift to me within the body of Christ? There is a Sepedi proverb that says: Mphiri o tee ga o lle – one bracelet does not make a sound. In other words, some things cannot be done alone. We need others.

Therefore, in what we say and resolve in the next two days, we must be sensitive to those family members who are not part of this Synod or Diocese – the wider Province, and the world-wide Communion, as well as the whole people of God of every denomination. In Synod too, we should be tender with one another: in our asking, in our responses, in what we seek, and how, and when – being especially sensitive to those who least see issues of life and faith as we do.

Let us be mindful that God deliberately creates us with so much otherness, such diversity, for his purposes. Like rough stones with sharp edges, we collide with against each other, as God uses us to knock off one another’s awkward corners, and to polish us into smooth and beautiful gems – so we can better reflect his glory, each in our own way. Each of us needs to be refined in holiness, to be transfigured and transformed. So often, it is the relationships and circumstances with which we wrestle hardest, that prove to be the most valuable. Therefore we must learn how to love and cherish especially those with whom we find it hardest to rub along easily. In heart and mind, we uphold the truth that each one of us is equally loved by God, and equally called upon to love and be loved as he has loved us – even where we find it hard to connect with one another, or where there are questions over which we fundamentally disagree.

Of course, the obvious area where disagreements currently loom largest among Anglicans around the world is human sexuality and its expression. All too often we give the impression of being obsessed with sex! I would far rather that we were known as people obsessed with Jesus.

The German protestant theologian Karl Barth – perhaps the greatest theologian of the 20th century – visited the US towards the end of his long and distinguished career. He was asked what encapsulated the essence of his many profound books. After a moment’s thought he answered ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’

For all of us, our integrity, our authenticity, as Christians, is based on Christ alone, and on the quality of our relationship with him. Jesus shares in our humanity so that, united in baptism with his death and resurrection, we, by the power of the Spirit, may be ‘in Christ’, and so partake of his divinity – the promise of eternal life at one with him, which we shall know in all its fulness, beyond death.

No one else can do this for us. Only Jesus is the incarnate second person of the Trinity – the ‘Word made flesh’. He alone is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Only Jesus is the sure and certain hope of forgiveness. He alone offers fresh beginnings, through salvation and redemption. With St Paul, we quote the lovely words of an unknown Greek poet: ‘In him we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28).

And with confidence we look to him to direct this Synod’s work. For in Jesus we find the ability to transcend the limitations and failings of humanity. He promises to transfigure and transform the mediocre and the fallible, into something where the glory of God is revealed, and God’s eternal purposes bear fruit that will last into all eternity. Only in Jesus Christ do we find the redemptive healing of our souls from the pains of a broken and hurting world. Only in Jesus Christ do we find the wisdom to know how to live transformatively, and the courage and strength to do so. Only in Jesus will we find the vision to share this good news within our churches and within our city – and the means to do so.

As I preside at this Synod for the first time, let me says something about how I understand my own calling as Archbishop of Cape Town. The Prayer Book has many tasks for a bishop – to be a shepherd and pastor, a teacher and interpreter of the truth, and a focus of unity; to banish error, to proclaim justice, and to lead God’s people in their mission. Such leadership may find expression in different styles, according to the people exercising it, and the needs of particular circumstances.

By and large, I am not the sort of man to be out in front, telling others to do what I say. Only rarely will you see me forging ahead on my own and shouting ‘follow me!’ over my shoulder! Of course, it sometimes happens – especially when my pastor’s heart moves me to act and speak out urgently – as I did after visiting Zimbabwe, or over the xenophobic attacks last year.

But in general, this is not who I am, and it’s not what the Diocese needs as we meet in Synod. We are faced by tough challenges – but we also are at the start of what, I hope, will be a long journey together over the years ahead. I feel that my task is to promote, and encourage; to build bridges, and initiate conversations – so that we may draw out the best in one another as we travel forwards together. For within the body of Christ, writes St Paul, ‘to each on the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good’ (1 Cor 12:7). Everyone should have the chance to offer the insights the Spirit gives and to contribute the gifts they have received.

Therefore I have enjoyed sharing conversations about this journey over the last year or so. I’ve enjoyed speaking with people on my parish visits, as well as through our Family Day; the Clergy school; Diocesan Standing Committee; and the Chrism Mass sermon, which I hope you have discussed within your parishes. If not, I hope you will at least re-read it as your overnight home-work!

The themes I feel that are emerging from these conversations mirror those of the two great commandments. First is the call to grow in loving God, and to be deliberate in developing spiritual growth and theological understanding among clergy and laity alike – and so to increase our confidence in God, and in living out the faith to which he calls us. Second is the call to love our neighbours – a two-fold call, to love and serve God’s church, and to love and serve God’s world.

This is the context I, as your Bishop, offer, as we take counsel together. A Bishop’s role should be personal, collegial and communal. It is personal because there are tasks and responsibilities that belong to the Bishop alone – such as presiding at Synod. It is collegial, because all bishops are called to be in relationships of mutuality with one another – throughout this Province, throughout the global Anglican Communion, and even with all other bishops of God’s Church throughout the last twenty centuries. This is an awesome concept, and forces us to hold the perspectives of the universal church alongside the particularities of life here and now. Thirdly, a Bishop’s ministry is communal – because one is only truly a bishop among the community of which one is shepherd, pastor and teacher. As Anglicans, we speak about being a ‘bishop-in-Synod’, for episcopal leadership is exercised in conjunction with one’s Diocesan Synod.

This is why I have structured our agenda so that, once the Charge is delivered, we will have rather more time for dialogue than usual. For we come together as the family of God, gathered around the one table, breaking bread and sharing conversation as any family does. So there are opportunities to speak and to listen – and again, I hope that our obsession with Jesus will make him, our host at this Eucharist, our focal point. I hope we can speak and listen to how the life of the body of Christ is being experienced and challenged in the varying circumstances of our parishes. I hope we can speak and listen about what threads, what patterns we are discerning, when we meet in groups. I hope we can speak and listen, over meals and in tea and coffee breaks. And – because God gave us one mouth and two ears, so we should do twice as much listening as speaking – I hope we will listen attentively to the voice of the Word made flesh, in our worship; in our Bible Studies; and when we pause each day at noon for prayer.

