A sermon preached in the Diocese
of Swaziland:
Showing posts with label Truth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Truth. Show all posts
Friday, 6 November 2015
Monday, 4 November 2013
Blogging From Busan - Mission From the Margins
I took the early part of Monday to rest, observing my day of reflection and recouping as I do on Fridays back at home, and we joined the WCC sessions only after lunch.
I had interviews with the Evangelical Advocacy Alliance CEO and their media officer, as well as a YWCA officer. Our conversations were on the need for ongoing dialogue on faith and reproductive rights as they impact HIV and AIDS, and on the need to move beyond the language of human rights towards a focus on terminology which, although it is about rights, shows a God who cares for humanity and leads us to lives of holiness. What might holiness and truth for us as Christians be like, in a world of human rights, in the face of discrimination, growing conservatism and militancy?
The interview was recorded for use at ICASA, the international AIDS conference in Cape Town this December, and for encouraging the fight against HIV and AIDS within the religious sectors, especially as as the epicentre of infections is shifting to stable and married couples.
I then attended the workshop at Madang, the marketplace and place of exhibitions and of conversations or indaba, where there were many workshops to choose from.
I have always been interested in Gandhi's peaceful resistance but out of respect for him and his movement have always lacked the courage or the language to raise my deep discomfort about the caste system in India. But I am of age now and able to raise these questions earnestly, but in love. Gandhi's “seven deadly sins” have always resonated with me and recently in Cape Town at the Gandhi peace walk I quoted him as the walkers lined up at the beginning. I have wrestled with how he, as a leader who spoke with and for the marginalized, failed for so much of his life to challenge the caste system.
In a workshop with a representative of the Dalit community, I was struck anew by the line: “You can't serve Christ and the Caste." It sounds very much like the phrase “You can't serve God and Mammon” although this deep question may not be simply resolved through this biblical phrase. I know I need to go more deeply into the issue and read more, but the societal stratification characteristic of the caste system, with the Dalit at the bottom of the rung, seems to me more than discriminatory. As in apartheid times in South Africa, it treats some members of Indian society as less than human because of their religious and social standing.
If my assertions based on this preliminary reflection are correct, then as we pursue peace, Christians in India need to decry the system and proclaim the Christ who does not discriminate, who calls the marginalized to the centre. I was touched by the presentation and the stories of the Dalit representative, who succinctly explained in words and visuals what appears to be regarded by many as a socially acceptable and sanctioned discriminatory system. I think I will engage my colleague, the Moderator of the Church of South India, on the issue upon returning home.
The joys and challenges of such international gatherings are that you catch a glimpse of some of our discrepancies and contradictions. For example, we want to speak collectively but there are sacred cows, like doctrine and discrepancies within our local witness and systems. The caste system may be one such contradiction which we need to unpack as together we pursue just peace.
In our ecumenical conversation, we started going deeper into the question of just peace, understanding the concept from our different contexts and using some real examples. The session started making sense and felt too short. We will continue on Tuesday.
Our business session dealt with elections. Although we always couch them in the language of service, elections are always about power. We got bogged down in procedural issues, and who has more numbers and thereby who will be in charge of the ecumenical voice in the next eight years. At least we elected the eight regional presidents of the WCC, and I am so proud that it the ratio of women to men was 50:50. The president for Africa is from South Africa: the Revd Dr Mary Anne Plaatjies van Huffel of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa, based in at the University of Stellenbosch. Congratulations to her.
Today's main emphasis was on the need to realign our mission focus to reflect the perspective of the marginalized. What might these be? - the Dalit, the immuno-compromised, the Christian minorities, the Africans, the same-gender couples, the environment, the youth, the poor, the women. The list is long but for today, I was particularly touched by the story of the Dalit community and want to spend time praying and writing on their plight.
What might the God of life lead me and you to do for them in the quest for justice and peace which the assembly urges us to pursue?
God bless
+Thabo
PHOTO: Musicians in Madang Hall at the World Council of Churches assembly in Busan, South Korea. (WCC photo)
I had interviews with the Evangelical Advocacy Alliance CEO and their media officer, as well as a YWCA officer. Our conversations were on the need for ongoing dialogue on faith and reproductive rights as they impact HIV and AIDS, and on the need to move beyond the language of human rights towards a focus on terminology which, although it is about rights, shows a God who cares for humanity and leads us to lives of holiness. What might holiness and truth for us as Christians be like, in a world of human rights, in the face of discrimination, growing conservatism and militancy?
