Sermon preached at a Family Day of the Diocese of Matlosane

 The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba

Archbishop and Metropolitan

Diocesan Family Day

Diocese of Matlosane

25^th October 2026

 

Readings: Deuteronomy 34:1 -12; Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17; 1 Thess 2: 1-8; Matthew 22: 34-46

May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, the Dean of the Province, Bishop Stephen, members of Chapter, recipients of the Order of Simon of Cyrene, distinguished guests, Diocesan family – dear people of God, it is a great honour and joy to celebrate this day with you today.

Thank you, Bishop Stephen and your team, for inviting me to the Diocese this weekend, and to this service as we celebrate together who we are as a family. Thank you for your warm welcome to us. Let me in turn extend a very warm and special welcome to the guests who have joined us today, including all who have come from beyond the borders of the Diocese.

A big thank you to the team responsible for preparing the service and a brilliant service booklet. I also want to give thanks for your forebears, the unsung heroes and heroines who through the years have kept the fires burning in this part of God's vineyard, from the days when you were part of the Diocese of Johannesburg to that welcome day when you came into your own as an independent Diocese able to set your own priorities according to your own needs here in North-West.

It is always a joyous occasion when the people of God in our dioceses meet and worship together as a family. And today, this being my last service in this Diocese in my capacity as your Archbishop, it is a particular joy to share in this momentous day in which we give thanks to God for His gracious care.

As we gather in the presence of God today, we also attest to the special gift of the Holy Spirit, which God, out of His goodness, graciously gives to us. In the first reading in Deuteronomy (34: 1 -12), we are presented with Moses’ last act of obedience as he goes up to the rocky heights of Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah. By this time, he was very old, most of his generation had passed away and his mission – the mission to bring his people to within sight of the Promised Land – was accomplished.

Before his death, his prayer that he would be able to gaze on the Promised Land, although God decreed that he would never enter it, was granted. The view he witnessed describes what you can see on a clear day, from snow-capped Hermon, Galilee, the Mount of Olives, Bethlehem, to the Dead Sea and beyond.

Sisters and brothers, to be the servant of God is to know that we must always step aside and take our place in the background, precisely in order that the glory might be given to God. Moses died at an old age with the highest accolade which could be bestowed upon an individual of outstanding character and practical ability. By any standard, Moses had led an unusually rich, productive and beneficial life. He was in many respects a model servant. And yet it was not his role to enjoy crossing over into the land of Canaan.

Turning to the Gospel account we heard today (Matthew 22: 34-46), we find Jesus confronted by the Pharisees about which the greatest commandment was in God's law. The question at issue was one that was keenly debated among the religious hierarchy at the time, but we can regard the Pharisees' questioning of Jesus here as not so much an attempt to engage him in good faith discussion as an attempt to test him with hostile intent. In the language of today, they were hoping for a “gotcha!” moment in which they could trap him into saying something they could use against him. But Jesus's response showed us what is at the heart of the Old Testament; that love flows from a commitment of the will, something that can be commanded as a duty, and involves loving God first and then also neighbour.

Jesus then turns the tables on the Pharisees and challenges them as to what their views of the Messiah really are: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” (v.41). According to Matthew, they replied that the Messiah is the Son of David. But Jesus then challenges them to explain how David could call the Messiah “Lord” if the Messiah was, as usually thought of at the time, going to be just a king, only a political leader. Jesus makes clear that the Pharisees' concept of the Messiah was not a sufficient designation of Him. He is in some sense Lord as well. The Pharisees were unable to challenge that, and it became clear to them that they could not defeat Jesus in the field of argument. When they next appear, it will be with force.

What can we learn from the Deuteronomy and Gospel passages we heard today? What do we imagine Jesus to be in our lives? What is the one thing that each of us can take back to our parishes, our communities, our families and into the Diocese?

When South Africa emerged from apartheid and colonialism just over three decades ago, we hoped that we were not only seeing our promised land, the new South Africa, but that we would actually enter it. Although some of us have seen aspects of a promised land, we still have to ask: do we, in public as well as in our private lives, reflect Jesus's commandment to love our neighbours as ourselves?

When the leaders of a major city fail to tell their people that they have run out of chlorine, so the water is contaminated to the extent that more than 400 people, mostly children, are suffering from gastro-intestinal illness, can we say that those leaders love their neighbours as themselves? When the leaders of another major city cannot maintain a consistent water supply to all communities, or when leaders of towns enable greedy owners of water tankers to get rich as a consequence of a failure to deliver water to taps, can we say that those leaders love their neighbours as themselves? When those responsible for supplying our hospitals cannot keep pharmacies properly stocked with medication, can we say that those leaders love their neighbours as themselves? When we see self-serving elites lining their own pockets through corruption and steering contracts to their families' companies, can can we say that they love their neighbours as themselves? When we see violent mobs looting the shops of their migrant neighbours, can we say that they love their neighbours as themselves?