Tomorrow morning, I will say more about the structuring of each day at Synod, but let me now just say a little to set the context for our deliberations together. Remember: we have a far horizon ahead of us – it stretches through to 2019. This is the timescale for our planning. We are not called to try to solve everything at once.

Let me share another Sepedi proverb: Nonyana phakuphaku e bea lee le ntoo – a hurrying bird lays only one egg. If we are too hasty, our achievements are likely to be limited. Let’s bear in mind the big picture with its long perspective, and plan for a nest full of eggs!

At the heart of this vision is God’s desire that everyone should have the opportunity for abundant life which Jesus promised (John 10:10). So we can expect that God has achievable tasks for us, wherever that abundant life needs to be nurtured and encouraged.

Let me just list a few areas:

  • poverty – and all that feeds off it

  • crime, drugs and violence

  • HIV and AIDS, together with TB

  • adequate health care for all

(Here let me mention that we continue to monitor the spread of swine flu closely, and will issue guidance as it is needed. Please be guided by prudence, not panic, especially as our public health sector is already overstretched. I offer our condolences to the families and friends of all who have died.)

  • education

  • the environment.

It may not be our responsibility – it often is not – to provide all the answers. But it is for us to discover and make clear the sort of values we want to bring to bear, to help transform situations and open up redemptive possibilities.

So then, let me sum up - the task before us is to discern what is it to be the body of Christ in our time, and who God is in Jesus Christ, in our Diocese in the ten years ahead. Our answer will be shaped by our response to the two great commandments: First, how shall we help all the people of the Diocese to love God more fully, especially through spiritual and theological development? Second, how shall we better love and serve our neighbours – both within the church, and within the wider world? As Jesus said, to follow these is to come close to the kingdom. For I am sure, that, taken together, these themes will be a firm foundation for all our ministry and mission, and a strong backbone for our vision also, as we live out our calling as the body of Christ in this place.

May God bless us as we seek his will, and make us a blessing to others – for his praise, and for his glory. Amen.


Thursday 20 August 2009

Statement from the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town on Statement from the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, on H1N1 ‘swine’ flu

A number of clergy have asked how we should respond to the outbreak of H1N1 or ‘swine’ flu, especially in the light of the recent statement issued by the Archbishops of York and Canterbury, which recommended the suspension of the sharing of the chalice at communion. This followed advice from the UK Department of Health to the British public not to share ‘common vessels’ for food and drink.

Within the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we should observe prudence in maintaining good hygiene and in taking care to reduce exposure to infection.

There has been legitimate alarm around this pandemic, at least 6 people have died from swine flu. All of life is sacred and we regret the loss of this precious life. Yet we should not panic, but rather be prudent about our health. If you are not well, it makes sense to behave as you would with any of the other strains of flu that we experience each year. We should take care not to expose others needlessly to the virus, and to remember the tried and trusted practices of covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands regularly and so forth.

I have spoken on the phone with Prof Adrian Puren, an Anglican who is a virologist and a professor at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases. He has confirmed all the above. Thus, we are encouraging prudence, and asking those who may have swine flu (or indeed, normal winter flu) to take special precautions, to reduce exposure to others, and to take proper account of adverse weather.

Wednesday 12 August 2009

To the People of God – To the Laos - August 2009

Dear People of God

Throughout our Province we observe August as ‘The Month of Compassion’. Of course, we are called upon to share compassion throughout the year, but this month we take time to pause and reflect on the compassion we have received from God, and how he calls us to share it with the world around.

The word ‘compassion’ has roots that mean ‘to feel with’ or ‘to suffer with’. Compassion is not only feeling sorry for someone, but to be with them in what they face. God has compassion on all creation, especially humanity. Coming alongside us in Jesus Christ, taking human form, to experience all that we go through. As Scripture says, ‘We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who, in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need’ (Heb 4:15-16).

When we look at the life of Jesus, we see how certain circumstances drew out particular compassion in him. We read how he had compassion for a leper, expelled from society and rejected by his faith community (Mk 1:41); for the multitude who ‘were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd’ (Mt 9:36); for a hungry crowd (Mk 8:2); for the sick (Mt 14:14); and for two blind men (Mt 20:34). He speaks of God’s compassion when healing ‘Legion’ (Lk 5:19); and in his parables, compassion is shown by the God-like figures of the debt-forgiving master (Mt 18:27) and the prodigal son’s father (Lk 15:20). We see compassion in Jesus’ treatment of the woman caught in adultery (Jn 8:11); and in his raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mk 6:41) and the widow of Nain’s son (Lk 7:13). In all these examples, we see what ‘bothers’ God about humanity: our predicaments not only as individuals, but within society, in need of direction and leadership so that we can live the life to which God calls us, and which Jesus both models and offers to us if we put out trust in him as Lord and Saviour.

We see Jesus’ compassion most fully in what we call his ‘passion’. This is not about enthusiasm or desire, but the primary meaning of the word: suffering. For Jesus, in his love for humanity, shared the suffering of mortality and death, as he gave his life for us on the cross. As Jesus says at the Last Supper, ‘No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’ (Jn 15:12).

God in Jesus Christ shows us what is compassionate love. It is acting. It is coming alongside and walking with. It is persevering and self-sacrificing. Love that does not take action is mere sentimentality. Love that does not come alongside is aloof and condescending. Love that does not walk with is only being patronising. Love that does not persevere is just a passing romantic daydream. Love that is not prepared to give of itself is no more than an empty pretence – or, as St Paul might say, a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. (I Cor 13:1)

How shall we show such love, such compassion, to those whom we meet? Jesus tells us to love our neighbours as ourselves, and the story of the good Samaritan, in which a despised foreigner helps the assaulted Jewish traveller, reminds us that our neighbour is anyone who crosses our path – even someone whom we might never expect to encounter in everyday life.

Sometimes what is needed is to show people that ‘we are there for them’. The Bible tells us that when Job, after losing all his children and wealth, was struck with sores from head to foot, his three friends came, and sat with him in silence for seven days. When they finally opened their mouths, they got it all wrong!! Sometimes our committed presence makes all the difference.

Last month I visited a hospital in Khayelitsha in Cape Town, where Hope Africa had donated equipment, as part of their annual partnership scheme with the South Africa Medical Foundation. So much is done by a dedicated few, with limited resources. Yet I pray that through my visit, and the lasting presence of the new equipment, we can demonstrate some measure of sustained compassion. Sustained compassion is also present in long-running projects such as soup kitchens and winter care programmes. It is in the establishment and support of foster care homes, and in home based care projects. It is in vegetable gardens and prison visiting. It is in skills training and capacity building and community development. It is in reading to the blind, or just sitting holding the hand of someone who needs to know a loving touch. It is in a million little acts of care.