The interview was recorded for use at ICASA, the international AIDS conference in Cape Town this December, and for encouraging the fight against HIV and AIDS within the religious sectors, especially as as the epicentre of infections is shifting to stable and married couples.
I then attended the workshop at Madang, the marketplace and place of exhibitions and of conversations or indaba, where there were many workshops to choose from.
In a workshop with a representative of the Dalit community, I was struck anew by the line: “You can't serve Christ and the Caste." It sounds very much like the phrase “You can't serve God and Mammon” although this deep question may not be simply resolved through this biblical phrase. I know I need to go more deeply into the issue and read more, but the societal stratification characteristic of the caste system, with the Dalit at the bottom of the rung, seems to me more than discriminatory. As in apartheid times in South Africa, it treats some members of Indian society as less than human because of their religious and social standing.
If my assertions based on this preliminary reflection are correct, then as we pursue peace, Christians in India need to decry the system and proclaim the Christ who does not discriminate, who calls the marginalized to the centre. I was touched by the presentation and the stories of the Dalit representative, who succinctly explained in words and visuals what appears to be regarded by many as a socially acceptable and sanctioned discriminatory system. I think I will engage my colleague, the Moderator of the Church of South India, on the issue upon returning home.
The joys and challenges of such international gatherings are that you catch a glimpse of some of our discrepancies and contradictions. For example, we want to speak collectively but there are sacred cows, like doctrine and discrepancies within our local witness and systems. The caste system may be one such contradiction which we need to unpack as together we pursue just peace.
In our ecumenical conversation, we started going deeper into the question of just peace, understanding the concept from our different contexts and using some real examples. The session started making sense and felt too short. We will continue on Tuesday.
Our business session dealt with elections. Although we always couch them in the language of service, elections are always about power. We got bogged down in procedural issues, and who has more numbers and thereby who will be in charge of the ecumenical voice in the next eight years. At least we elected the eight regional presidents of the WCC, and I am so proud that it the ratio of women to men was 50:50. The president for Africa is from South Africa: the Revd Dr Mary Anne Plaatjies van Huffel of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa, based in at the University of Stellenbosch. Congratulations to her.
Today's main emphasis was on the need to realign our mission focus to reflect the perspective of the marginalized. What might these be? - the Dalit, the immuno-compromised, the Christian minorities, the Africans, the same-gender couples, the environment, the youth, the poor, the women. The list is long but for today, I was particularly touched by the story of the Dalit community and want to spend time praying and writing on their plight.
What might the God of life lead me and you to do for them in the quest for justice and peace which the assembly urges us to pursue?
God bless
+Thabo
PHOTO: Musicians in Madang Hall at the World Council of Churches assembly in Busan, South Korea. (WCC photo)
Saturday, 31 August 2013
Sermon of Thanksgiving - Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi
This is an edited version of the sermon preached in Ulundi on 26 August 2013, at the service of thanksgiving to mark the 85th birthday of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi
1 Corinthians 3:11-14
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward.
May I speak in the name of God, our firm foundation and our true reward.
Today is truly a day of great celebration and thanksgiving! Thank you, for the privilege of being the one who gets to stand here now, and voice our joy, and our appreciation. First, my dear Prince, my friend – we congratulate you on your birthday, tomorrow. And we congratulate you also on this splendid statue.
It is of course to the statue itself that our eyes are drawn. Yet, if we pause to reflect, we realise that it could stand there, so impressive and so imposing, if it did not rest upon a solid, stable, firm foundation. And of course, exactly the same is true of you, my Prince, in real life. So, as we give thanks today for your long life, we also give thanks to the one who is faithful to all his children, whose steadfast love for each one of us never ceases.
We thank God that, so many years ago, at the knee of your mother, Princess Magogo, herself a staunch and faithful Anglican, he planted within you the seeds of faith. We thank him that throughout the years since, he has nourished that seed, giving you the gift of faith so you could grow in his love, and bear much fruit. We thank God that he has walked with you, in all the challenges of your life – from the public, political, sphere, through to the way you pursued family life, upholding the pattern of Christian marriage with your wife, and later in the sorrow and pain of losing children.
