The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba
Archbishop and Metropolitan
Funeral of
The Revd Canon Prof. Lulama Mthanjiswa Ntshingwa
Diocese Of Grahamstown
Christian Church, East London
Monday, 30th June 2025
Readings: Jonah 3: 1-10; 2 Timothy 4: 1 - 8; Psalm 34: 1 -9: John 21: 15 -19
May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, our comforter and sustainer whom Canon Lulama so dearly loved and faithfully served. Amen
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ; dear Mrs MaRhadebe and your children Melikhaya and Nombuyiselo, your daughter-in-law Nommso, your grandchildren Kadija, Sambeso and Alhaji, Fr Lulama’s siblings, your brother, families and friends; dear Vicar-General Bubele Mfenyana; dear colleagues and guests from far and near, the Mayor of this area and the President of the South African Council of Churches.
It is heart-rending to be here today to offer our deepest condolences to you all on the sad loss of Fr Mthanjiswa, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a brother, an uncle, a fellow fighter for liberation, a colleague, and a friend. I say friend because since the days of the Anglican Student Federation, when he was at Fedsem and I was studying elsewhere, we have witnessed to God in different contexts, and he was ordained two years before I was ordained. So, I can safely say in isiXhosa, singamafumanana nkundleni.
I came to know Mthanjiswa best during my time as both a Suffragan Bishop in this diocese and as a diocesan bishop, long after he had become renowned in this community and throughout the Eastern Cape for his commitment to justice, peace and freedom. In fact, his influence stretched way beyond the Eastern Cape and even the borders of South Africa – it’s been fascinating to be reminded in recent days of how, in the 1980s, after he was detained, MaRhadebe lost her job as a consequence, and they were receiving death threats, Bishop David Russell arranged for them to spend respite time in the Diocese of Washington. There, the parish where he was based reported, they participated in parish life, made many friends, and shared our South African story with other area churches and schools, and visited the American states of West Virginia, Delaware and New York. In that way they acted as early ambassadors for the liberated South Africa we have become. If I had my way, I would ask the Minister of International Relations to make him posthumously an Ambassador!
On Saturday morning, the 21st of June when I received the news of his passing from the Vicar General, ndakhathazeka kakhulu. To console myself I said kanene kwathiwa kuthi nguMthanjiswa, perhaps wathatha la Ndumiso 90 seriously, that we are given three-score-and-ten and he passed at the age of 70. Ndiyabulela Bhele (Ven. Mfenyana) ngokumkhathalela ngexesha lokugula kwakhe. Ndiyabulela MamBhele for your love and support of him. Thank you also for contacting me and expressing the family’s wish that I should preside and preach at this Requiem Mass. Thank you to everyone in the Diocese and beyond for the preparations you have so diligently made for today’s proceedings. Let me also thank my chaplain, Mcebisi Pinyana, who was here for the Elective Assembly but agreed to stay on to chaplain his Archbishop before going back to Cape Town.
Dear friends, I always find it difficult to accept the loss of a loved one and in this case, I am particularly moved by the passing of Canon Lulama because I know the prominent role that he played in the lives of many people, in church and society alike. As a veteran of the church and of the struggle, I can only describe him as a pastor, a priest, a prophet and a pragmatist, and there was still more he had to offer at his age.
But as we bid farewell, and give thanks to God for his life and witness today, be comforted by the words of St Paul (Rom. 8:38-39); “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor heights, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ our Lord”.
Dear friends, indeed, we know that Mthanjiswa has not been separated from the love of God. If these words are true for anyone, they are most certainly true for him. Nevertheless, despite the comforting words the scriptures offer us, our hearts are heavy today. Perhaps we struggle to understand that we shall not see that naughty smile of his again, we shall not see those bright eyes again, we shall not hear his voice again, nor shall we find ourselves enveloped in his embrace – an embrace of love that went far wider than the reach of his arms and touched the most marginalised and needy communities, not only here but wherever he walked and whomever he touched.
For, as I have already indicated, his reach stretched far. We knew him as an outstanding Christian, a devout Anglican to the core, a spiritual leader committed to issues of social justice and peace. As we have heard from the outpouring of tributes in recent days, he was brave. He led protests and defended workers, he urged people to exercise their votes responsibly, he campaigned for those affected by HIV and Aids as head of the Eastern Cape AIDS Council, he advocated against gender-based violence, he spoke out against the abuse of children and urged that we set good examples for young men, he spoke out against the abuse of religion and he led efforts to protect people from Covid-19.
He was also very critical of the church in how he felt we let down the youth, particularly those that died at a tavern not far from here. He was pained that those kids died on a Sunday morning. He uttered very strong ways and said: They died on a Sunday morning, where was the church in its formation when such young children could die on a Sunday morning in a tavern?
More broadly, he was a respected elder cleric with a sound theology who represented the Anglican Church internationally as a member of the Anglican-Methodist International Commission, and in the ecumenical community, as displayed by the people who are here, he played a leading role in challenging government to care for God’s people under the banner of the Eastern Cape Council of Churches. But, this summary does not fully convey the fullness of this remarkable priest, a husband, a father, a colleague and a friend.