Compassion can also be expressed through raising our voices – especially through Synods at Diocesan and Provincial level. I am reminded of the words of the Roman Catholic priest in Brazil, Helder Camara, who said ‘When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.’ We too must ask our governments the difficult questions of what social justice means, and how it is to be enjoyed by all. And we must be ready to be partners with our governments, at every level, to ensure that the infrastructure resources which we enjoy can be used to their full potential. Perhaps we have buildings that can be used for clinics or in other ways so that services can be delivered to those who need them.

Earlier this month I joined the Diocese of the Free State’s annual Cave Service at Modderpoort, and was touched by the Anglican Women’s Fellowship’s generous spirit. It reminded me of Christ’s compassion in feeding the multitude. May our Lord continue to bless Bishop Paddy and Kirsty Glover and their team.

In South Africa, August is also women’s month. In so many communities, women bear the burden of caring for those in need – but Jesus’ example shows that this is a responsibility all should share. Yet let me salute those women who, whether through choice or force of circumstances, expend their time, their energies, their resources, for the well-being of others. Women priest and deacons, members of the Mothers Union and the Anglican Women’s Fellowship, women lay ministers and wardens, treasurers and councillors, women who teach in Sunday School and clean and do the flowers, women who fill our pews, and the women of tomorrow who grow up among us – we honour you, as our sisters in Christ, our fellow-labourers in his vineyards, our companions on the journey, and our equals in the sight of God.

Yours in the service of Christ,

+Thabo Cape Town

Friday 10 July 2009

To the People of God – To the Laos - July 2009

Dear People of God

Last month I wrote directly after returning from the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Jamaica, on which I have now had some time to reflect.

The ACC is one of the Anglican ‘Instruments of Communion’, alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates’ Meeting, and the Lambeth Conference. Every 3 years, a bishop, priest or deacon, and lay person from each of the larger Provinces, and 2 representatives from smaller Provinces, meet to review our common life. We consider how to promote cooperation, including through the Communion’s many networks, and we review developments in mission and in relations with other Christian bodies. I attended in the place of the late Bishop David Beetge, long our episcopal representative, together with the Revd Janet Trisk. Unfortunately Nomfundo Walaza had other, unbreakable, commitments.

It was a great joy to be in Jamaica, a Diocese of the Province of the West Indies. On our first Sunday, all the local churches cancelled their services, and joined us for a remarkable shared celebration. The following Sunday, ACC members divided ourselves among parishes, to see the mission of the church in Jamaica first hand. It was an enriching encounter, especially so soon after the Lambeth Conference challenged us on the role of Bishops as leaders in mission.

I found it hugely energising to hear reports from the Communion’s networks, which include Women, Families, Youth, Interfaith, Colleges and Universities, Peace and Justice, and the Environment. There is a huge breadth of activity, mutual support and learning – and we must look at ways of sharing this more widely in our Province, and raising the profile of the Southern Africans involved.

It is also greatly encouraging to consider how much our relations with other Churches and Christian bodies broaden and deepen – often after centuries of division and mistrust. Congratulations to my researcher, the Revd Sarah Rowland Jones, for compiling the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations’ report of nine years work, in ‘The Vision Before Us’. I commend this as a comprehensive handbook on the Anglican response to Jesus’ prayer that his followers ‘might all be one, so that the world may believe’. (As some of you know, it was through IASCER that Sarah met the late Bishop Justus Marcus – who mentored a lot of us – moving to South Africa when they married, and taking up the post of Archbishop’s researcher on his death. She is one of the important staff members at Bishopscourt, who are invaluable in making an Archbishop’s life possible – do please keep them in your prayers.)

Of course, one key matter was the proposed Anglican Covenant in its third, ‘Ridley’ draft. We decided more work was still required, and sought comments from Provinces. If you want to know more, your Bishop’s office has copies of the draft. Please send views, by mid-August, via your Diocese or directly to peoadmin[at]anglicanchurchsa.org.za. We shall look at this at Synod of Bishops and PSC in September. You may have seen reports that this delay favours one or other ‘constituency’ within the Communion – my view is that there was ambiguity within the draft that must be clarified. I can also report that, whatever the press and bloggers say, there was a very warm and cooperative atmosphere at the meeting. This is not to deny that divisions, especially in some Provinces, are very deep and serious, but they do not bring everything else to a halt. Please continue to pray our Communion may be ‘faithful and obedient’ in following God’s call.

On my way home, I visited New York, holding discussions with The Episcopal Church, particularly on their mission partnerships with us, through our Anglican AIDS and Healthcare Trust, Hope Africa and directly with a number of dioceses, and in supporting various individuals. We thank them for labouring with us in the vineyards of the Lord in this way. While there I was privileged to receive an honorary Doctorate from the General Theological Seminary ‘in recognition of outstanding service to the Anglican Communion’. As I said then, I feel this degree is for all Southern Africans who were denied access to education by past circumstances. Many of you, I know, would have loved to have been able to study, especially to study theology, and could not. Nevertheless, God’s Holy Spirit guided and strengthened the churches in our efforts to bring an end to apartheid and build a new reality in Southern Africa, through justice, peace and reconciliation.

This new reality means we must continue deliberately to share God’s love, walking with all who are in need in today’s broken world. Recalling Jesus command that we love our neighbours as ourselves, we must each ask ‘Who is my neighbour?’ and then treat every member of our global community in ways that uphold the sanctity of life, the dignity of humanity in all our differences, and the integrity of creation. These are our touchstones as we follow God’s call for social justice here and now – whether the urgent demands of poverty, hunger, malaria, HIV and AIDS, and TB, or the adverse affects of global warming. God’s loving concern for human well-being is best revealed through the attitudes, words and deeds of Christians acting together as the body of Christ, especially concrete cooperation, as we all walk more closely with one another on our common journey.