We thank God for the grace and courage which he gave you, to speak so frankly about the effects of HIV and AIDS on your family – especially at a time when there was so much stigma and such conspiracies of silence. These were issues for which our churches had to bear some of the responsibility. Your honest speaking [especially your heart-breaking words at the funeral of Princess Mandisi] was the task of a prophetic leader – someone who speaks God’s truth so others may see life as it truly is. You helped take forward the public discourse of the nation, when it was sorely needed. And you encouraged the Church to move more decisively into a place of speaking and acting with greater honesty and compassion. The whole nature of how we deal with HIV and AIDS in our country is now completely changed – and though it is an uphill struggle, the signs are that we can move in the right direction, if we persevere. For this we thank you.
The stance which you took on this issue illustrates for me one of the key messages of our reading today from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. This reminds us that the true value of what we say and do rests with God. It does not matter what we achieve – or what we fail to achieve – in the eyes of the world. Earthly money, and power, and status, and popularity are neither here nor there as far as Heaven is concerned. Yet what God judges to be important, has eternal significance. What we say and do today, that is right in his eyes, is like a pebble thrown into the pond of eternity. The ripples have effect that lasts for ever.
And this can be a source of great courage for us – to stand up and speak out what is right and true, no matter whether it goes against the grain, either in society or within the Church. Dear Prince – here, I have learnt something from you! I have known your family since 1984-85, when Prince Zuzi and I met and became friends in our student days. Since becoming Archbishop, I have had the privilege of getting to know you better. I was deeply touched by the message you sent me when I was elected, and that you have continued to remain in touch. Over the years, I have been grateful for your hospitality (especially on my visit here 4 years ago), and for your support, in more ways than I can count.
But when it comes to speaking out, I shall not forget your wise advice – which you may recall, from that occasion when we were both sharing a stage with F W de Klerk. You warned me then, ‘Your Grace – never speak without reading from your text. For otherwise, the press are bound to misquote you, and make a feast out of it.’ Well, I have taken that to heart – at least, most of the time. But I hope you will forgive an Archbishop who at least sometimes finds he must speak from the heart, and from the soul!
And I am confident that you will understand this, for I know very well that your heart and soul are more than merely in balance with your head! For I know you best for your great laughter, and your courage – a word that comes from the Latin for ‘heart’. And I know you for your love – of your people, and your God, and his Church.
It was right and fitting that the Anglican Church should award you the Order of St Simon of Cyrene, our highest accolade to lay people. For, despite the many and weighty demands on your time, you have been a faithful servant of the church in many capacities over long years – including at the historic 1963 Anglican Congress in Toronto. You have also been a regular participant in Diocesan and Provincial Synods, and served our church in many other capacities. In addition, of course, you have been a devoted lay-minister, with long service at St Mary’s. All of these, I know, will withstand the test of fire.
More than this, I thank you for the way you have shown how the life of faith informs and helps shape a life spent in the public spotlight. You challenge others to explore how Christ calls us all to servant leadership. As we look at your life, we too must never forget that whatever earthly power and authority we may have, always finding its true identity in the greater power and authority which comes from our Lord and Saviour, the Servant King. We too must never forget that to stand firm, to stand tall, we also must stand on the one sure foundation, who is Jesus Christ – and then build faithfully with whatever material he gives us; using whatever opportunities come our way to serve him and serve his people and his world.
St Paul tells us that when we build on the true foundation, we shall receive the reward. And of course the reward is Jesus Christ himself: knowing what it is to be united with him in all the greatness of his love, and receiving in full measure all that he has won for us, in this life and in the life to come.
Therefore today, it is with overflowing hearts, that we give thanks to God for his loving presence among us – for all he does for us, and especially for all he has done for you, and through you, my friend. We bless his holy name for the gift that he has made you to so many, over such long years. And we ask, with confidence, that he will continue to bless you, preserve you, and keep you, in the years ahead, and for always. Amen.
1 Corinthians 3:11-14
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward.
May I speak in the name of God, our firm foundation and our true reward.
Today is truly a day of great celebration and thanksgiving! Thank you, for the privilege of being the one who gets to stand here now, and voice our joy, and our appreciation. First, my dear Prince, my friend – we congratulate you on your birthday, tomorrow. And we congratulate you also on this splendid statue.