Again and again, when we look at our corporate life as a nation and as communities today, the answer must be “No!” But in 10 days' time, all adult voters will have the chance to do something about this, when we go to the polls for municipal elections.

The great thing about municipal elections is that they enable us to take action in the very place where, as they say, the rubber hits the road; where we get to decide who can be trusted to provide taps, to ensure clean, drinkable water flows from them, to give us toilets and efficient sewage and drainage systems, and to ensure that the rubbish is collected, that local clinics are properly staffed and stocked; or that the roads aren't filled with potholes.

So I urge you with all the energy I can muster, please go and vote. As the church, we won't tell you whom to vote for, just make sure you vote. And to encourage and guide you, let me draw on the scriptures.

Firstly, from Jeremiah: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:7) These words encourage us not only to pray for the welfare of our town or village, but also to do something about it. Jeremiah's audience was being encouraged to act at a time when the city and its politics were far from perfect. Despite this, they were being told: just because your situation is not perfect does not mean that you can set aside your responsibility to do something to make it better than it is now.

Next, Genesis 41 records how Joseph helped Israel prepare for famine. He studied the problem. He planned. He managed resources. Joseph taught us that competent governance matters. So when we enter that voting booth on November the 4th, let us also take Joseph with us. However much we may have been seduced by posters, however strong our emotional attachment to particular parties may be, the issue we face is not whether we like a candidate or their party. The fundamental question that Joseph places before us is: Are they capable of governing?

I also want us to take Moses into the voting booth with us—Moses, whom Jethro advises in Exodus 18 on the art of leadership. Jethro gives Moses a remarkable and practical criterion for choosing those who will govern: they must be trustworthy and honest people who hate dishonest gain. That is the real test we face at this election, at this time as we ponder the lessons of the Madlanga Commission.

Corruption is not merely poor administration. Corruption is a moral issue because fundamentally, it is theft from the poor. Money stolen or diverted to favoured projects is money taken from schools and clinics, from housing, water, roads, and social services. Anyone who excuses or tries to explain away corruption is not fit to govern. So when we choose people we want to trust with leadership, we must ask: “Can they be trusted with that which belongs to everybody?” 

Then there is Samuel, who when he is looking for a leader, sees Jesse's handsome son Eliab and thinks, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed.” But God responds: “Do not look on his appearance... because the Lord looks on the heart.” Elections and campaigns are filled with appearances: posters, slogans, speeches, social media, promises, and political theatre. But faith asks us to look a little deeper. Our faith challenges us to ask: What kind of character lies behind this candidate's campaign? Character matters.

Another person we need to take into the voting booth with us is Nathan. You will remember that Nathan was not afraid to confront King David when David has done wrong. No matter King David's power, Nathan does not hesitate to call him out. This is one of the Bible’s great statements about accountability. Rulers are not above accountability. Nor are they above morality. And candidates for municipal councils are not above accountability, nor are they above morality. Nobody is. We should never become so loyal to political formations or individual leaders that they can no longer recognise wrongdoing.

Finally there is perhaps the figure who is most important for us to take into the polling booth: Amos. The fundamental question of Amos, repeated throughout his prophetic ministry, is: What is happening to the poor? Recall that it is Amos who says: “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24). The plight of the vulnerable should have a profound influence on our discernment when considering politics. What do the policies being proposed mean for the poor, for the unemployed, for young people, for children, for elderly people, for women vulnerable to violence, for people with disabilities, for migrants and refugees, and for communities without adequate services?

Today, as we celebrate as the people of Matlosane, I challenge you, and I challenge all lay and ordained in this part of our Province, to open your minds and your hearts to the invitation extended by God. It is in times like these in your lives and in the lives of our communities and our country that our destiny is shaped. Destiny is a matter of choice, not of chance, and so I appeal to you, as you embrace Jesus's call to be his disciples, to allow him to shape you and form you in accordance with His will for your lives.

As I conclude, I want to thank all you for your faithfulness to God and the Church. Also for giving us an opportunity to lead with you in Episcopal ministry. In 1 Thessalonians (2:8-9) Paul says: “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well because you had become so dear to us…”. These words remain true even today.

To those who minister, thank you for your dedicated work. You are among the most under-appreciated vocation in our society. Thank you for what you do to help God’s people live in harmony with one another, to guide them away from simply fulfilling selfish earthly ambitions.

May you all be open to the moulding of God who calls you and holds you in his palms like clay, working to perfect you as you seek to follow Christ's example in the world.

Congratulations on your successful Diocesan Family Weekend, and may God bless you, your family, this Diocese, South Africa and the world.

God loves you and so do I.

Amen

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