There is a similar spirit behind the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s call for a global Mandela day on his birthday, 18 July. They want everyone to spend 67 minutes ‘doing something that would make a difference in their communities’, and so recognise the 67 years Mandela spent fighting apartheid. I should like us all to take up this challenge, and not only act individually, but also with others, and especially in ways that bridge or break down the old divisions. For the genius of Nelson Mandela is that he inspires us not only to be the best that we can be, but also to bring out the best in one another, for the healing of the soul of our nation. For my part, conscious of the need for the healing of our very land, I shall plant an olive tree in the grove I have created in my garden to off-set the carbon footprint generated by the travel that my responsibilities entail. And of course, I shall take time for prayer: to thank God for the gift to us and to the world that Nelson Mandela has been, to seek his blessings of peace and contentment on Madiba in his retirement, and to ask that we may all take to heart the lessons we have learnt from this remarkable man and so, by God's grace, dare to dedicate our lives to the betterment of our planet and of all who live on it. I encourage you to spend these 67 minutes doing good to all, especially to those of the household of faith.

Yours in the service of Christ,

+Thabo Cape Town

Friday 26 June 2009

Naught for your Comfort Award

While President Zuma has the right to hope South African voters will choose an ANC government ‘until Jesus comes again’, his prediction that that ANC would rule South Africa forever was unfortunate, anachronistic, and potentially dangerous, the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town has said.

Speaking at the annual Naught for your Comfort Award ceremony held at Sophiatown’s Christ the King Church on Friday evening, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said that the Constitution’s guarantee of the freedom of religion meant anyone could allot to Jesus whatever role they wished, adding that the churches had no desire to ‘colonise’ Jesus, as some claimed. To speak of ruling ‘until the end of time as we know it’ was a political, rather than religious matter, he said, pointing to the enormous poverty and suffering one-party rule had often brought in Africa. He felt such an attitude reflected a ’1960s or ‘70’s view of our continent’, in contrast to perspectives on democracy and governance recently expressed by the African Union. He warned that the President’s comments risked ‘encouraging those who have a strong stake in – and economic motives for – prolonging ANC rule indefinitely’, even by unconstitutional means.

The Archbishop nonetheless assured the President and his government of his continuing prayers that they might successfully fulfil their promises to tackle poverty, expressing the hope that they might ‘follow the leadership of Jesus Christ, who came not to be served but to serve, and who taught us to put the needs of others before our own’.

Archbishop Makgoba was honoured as the first Rector of the parish of Christ the King, following its restoration to the Anglican Church, in 1997. It had been abandoned, and then sold, in the late 1960s, following population removals. Also honoured were the Smith family, whose generous donation in the 1930s led to the building of the church; Bishop Duncan Buchanan, retired Bishop of Johannesburg, who oversaw the church’s reclamation; and the Community of the Resurrection, which has a long history of supporting the parish and provided many of its earliest rectors. Among these was Trevor Huddleston, after whose book the award is named.

Linking the Award to the scriptural call to ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people’, the Archbishop challenged his hearers to consider what nature such comfort might take in today’s society, wherever people were prevented from flourishing. He said the church should press for God’s justice to be realised in the proper remuneration of health care professionals and funding of the health service, as well as in social grants, education, halting human trafficking and in sustainable development. He also called for politicians to be held accountable, and for greater truth and transparency in government, including in relation to the arms deal.

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town

Full text of Archbishop Thabo Makgoba’s speech

Honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great privilege and pleasure to be with you this evening.

I am honoured to find myself a recipient of the Naught for your Comfort Award – and more than honoured to find myself in such august company as you, Bishop Duncan and Di, and the Smith family, and the Community of the Resurrection. I offer you my congratulations, alongside my own thanks, as a former rector, for all that you have done for this church, and this community, over so many years. Speaking of rectors, may I also express particular thanks to you, Fr Luke, as our host today – and may I congratulate you on your recent appointment to Christ the King, and assure you of my continuing prayers in this new responsibility. If you find yourself even half as much blessed through the life of Christ the King as I was, during my time here, you will be blessed indeed. And I am sure that you will be a blessing to those entrusted to your pastoral care.

Our theme for this Naught for your Comfort Award Lecture, is ‘Social Justice and the Church’. Since I am an archbishop, I hope you will permit me to begin with some words from the Bible, to set the scene for us. When we think of the word ‘Comfort’, I am sure that for most of us, the words that spring first to mind are from the first verse of the fortieth chapter of the book of the Prophet Isaiah – a passage that we read earlier this week as we remembered the birth of John the Baptist. As the King James Version so memorably puts it, ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith the Lord.’

So the question I want to consider this evening, is this: ‘What is the nature of the comfort which the Lord is asking us to share with the community around?’ How does God want us to be channels of his comfort, in Sophiatown here and now, when, to quote further from Isaiah, ‘the term of bondage is served’, or, as another translation puts it, ‘they have suffered long enough’.

Well, the term of bondage ended fifteen years ago, for this country, and twelve years ago for this church, where I was privileged to serve as the first rector after the reclamation of the building. Yes, we suffered – we suffered enough. But now the bondage is over – now we have a new freedom to enjoy. So our first response is one of gratitude.

Indeed, in all of life, gratitude should be our first response – for the gift of life itself; and for the reality of God’s promises, that nothing in all creation can separate us from his love, and that there is no situation so terrible that he cannot work in it for good (Rom 8:28,39).

This surely is a source of sure and certain comfort to us all. We look back, and we see how God worked for good in, and through, and despite, our past. And so, when the present, when the future, seem to threaten, we can proclaim our confidence that God will work for good again, as we once more put out hands in his, and trust in him.

This is the first word of comfort that we can proclaim to our community. Yes, God works in all things for good, if we are prepared to let him – and so we dare to give him thanks, in good times and in bad.

Gratitude is the heart of thanksgiving – and thanksgiving is the essence, and the essential meaning, of the Eucharist: the sustaining meal of remembrance through which God’s presence is made real to us, and we lift up our hearts, and as we are caught up into the worship of heaven. As the Prayer Book tells us, this is the central act of the Church’s worship. In Christ, it is also our eucharist, our thanksgiving, to God, for his inexpressible love in giving his only Son for us: Lamb of God, bearer of our sins, redeemer of the world. It is also our communion – as we receive, in and through the consecrated bread and wine, the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice made once for all, and as we in our turn offer ourselves as living sacrifice to God. Now the Lord takes us and blesses us. He breaks us in renewed surrender and gives us as food for others.

And so we have a two-fold movement: the call to come, ‘draw near, and receive’ – and the summons to move out into a needy world, ‘go in peace to love and serve the Lord’.