It is of course to the statue itself that our eyes are drawn. Yet, if we pause to reflect, we realise that it could stand there, so impressive and so imposing, if it did not rest upon a solid, stable, firm foundation. And of course, exactly the same is true of you, my Prince, in real life. So, as we give thanks today for your long life, we also give thanks to the one who is faithful to all his children, whose steadfast love for each one of us never ceases.
We thank God that, so many years ago, at the knee of your mother, Princess Magogo, herself a staunch and faithful Anglican, he planted within you the seeds of faith. We thank him that throughout the years since, he has nourished that seed, giving you the gift of faith so you could grow in his love, and bear much fruit. We thank God that he has walked with you, in all the challenges of your life – from the public, political, sphere, through to the way you pursued family life, upholding the pattern of Christian marriage with your wife, and later in the sorrow and pain of losing children.
We thank God for the grace and courage which he gave you, to speak so frankly about the effects of HIV and AIDS on your family – especially at a time when there was so much stigma and such conspiracies of silence. These were issues for which our churches had to bear some of the responsibility. Your honest speaking [especially your heart-breaking words at the funeral of Princess Mandisi] was the task of a prophetic leader – someone who speaks God’s truth so others may see life as it truly is. You helped take forward the public discourse of the nation, when it was sorely needed. And you encouraged the Church to move more decisively into a place of speaking and acting with greater honesty and compassion. The whole nature of how we deal with HIV and AIDS in our country is now completely changed – and though it is an uphill struggle, the signs are that we can move in the right direction, if we persevere. For this we thank you.
The stance which you took on this issue illustrates for me one of the key messages of our reading today from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. This reminds us that the true value of what we say and do rests with God. It does not matter what we achieve – or what we fail to achieve – in the eyes of the world. Earthly money, and power, and status, and popularity are neither here nor there as far as Heaven is concerned. Yet what God judges to be important, has eternal significance. What we say and do today, that is right in his eyes, is like a pebble thrown into the pond of eternity. The ripples have effect that lasts for ever.
And this can be a source of great courage for us – to stand up and speak out what is right and true, no matter whether it goes against the grain, either in society or within the Church. Dear Prince – here, I have learnt something from you! I have known your family since 1984-85, when Prince Zuzi and I met and became friends in our student days. Since becoming Archbishop, I have had the privilege of getting to know you better. I was deeply touched by the message you sent me when I was elected, and that you have continued to remain in touch. Over the years, I have been grateful for your hospitality (especially on my visit here 4 years ago), and for your support, in more ways than I can count.
But when it comes to speaking out, I shall not forget your wise advice – which you may recall, from that occasion when we were both sharing a stage with F W de Klerk. You warned me then, ‘Your Grace – never speak without reading from your text. For otherwise, the press are bound to misquote you, and make a feast out of it.’ Well, I have taken that to heart – at least, most of the time. But I hope you will forgive an Archbishop who at least sometimes finds he must speak from the heart, and from the soul!
And I am confident that you will understand this, for I know very well that your heart and soul are more than merely in balance with your head! For I know you best for your great laughter, and your courage – a word that comes from the Latin for ‘heart’. And I know you for your love – of your people, and your God, and his Church.
It was right and fitting that the Anglican Church should award you the Order of St Simon of Cyrene, our highest accolade to lay people. For, despite the many and weighty demands on your time, you have been a faithful servant of the church in many capacities over long years – including at the historic 1963 Anglican Congress in Toronto. You have also been a regular participant in Diocesan and Provincial Synods, and served our church in many other capacities. In addition, of course, you have been a devoted lay-minister, with long service at St Mary’s. All of these, I know, will withstand the test of fire.
More than this, I thank you for the way you have shown how the life of faith informs and helps shape a life spent in the public spotlight. You challenge others to explore how Christ calls us all to servant leadership. As we look at your life, we too must never forget that whatever earthly power and authority we may have, always finding its true identity in the greater power and authority which comes from our Lord and Saviour, the Servant King. We too must never forget that to stand firm, to stand tall, we also must stand on the one sure foundation, who is Jesus Christ – and then build faithfully with whatever material he gives us; using whatever opportunities come our way to serve him and serve his people and his world.