And I've been deeply touched in recent days, by the accounts of many about his encounters as a pastor and a dear friend. Enkosi, MaRhadebe, for being his support system, ngamaxesha obunzima in his ministry and in your lives.
In memory of, and respect for, his tradition of concern for the oppressed and suffering people of God, and in the light of what Jonah (3:1ff) said to us, let us call a fast. Perhaps our fast can take this form, taking a moment today to remember the people of Palestine, especially those in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank of the Jordan. Anglicans will remember that last year, our church’s Provincial Synod called for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of prisoners, the return of hostages, an unconditional withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and an immediate end to the Israeli occupation of all the Palestinian territories. But as Pope Leo XIV said, words are not enough, and as we have said in the past during the struggle, an injury to one is an injury to all. Perhaps in the spirit of Mthanjiswa and the call by Jonah, let us organize at parish level around our call, creating prayer cells and holding vigils, and lobbying churches, businesses and government locally to use their connections and leverage to support the freedom of Palestine.
And now let us also turn to what the scriptures may be saying to us today and in the light of the passing of Mthanjiswa and the Anglican Church's liturgical calendar. Today, we remember St Peter and St Paul, who are jointly commemorated in the well-established tradition of the church, both having died as martyrs in Rome during the persecution of the Emperor Nero. The little book, Saints and Seasons, says Paul was granted the right of a Roman citizen to be killed by the sword while Peter suffered the common fate of the underprivileged of his day and was crucified.
In today’s reading (2 Tim 4: 1-8) Paul solemnly charges Timothy before God to preach the word, to do so on all occasions, whether conditions are favourable or not, and to challenge his listeners by either rebuking them or encouraging them, depending on the needs of the hour, and to do so with unfailing patience and comprehensive instruction. Paul told Timothy he was to do this because the time was coming when the followers of Christ would reject good teaching, turn from hearing the truth to listening to fiction, and listen to teachers who would say whatever their listeners wanted to hear to tickle their fancy. Timothy was urged always to be sober, to be prepared to suffer hardship, and to be active in declaring the Good News of Christ, discharging his ministry to the fullest extent.
And in the Gospel passage that was so beautifully read today, (Jn 21: 15-19), there is a close link between hearing the teaching of Jesus and believing in God who sent Jesus. Faith springs from a recognition of the divine mission of Jesus and therefore the divine authority of his words. The threefold challenge to Peter may well have been designed to parallel his threefold denial. The third question is the strongest assertion of the three, emphasised by Peter’s grief at being asked three times. Jesus also said ‘…when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go’.
So friends, Jesus is to judge all of humankind, and if we are to prepare for that day, we need to have clear minds as we minister to God’s people. If God be our destiny nothing else matters, since he gave us his own Son to die on our behalf. And so today we are here to bring to God our grief at the loss of our dear friend, even as we give thanks for his life and commend him to the everlasting care of God, who is the resurrection and the life. In the same breath, we have also come to hear God’s comforting words to us, for in Jesus, God tasted death and yet lives, and because he lives, he has opened the gates of glory to all who believe. We know that Canon Mthanjiswa now enjoys the fullness of abundant life. This we know because even as Jesus wept at the grave of his dear friend Lazarus, he knew Lazarus would rise. Thus Jesus he understands our tears even as we believe. In Jesus we find a safe place to bring our weeping as we mourn the loss of a dear husband, a father, grandfather, a colleague and friend.
Siyabulela, Mrs Ntshingwa, we thank you most sincerely for sharing your husband and father to your children with us. He became a father to many too, and we are especially grateful that when he was called to serve the church in many parishes, you willingly supported his ministry until the end of his earthly.
Sisters and brothers, death and life are thought of as two distinct spheres, yet faith is the means by which we pass from one to the other. Jesus says that ‘the hour is coming’ for the final resurrection of the dead (John 5:25). The idea that departed friends shall rise to glory is one that should fill us with joy, and the one which gives us hope in Jesus Christ.
Just as the resurrection of those who died in him depends on him, so too will the resurrection of Mthanjiswa. God’s overflowing love reaches out unconditionally to everyone who believes. It flowed unrestricted through Mthanjiswa as well. He displayed that love exceptionally to his family, to those he cared for in the many parishes and institutions he served in and beyond this diocese, province and country through his selfless life. Conscious of the needs of the marginalised and social outcasts, his love drove his unstinting passion for promoting social justice and caring for the poorest of the poor.
Sisters and brothers, let me end with the words that were spoken by Peter (1 Pet 1:3ff) – but could just easily have been said of Canon Ntshingwa today. “Praise be to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he gave us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade… for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls”. It seems to me these words sum up the living hope to which Mthanjiswa’s life testified.
So I want to say: well done, good and faithful servant. You are the priest in the order of Melchizedek. May you rest in peace and rise in glory!
God bless the Ntshingwa family and friends. God bless all gathered here today. God bless this diocese, this Province and our beloved South Africa. God loves you, and so do I. Amen.