Tonight, we are gathered here in recognition that we have been able, in so many different ways, in so many difficult circumstances, to ‘draw near and receive’ – though the life and ministry of Christ the King. We are affirming and acknowledging, very particular channels through whom we have been drawn closer to the Lord, and received from his bounty:

* We thank God for the Smith family, for their generous donation of funds that allowed the building of this house of the Lord, this sacred space, in which so many could find a place to draw near to him

* We thank God for the companionship in the gospel, the Christ-like service, and the spiritual nurturing, that we have received from the Community of the Resurrection, over so many years, in running the Church, and in so many community projects – and especially their faithfulness in some of our darkest years.

* We thank God for Bishop Duncan, who, as our Diocesan Bishop, gave leadership, guidance and encouragement, through the complex and often painful process of reclaiming this church, and who has been a mentor to so many people.

Through them all, so many of us, myself included, drew closer to God, and received his comfort.

In turn, we must now also ‘go out’ from here, sharing the peace of God – sharing the comfort of God – as we love and serve the Lord; as we love and serve his people, his world. And so I want to ask tonight – how are you using these lectures, to help you love and serve God and his world, to help you bring the true comfort of God to those around you, who need it most?

Preparing to come here this evening, I did a little homework. I read the text of Archbishop Njongo’s lecture, of two years ago. I wonder if you remember it. I wonder what you have done about it.

In his book Naught for your Comfort, Archbishop Trevor Huddleston warned us about being caught up in words, words, words – saying something along the lines of ‘I hate words, because the church slumbers while the people suffer.’ Archbishop Trevor took the title ‘Naught for your comfort’ from a poem by G K Chesterton. Two years ago, recollecting this, Archbishop Njongo drew on some other words from Chesterton. These spoke of the importance of understanding our own history, of understanding how we got to this place, this moment – in order to understand better how we can go forward.

Archbishop Njongo spoke about how important lament is, in helping us remember our raw and painful past, in ways that transforms us to a place of ‘hopeful recollection’. So, have you been learning how to lament the pains of the past?

* That time of exile as Sophiatown was destroyed, and the people removed to Meadowlands?

* The years of feeling like the ancient people of Israel, deported to Babylon?

* And this church under what felt like foreign domination, as the Jerusalem Temple was in the time of Isaiah?

* The long wait until you could return, and rebuild, as the Jewish exiles finally did?

What have you learnt from your lamenting? What healing are you finding for this painful history?

And how is lamenting teaching you to walk alongside those who are hurting today – walking as Christ the King walked with us, a king who knows what it is to suffer ‘even unto death on a cross’? What has your experience been of following Archbishop Njongo’s call to intentionality in recollecting, in order to create bridges of hope for the future? Or, as Chesterton would put it, What new understandings of the past are you learning, so you can better go forward?

I know that I have been changed in the years since I was Rector here.

In those days when the pain was still so raw, I preached often from the radical experiences of the liberation theologians, who used the images of Jewish Exodus and Promised Land, and of exile and return, very powerfully in their understanding of the God who stands with us in our woundedness, wherever we may be – and yet who ultimately promises to bring us home.

Now we are home – we do not deny our past, but we are not its prisoners. We live in a context where the bondage is over, and God’s comfort has been made real to us. It is our turn to be channels of his comfort.

I am finding this in my own ministry – challenged to a greater balance, a greater breadth, a greater hope, in preaching not just exile and return, but the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who promises life in abundance to everyone, in whatever situation they find themselves.

So let me now pick up the key question I raised earlier this evening. What is the nature of the comfort which the Lord is asking us to share, here and now, with the community around us?

We can find some guidance in answering this question by returning to Isaiah chapter 40, and reading the verses that follow. Here, the Prophet speaks of preparing the way of the Lord in the wilderness, making a straight highway through the desert, by lifting up valleys, bringing down hills, and levelling the rough ground – and then the glory of the Lord will be revealed. So, let us ask tonight: where is there wilderness and desert in this community? Of course, I do not mean literally, where is there barren dry land – unlike the barren and vacant plot at the back of the church, which you should consider how best to use!

We need to think more broadly about wherever there is desolation, instead of the flourishing that God desires for humanity – sharing in community, where each of us loves, and is loved by, our neighbours as ourselves. The question then arises of ‘Who is my neighbour?’ within the family of the Church, within our communities – even among our colleagues and business contacts. Yes, everyone is our neighbour. There is no-one who crosses our path who is not our neighbour, someone with whom to share the comfort of God. And so, within these human networks to which we belong, we need to consider: Where is there wilderness, desert, barrenness, where instead there ought to be life, flourishing, growth, development?

And what about straight ways? Where are the ways of life, in your community, in your work, in your parish, not straight? Where is there crookedness – perhaps crime, corruption, bribery, bending the rules, cutting corners, being elastic with the truth, playing it a little too clever, taking the easy way out … How can you bring in the straight ways, and live by the measure of righteousness?

Then there are the valleys and hills – the gaps and the obstacles. Where are the gaps, the shortfalls, between how we are, and what we are called to be? And what obstacles stand in the way of us living the lives God purposes for us? And finally, there is levelling rough ground. Where do we still trip up, even though the way ahead, on the face of it, seems relatively clear?

I am sure with very little imagination, you can provide me at once with all manner of answers!

And we can address these issues with confidence, for we serve a Lord who says, Comfort, comfort my people, and we know his word does not return empty! How then, shall we bring the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all these pains of today’s world.

What is the social justice for which our God would have us strive? Some of us do not find it easy to answer this question. The world around is complex and ambiguous, and we do not know where to begin. Many of us grew up with one big simple question, for the church and for the country, to which there was one big simple answer – the end of apartheid. Now, in both politics and faith, we have to deal with complicated and diverse issues, with no big simple answers – and we are not used to the new mindset this requires. You might even say, it takes us outside our comfort zone!

For democratic life is messy. This is a reality. But, for us who are new to it, it can be confusing, and unsettling, as the tides of politics ebb and flow, and personalities and politicians come and go. And often devout and deep-thinking Christians are divided on all manner of issues from the death penalty through to the best way to tackle poverty. But we should not be discouraged. God can work in this democratic world as easily as in the bad old days – for nowhere is outside God’s comfort zone!