St Paul tells us that when we build on the true foundation, we shall receive the reward. And of course the reward is Jesus Christ himself: knowing what it is to be united with him in all the greatness of his love, and receiving in full measure all that he has won for us, in this life and in the life to come.
Therefore today, it is with overflowing hearts, that we give thanks to God for his loving presence among us – for all he does for us, and especially for all he has done for you, and through you, my friend. We bless his holy name for the gift that he has made you to so many, over such long years. And we ask, with confidence, that he will continue to bless you, preserve you, and keep you, in the years ahead, and for always. Amen.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Consecration of Bishop Margaret Vertue - Sermon
This is an edited version of the sermon preached at by the Revd Duncan McLea, Rector and Team Leader of St John’s Parish Wynberg, at the Consecration of The Revd Canon Margaret Vertue as Bishop of False Bay, on 19 January 2013.
You can also read more about the consecration at http://ray-wordpix.blogspot.com/2013/01/time-for-england-to-follow-africa-says.html#!/2013/01/time-for-england-to-follow-africa-says.html
Ezek 3:4-11, Psa 23, Acts 4:8-13, Matt 16:13-19
Thank you your Grace for the honour and responsibility you have entrusted to me to preach at this significant event and milestone in the life of our Province, this Diocese and of course in Margret’s life and ministry.
A little while ago my daughter wrote me a two line email. ‘Dear Dad, It says in 1 Corinthians 14:34 that woman should be silent in church, but they are not are they. How do you understand this text?’ My reply, for which I asked her forgiveness, ran to 20 pages, as I tried to explain how we read and understand Scripture in its original context, draw out the principles of what God was saying in that context as the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the human authors, and then applying the principle, the warning, the command, or whatever in our context today.
The subject of that email is not what I need to address here today. For the church of which we are apart through careful study of Scripture and theological reflection, and following due canonical process has opened the way for Margaret and before her Eleyna to be Bishops in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. This is a move I welcome and celebrate. If it is any help I have posted my reply to my daughter on my blog ‘Duncan’s Diary’.
But it is important that whenever the people of God gather to worship and pray, and especially when we come together for an event such as this, that we submit ourselves to the Word of God and allow the Spirit to speak to us freshly through the Scriptures. In the Sovereign providence of God this service is taking place when the church remembers the Confession of Peter, and the Archbishop asked that these be the readings for this service.
So I take as my text the Gospel Reading, Matthew 16:13-20, the record of the conversation that takes place between Jesus and Peter at Caesarea-Philippi, as Simon son of Jonah makes the Great Confession, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God’, and as Jesus responds declaring that on this foundation he will build his church. So our theme is The Confession Peter. But a subtitle for this passage could well be, ‘Essential lessons for a church leader’… not an inappropriate theme for an occasion such as this as we gather for Margret’s consecration and enthronement as the second Bishop of the Diocese of False Bay.
As we look at this passage I want to draw your attention to four statements Jesus makes and draw out four lessons for church leaders.
(1) Who do people say the Son of Man is? – vs 13
(2) Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven – vs 17
(3) I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it – vs 18
(4) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven – vs 19
Let’s pray: Come Holy Spirit of God and open your word to our hearts and minds, and open our hearts and minds to your word; that we may see the living word of God – Jesus Christ, our Messiah and Lord. Amen.
So, four lessons for church leaders. Here is the first …
(1) It is all about Jesus
It is as simple as that, but not quite as simple as that. Lets dig into the text a bit. Why does Jesus ask the questions, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’, ‘Who do you say I am?’ Jesus was not suffering a moment of self-doubt and looking for human affirmation. Asking questions is in fact a very rabbinic way of teaching, and Jesus taught in the rabbinic tradition. Asking questions was a way a way of moving your pupils from knowledge to understanding – from head to hands – from theory to practice.
So what does he want them to understand – to grasp – what change is he looking for? He wants them to understand, yes, who he is, and then what the implications are for the way they live. And up to that point that they had not ‘got it’. It was vitally important that they – that we – get this.
But note that this is not an isolated exchange. This question does not come out of nowhere. What is the context of this passage?