Instead of one big question, one big answer, we can find God at work in many detailed ways, answering every question, however it comes. So each of us can ask, within our own circumstances, as well as within the parish, and within the community, the questions I asked above:

* what are the barren deserts,

* what are the crooked ways,

* what are the gaps,

* what are the obstacles,

* and what is it, even when life seems sorted out, that still trips you up in your attempts to go forward?

And then we must ask ‘how can I best be a loving neighbour, in tackling these issues wherever I encounter them?’

Each of us may come up with slightly different answers and priorities, depending on our own contexts, our own callings. The particular challenges facing politicians, business people, journalists, teachers, doctors, clergy and so forth, are all likely to be different – just as our personal and family situations, may be different. But in them all, God wants to make the road forward straight and level, for the glory of the Lord to be revealed in our lives. God wants to bring abundant, flourishing, holy, life – a life of justice and truth – and he will do so in whatever manner is most appropriate for each person, each context.

So do not worry that, with the loss of the big question, and big answer, the Church has ‘lost its vision’. No, in changed circumstances, we must learn to express God’s vision, God’s comfort, differently, appropriately to the complexities and varieties of our lives. Now we face the challenge of discerning the finger prints of God in the ‘little things’ of life, in every time and place. Do not forget – we serve a God who numbers the hairs on every person’s heads. He has made-to-measure promises, that deliver tangible comfort, for every single one of his children.

And so, wherever we are, we can promote God’s comfort, Christ’s gospel, through pursuing the highest moral principals, ethical standards, values of ubuntu, and strengths of democracy. In God’s strength, we can press for God’s justice; expressed, for example:

* in adequate social grants for all who need them, for all who are entitled to them;

* in a properly funded health service, properly remunerated health professionals;

* in safety in schools, in supporting teachers, in helping schools deliver quality education;

* in politicians being accountable to their electorate

* in truth and transparency – not least in relation to the arms deal

* in equitable distribution of the world’s resources, between rich and poor

* in sustainable development and environmental protection

* in halting human trafficking, especially child-trafficking

And in all of this, our desire is for every human person, every child of God – each of us created in, and reflecting, his image – to be treated fairly, with dignity, with respect.

It is a great privilege to live in a country where the provisions of our Constitution, though not grounded in the Christian faith, so fully reflect our beliefs in the intrinsic worth and value of each person, and the fundamental equality of treatment and of opportunity due to every individual.

At this point, let me dare to stick my neck out and risk a remark about President Zuma’s comment on the ANC ruling until Jesus comes again.

Neither the Anglican Church, nor the South African Council of Churches – of which we are a member, and which we strongly support – wants to ‘colonise’ Jesus, as some have claimed.

Of course, our desire is that everyone, everywhere, should know him and follow his ways – because we believe that this offers the best route to human well-being.

Yet we express this desire within the context of our Constitution, which respects freedom of religion – the freedom to believe whatever you want to believe, as long as you do not contravene the basic rights of others. And this means, that you, that anyone, can allot to Jesus whatever role you wish. In this way, Muslims believe Jesus to be one of their prophets, and they are free to do so.

No, the reason that we, and others in broader civil society are unhappy with the President’s comments, is not actually a matter of religion at all. It is a matter of public policy.

Therefore, I believe it is wholly right that, tonight, we should evoke the legacy of Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, and tell the ruling party precisely why we are unhappy, even if it does give them ‘naught for their comfort’ to hear us say it.

President Zuma, as leader of the ANC, does have the perfect right to express the hope that South African voters will choose his party as the country’s government ‘until Jesus returns’. But it is another matter to predict the party will rule until the end of time as we know it.

It takes only a glance at history to show the enormous damage that one-party rule has done to too many of Africa’s people; and the poverty and suffering it has caused, not least through encouraging greedy elites to hog resources. In this light, the President’s comments are unfortunate.

More than this, given the roots of one-party rule, the President’s comments are anachronistic, reflecting a 1960s or ‘70s view of our continent. A 21st century perspective on Africa should surely rather reflect, for example, the understanding expressed in the African Union’s own Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance.

And, finally, the President's predictions of unending ANC rule are potentially dangerous, to the extent that they might encourage those who have a strong stake in – and economic motives for – prolonging ANC rule indefinitely, and tempt them to take unconstitutional action to preserve it.

But let me say that we wish President Zuma and his government well, and we shall continue to pray that they may be successful in following the leadership of Jesus Christ: who came not to be served but to serve; and who taught us to put the needs of others – especially the poorest, the weakest, the most marginalised – before our own.

May they be successful in the goals they have set themselves: in tackling poverty and crime and unemployment; in building up health and education; and – in so many other ways – bringing tangible, sustainable and lasting comfort to those who stand in greatest need.

Let us not forget how far we have come in 15 years, how much there is to celebrate, how much there is to affirm, and how much there is to continue building upon.

We can rejoice in all that is good and true and honourable and just; in whatever is pure and pleasing and commendable – as St Paul tells the Philippians. Wherever there is excellence, or anything worthy of praise – our minds should rest on these, and our words should encourage them, and our actions support them.

Even if Bafana Bafana did not beat Brazil last night, a semi-final place was quite an achievement, and we congratulate the team. And we can look forward to 2010, knowing that sport builds relationships, and creates better neighbours – as well as providing leverage for jobs, skills upgrades, and all manner of other opportunities for our country and its people.

Remember, God calls us to be a people of hope. As the poem containing the phrase ‘Naught for your comfort’ tells us – God does not give us guarantees of an easy life, but he guarantees us that he is with us, through thick and thin, working his good. And so with confidence we can proclaim his message of comfort, knowing that he will make straight his paths, and level the valleys of despair and hopelessness.

May his comfort be felt in the life of Christ the King, in the life of Sophiatown, and in the life of all those whom you encounter. Amen.

Thursday 4 June 2009

Statement Following the Air France Plane Crash

Since we heard of the loss of the Air France plane, I have been praying for all those people, families and friends of passengers and crew, who have been affected by this tragedy. We do not know the cause of the crash - and even if we did, it would not alter the way that our hearts weep within us for all those who have lost their loved ones. On behalf of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, I send condolences to those countries whose citizens have died, and assure them of our prayers. We pray also for those engaged in attempting to salvage the wreckage, and locate the remains of those who perished, as well as those tasked with investigating the cause of the accident and working to ensure that it does not happen again.

At times of sudden tragedy, it is right that we should mourn and weep, and honestly face the depths of our grief. Inevitably we will ask questions of what has happened and why. Often there will be no easy answers - and even when we can identify some cause or contributory factors, this knowledge cannot turn back the clock, and restore to us those whom we have lost. At such times God promises to be a strong, safe refuge. He understands the pains of human mortality. God in Jesus Christ wept at the death of his friend; and himself was prepared to suffer death and pain, on the cross, for our sakes - and so his love and compassion, wrought in the trials of his own experience, can touch us tenderly in our own pain. More than this, his resurrection offers us all a sure hope and comfort that death need not have the final word, as he encourages us to put our hand in his and find in him the reassurance that we need in times of fear and sorrow.

This then, is my prayer today, for all who grieve for the loss of life in the Air France plane crash. And it is my prayer for everyone who faces tragedy and loss, and the trauma of death: may God, as we know him in Jesus Christ, be for us a source of hope, strength, and comfort - a light by which we can dare to go on walking, in our darkest hour.

Monday 1 June 2009

To the People of God – To the Laos, June 2009

Dear People of God

As some parts of our Province are celebrating Youth Day this month, let me devote this letter to the subject of children and young people. Though I bear the responsibilities of an Archbishop towards them, I am also writing as a parent, the father of a 14 year old boy, and a 9 year old girl, and much of what I want to say applies primarily to parents – though I hope that it will also speak to everyone else within the wider family of the church, among whom our young people grow up.

God has a very special place for children in his heart. We know this from Jesus, who rebuked the disciples when they tried to keep parents from bringing their little children to meet Jesus (Mk 10:13-16). Jesus has as much time, as much love, for every human person, no matter how old or how young (and the same applies to those who are differently abled). We are all special.

‘Let them come to me’ he says, pointing us to what matters most about how we raise children: bringing them up to enjoy and develop a relationship with Jesus, as friend, as Lord, as Saviour. No child is too small to begin to know God’s love and care for them, which is why Anglicans baptise the children of our church families – just as Paul baptised the family of the jailer in Philippi (Acts 16:33).

We do this, as the Prayer Book service says, ‘on the understanding that they will be brought up as Christians within the family of the Church.’ To promise this means far more than merely teaching them about God, about the Christian faith – it means both showing them and helping them to live it. When I taught my daughter to ride a bike, I did not sit her down and instruct her in the theory of cycling. No, I showed her myself, and then spent many hours explaining and encouraging, pushing the bike with her on it, until she got the hang of it for herself.

When the Old and New Testaments speak of teaching, what is in mind is generally far closer to what today we might call modelling and mentoring. At the heart of this letter, then, is my prayer, my plea to parents, and all who guide children and young people: that you will see yourselves in this light, and intentionally pursue a lifestyle that models the best of the Christian life and that mentors and coaches young people as they learn to live it for themselves. This is most of all the responsibility of parents, and should not be left to clergy, confirmation classes or school teachers.

The Catechism in the Prayer Book gives excellent teaching about what Christians believe (and I commend it for regular reading for everyone! It is on p.423). But our faith is far more than statements of belief, or even a set of rules about behaviour. It is a way of life, the best and most fulfilling life that we could ever ask for, the only life that helps us to deal with the challenges that come our way, and the ultimate questions of human fallibility (sin) and human mortality (death). We need to help young people learn how to apply God’s eternal truths to the actual contexts of their lives today – we are not teaching them to live in ways appropriate to when we were kids! The Confirmation Service speaks of growing in a life of ‘worship, witness and service’; and in our families, as well as through the structures of Province, Dioceses and parishes, we must ensure that we are directing our efforts relevantly to helping our young people live such a life for today.

The Old Testament tells the ancient Hebrews to speak to their children what it means to be the people of God – both the commandments, and the story of how he called and rescued them, and all he has done for them – and says ‘teach them, talking about them when you are at home, and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up’ (Deut 11:19). Faith is not just for the Sabbath, for Sundays – it is for the whole of life, for every part of our daily lives.

Perhaps you worry that you are not a very good example, and don’t know how to mentor. Do not be discouraged! For God does not just leave us to get on with the task – he is model and mentor to us! Jesus is our model, and as we heed his call to ‘follow me’, he will help us to walk in his Way, know his Truth, live his Life. And the Holy Spirit is our mentor, alongside us, guiding and encouraging us like the best possible coach or trainer, as we might say with less than a year to go to the football World Cup! And in turn, we should help our youth to follow Jesus, and to hear and respond to the Spirit’s leading, for themselves.

‘Leadership development’ is another way of talking about what we must do. And we are not only investing in leaders for the future. Studies show that friends of their own age are often the most significant influence in young people’s lives – so we are performing an important task for today if we enable our own children and teenagers to be ‘peer educators’, models and mentors for all that is best in life, among their own age group.

Because every Christian is fully a member of the body of Christ, and ‘to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good’ (1 Cor 12:7) we can expect young people to bring a contribution from God to the life of the Church. St Paul wrote to Timothy ‘let no-one despise your youth’ (1 Tim 4:12). We must allow young Christians to participate fully – with support that is sensitive. Remember, St Paul also wrote ‘Parents, do not exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord!’ (Eph 6:4).

The Anglican Communion has an International Youth Network. At the recent Anglican Consultative Council meeting, we proposed that each Province should have an annual ‘Ministries with Young People Sunday’ with a special offering to support the churches’ activities with the youth. We shall be discussing this and other ways of promoting the life of faith among our young people. Another priority is appointing chaplains to universities and tertiary institutions.

Let us all, whether or not we are parents or others who model and mentor the life of faith, pray regularly for our young people, remembering that unless we too become as little children, we shall not enter the kingdom of heaven (Mt 18:3).

Finally, congratulations to the Diocese of Mpumalanga on their fifth birthday! I was privileged to join the celebrations, and to feel there a sense of the energy of Joshua, another young man called to great leadership. There was such a great vibrancy, not only among the young people, but in everyone, reflecting the glorious beauty of flourishing creation all around!

Yours in the service of Christ,

+Thabo Cape Town

Friday 22 May 2009

Archbishop Receives US Honorary Degree

‘This is for all South Africans who were denied access to education’

The text of a news release from Bishopscourt:

The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town has said that the honorary degree he has been awarded by an American seminary ‘is for all South Africans who were denied access to education’.

The degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, was conferred on Archbishop Thabo Makgoba in New York by the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church ‘in recognition of outstanding service to the Anglican Communion’.