Flip back a few pages to Matthew 14. The chapter begins with the beheading of John the Baptist - which illustrates starkly the cost of being a disciple. This is followed in chapter 14 verse 13 by the feeding of the 5,000 - a dramatic demonstration of Jesus’ power to provide, as well as an invitation to trust him. This is followed immediately verse 22 by another opportunity to learn trust. Jesus comes walking across the water to the disciples in their boat in the middle of the lake. He invites Peter to let go of the feeble fragile failing security of the boat and trust him. Peter takes a few steps; sees the wind and waves and begins to sink. Jesus reaches out his hand and caught him and they climb into the boat and the wind and waves are still. ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’
That is Jesus asking another question, note. Why did he doubt?
You see Jesus is pushing them to try to get them to understand who he is and what that means for them. He gets him into the boat and the wind and waves died down and they worshipped him… Truly you are the Son of God.
Ah, they have got it. But have they?
Chapter 15 - they are given opportunity to write a sup in the Galilee School of Discipleship Course 101.They failed first time round. Now there is a second chance. They are once again in a deserted place surrounded by a large crowd - 4,000 hungry people this time. And Jesus expresses his compassion for the hungry crowd. He says he does not want to send them away hungry. (That was the solution the disciples came up with last time you remember.) You have to see the humour in the narrative as Matthew records the disciples response: ‘Where in a remote place like this could we get enough bread to feed such a crowd?’ Come on! They have just witnessed him feeding 5,000; walking on water; calming the storm. And now a chapter later they are all mixed up again. The sign they had witnessed first-hand; the worship meeting on the boat … the message had not got through to them.
And Jesus knew this about signs - however dramatic they may be, they don’t convince or convert us. Hence his refusal to acceded to the demands of the Pharisees and Sadducees for a sign at the start of chapter 16. Signs don’t convince or convert us. It takes more than – if you like – ‘flesh and blood’. It takes more than human effort, well resourced and planned programmes that deliver on time, be they to feed or heal people, or even change the weather. Bread and miracles won’t do it.
And we in the church can get so caught up in our plans and programmes, our institutes and institutions, … all well-meaning and lovingly conceived, ... sacrificially funded as they be… but have we forgotten who is at the centre of it all?
Do you get the picture? To be a leader in the church of God we have to come back to this essential and fundamental lesson. It is all about Jesus! It is that simple. But then it is not that simple.
For it is not what the latest popular opinion polls say about Jesus, or what we think Jesus should be, or what we want Jesus to be. It is about the Jesus revealed to us in Scripture - in the Gospels. It is all about Jesus who Peter recognises to be God’s Messiah; who invites his disciples to trust him; who has compassion on the hungry crowd; who invites us to get out of our boats – to let go of our fragile, feeble, frail security and step onto the water and take his hand. It is about a relationship with him, who wants to draw us into an ever-deepening understanding of his love.
It is that simple. But it is not that simple, because there is always more. This is not the end of the story. They had their worship meeting – ‘You are the Son of God’; Peter got the confession right – he got the formula right – but he had not yet understood the implications. In just a few verses on we see how he had ‘not got it’. How dangerously wrong he was in his understanding.
In verse 21 – the verse following our Gospel reading for today – Jesus begins to tell his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and all that awaited him there in terms of suffering and death - the cross. That was at the heart of what being the Messiah of God was all about. The way of the cross is the way of salvation. Without the cross there is no salvation. Peter, on a high as the newly recognised authority on Messiahship, tries to coach Jesus out of choosing this path. And he gets the sharpest most damning rebuke that anyone gets from Jesus. ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have the mind and concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’
A Messiah who avoids suffering is no Messiah of God. The Gospel without the Cross is merely a human programme. It is not of God. It is a stumbling block. Worse than that, it is evil. In effect Jesus says in his rebuke of Peter that the Gospel without the Cross is Satanic. Peter had got the formula right, he had the proclamation right, he had got the confessional statement right, but he had misunderstood who Jesus really was. But there is still more.
This may be Peter’s Confession, but it was not Peter’s Commissioning. That comes much later. That comes when Peter meets the resurrected Jesus is asked another question. Not, ‘Who do you say I am?’, but, ‘Peter, do you love me?’ And Peter is able to answer out of his brokenness and aware of his own limited resources and expressing his dependence on and surrender to Jesus: ‘Jesus, you know I love you.’ You know the limits of my love. You know me.