Archbishop Makgoba, speaking in advance of the ceremony on May 20, said that circumstances of the past had prevented many of his parishioners from studying as they had desired. Nevertheless, he said, God’s Holy Spirit had guided and strengthened the churches in their efforts to bring an end to apartheid and build a new reality in Southern Africa, through justice, peace and reconciliation.

‘We must continue to share God’s love, walking with all who are in need in today’s broken world’ he urged Christians in America as well as Southern Africa. Recalling Jesus’ command to love our neighbours as ourselves, he said ‘We must each ask, “Who is my neighbour?” and then treat every individual and our whole global community in ways that uphold the sanctity of life, the dignity of humanity in all our differences, and the integrity of creation. These are our touchstones as we follow God’s call for social justice here and now.’

He pointed to the adverse effects of global warming on Africa’s poorest countries, who were least responsible for climate change, and to the urgent demands of poverty, hunger, malaria, HIV and AIDS, and TB.

He said God’s loving concern for human well-being was best revealed through the attitudes, words and deeds of Christians acting together as the body of Christ, and urged concrete cooperation, saying ‘Let us all walk more closely with one another on our common journey.’

Photo: Placing the hood on the Archbishop is Professor Mitties De Champlain, Commencement Marshall of the General Theological Seminary. Conferring the degree is the seminary's Dean and President, the Very Rev. Ward B. Ewing.

Friday 1 May 2009

To the People of God – To the Laos, May 2009

Dear People of God

South Africa’s elections fell between Easter and Pentecost, so I have been considering what it means to live as those who are raised with Christ, indwelt with the Spirit, and called and sent to be the salt in this complex messy world of ours. I have been greatly helped by recent conversations with my predecessors – drinking from the well of many years of wisdom and experience in ‘speaking truth to power’. I thank Archbishops Desmond and Njongo for all they have learnt and shared, and affirm my support for the public stance that each continues to take, particularly in South Africa, in calling on politicians to uphold all for which the Constitution stands.

After the leading role churches played in opposing apartheid and supporting the transition to democracy, I have found it extraordinary to encounter so many recent claims in the media that religion should have no place in political life. Of course, I share others’ wariness of political parties claiming God as their supporter; but to believe that faith is irrelevant to the national life is a real failure to understand mature religion, and how much we can contribute to the flourishing of human society. Anglicans have long believed engagement in public debate is inevitable, for God is either God of everything or of nothing. Therefore there can be no area of human activity in which he has no interest, and into which he does not call us to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ! Any attempted distinctions between the secular and sacred, the personal and the political, are artificial and unsustainable.

Yet this does not mean that churches should try to micro-manage government policy. Instead, we must help people understand how the eternal truths of the gospel apply in whatever context they find themselves – from the voting booth, to community forums, to a seat in Cabinet! This approach was set out by William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1942-4, who said it is the church’s responsibility to ‘announce Christian principles and point out where the existing social order at any time is in conflict with them. It must then pass on to Christian citizens, acting in their civic capacity, the task of reshaping the existing order in closer conformity to the principles.’ Because mature democracy offers the best context for debating Christian principles – and more general pursuit of mission and ministry – I see one role of the church as being to act as ‘the friend of the Constitution’. This is why I took a lead role in election monitoring bodies, which encourage political tolerance, freedom of speech, healthy debate, and so forth.

South Africa’s Constitution is a wonderful document, bought at great price – many lives lost, others permanently scarred. Its first commitment is to ‘heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights’. As Christians, we also want to bring God’s healing and wholeness to humanity. Many other principles that we want to promote are also reflected in the Constitution, such as upholding truth, honesty, accountability, transparency, justice, fairness, and all that exemplifies good governance. We also want to prioritise those in greatest need – the weakest, poorest, neediest, marginalised, and voiceless – and in this, to ensure that for them the Constitution’s promises of equal rights and benefits are properly realised. In practice, this includes adequate prioritisation of HIV and AIDS, TB, malaria, safety (I am particularly concerned at present about safety of our young people in school), and many other urgent areas of social need – as well as ensuring that urgent and critical environmental considerations are properly reflected in all policy-making.

Now the voting is over, here at least, though other parts of our Province will face elections later this year. After the counting is done, the church must lend its voice to ensuring that those who are elected pursue the common good of everyone – not only of themselves and their families, friends and supporters. We should be a vital part of the conscience of our nations. As St Paul tells us, we will support our governments, our elected representatives, as long as they are ‘God’s servants for our good’ (Rom 13:4). But where they fall short, we will be unafraid to tell them so – and it is to the best of our Constitutions that we will hold them accountable.

Jacob Zuma, just before the elections, spoke of Constitutional Court judges as being ‘not Gods’ and ‘only human’. Quite so – but the same is true of politicians, and this is why we show loyalty to the Constitution and all its checks and balances, with none of judiciary, legislature or executive holding all the power.

It is for us also to acknowledge that Jacob Zuma is ‘only human’, and affirm that, whatever his flaws, he has now been elected to the highest office in the land through a fully free and fair process (and let me here give warm congratulations to Hlope Bam and her colleagues at the IEC for a difficult and complex job well done). As our new President, he deserves our congratulations, and our prayers that he will discharge the responsibilities now entrusted to him to the very best of his abilities, and for the good of every citizen and resident of this country.

That said, I remain concerned at the many unanswered questions around not only Jacob Zuma and the NPA, but also the entire arms deal. Some politicians say we should draw a line, forgive and move on. But – regardless of whether or not judicial proceedings are involved – one lesson that we learnt through the TRC (and which is intrinsic to all forms of ‘restorative justice’) is that people cannot forgive, unless they know who they are forgiving, and for what. South Africans deserve to know the truth. Unless this is uncovered and acknowledged, it will inevitably remain a festering sore in our political life. I am convinced that the over-riding interests of our country would be best served by a full arms deal enquiry.

However painful revealing the truth may be for those involved, this is the only path to the healing and fresh start South Africa and its new President crave and need. As St John wrote, ‘If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 Jn 1:8-9).

May I end by asking your prayers for another of my predecessors – Archbishop Phillip Russell, who did so much to hold our church together in divisive times, inviting us to receive in greater measure the Spirit’s love and empowerment. Remember him, in the increasing frailty of old age. Please also remember me and everyone participating in the Anglican Consultative Council meeting of 1 to 13 May.

Yours in the service of Christ,

+Thabo Cape Town