He was, at the moment we can say, ‘Anchored in the love of Christ’. Peter had got to that point. We need to get there too. So, ‘Who is Jesus?’ It is important that we get the confessional statement right. It is imperative that we understand the centrality of the cross. It is essential that we know our selves being wooed and drawn into an ever-deepening place of intimacy with Jesus. It is an ongoing journey for us all of putting our trust and faith in him who comes to us in the middle of the storm, in the middle of the lake in the middle of the night and says, ‘It is I’.
It is all about Jesus. That is the first lesson. Here is the second …
(2) The Father is on a mission
God the Father is on a mission. In response to Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah of God, Jesus responds… (vs 17) ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
God the Father is on a mission. And that mission is to reveal his Son Jesus, the Messiah of God, to the world. Mission is at the very heart of God. And the heart of that mission is that people should come to know and see Jesus for who he is – the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. This is expressed of course so definitively in that key text which, being brought up on the Prayer Book, I knew as one of the ‘comfortable words’… that our Saviour Christ saith unto all that truly turn to him. ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life.’
And we see in our text that there were any number of ideas and theories floating round as to who Jesus was:
- John the Baptist: Some say that is who you are Jesus … the fearless political aesthetic activist that took on Herod.
- Elijah: Some say you are Elijah, Jesus. Why Elijah? Last verses of the OT predict the return of Elijah (Mal 4:5 & 6). At the Passover Seder there is an empty chair left for Elijah – there was an expectation that he would come at the end of time. He is not the Messiah, but he would be a forerunner making way for the messiah.
- Jeremiah or one the prophets: You are spectacular Jesus. You are important. You are amazing. But you are just the curtain raiser. You are not the real deal.
And is that not our context today? There are many who honour Jesus and his teaching. Respect the principles he taught and lived by. But they are not at the place of saying he is the Messiah of God. Friends, if that is missing from our ministry and mission as the church we may be on a mission, but we are not the Father’s mission. We are, dare I say, on a ‘flesh and blood’ mission - a human mission. But it is not the mission of God to which we Anglicans commit ourselves to in our mission statement … Anchored in the love of Christ. Committed to God’s mission.
From our New Testament Lesson today we have Peter’s defense before the Sanhedrin for the healing of the beggar at the Temple gate. When asked by what power or name he did this, he responds (Acts 4:9) ‘If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.’ And he adds, verse 12, ‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.’
That truth is under attack. Michael Cassidy in his recently published book ‘The Church Jesus Prayed For’, explores the prayer of Jesus for the Church in John 17. It is an invitation to explore praying for the church in the way Jesus prayed for the church. He looks at the ten things Jesus prays for those who the Father has given him and who will believe in him through their message. The first of these is truth, and vitally, the truth about Jesus.
Jesus prayer is ‘Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth’ and ‘Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’ Dare we not join Jesus in praying for his church in the way he prayed for it? Dare we not join Jesus in praying that God’s Church be sanctified in the truth – the truth of God’s Word incarnated in his Son Jesus? This prayer stresses unequivocally the central uncompromising truth - Jesus is the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.
As the liturgy we use today expresses it: we gather to set aside one who will be tasked with amongst other things … ‘Interpreting the truth as it is in Jesus Christ, … of banishing error … and leading God’s people in mission to the world’. While this is a role and task assigned particularly to those called to serve as Bishops, we for our part as clergy and laity in the church must encourage, pray for and support our bishops and share in this task with them.
We want to say to you Bishops and Bishop-elect Margaret, we want you to lead us and serve us in ‘interpreting the truth as it is in Jesus Christ … of banishing error … and leading God’s people in mission to the world’. We are right behind you. We do, and will pray for you.
Margaret is one who knows the essential value of, and sets an example for us all in her dedicated disciplined life of prayer. People of this Diocese, learn from her and follow that example so that what was said of Peter and John may be true of us all. For in the Acts reading Luke continues the narrative … (Acts 4:13ff) ‘When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.’
Ordinary and unschooled you are not Margaret, but we covet for you that essential character of a Bishop that we covet for all who serve in the church; that we may be those who are seen and known to have been each day with Jesus – the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. In essence that is at the heart of God’s mission. That is what we as Anglicans in this Province commit ourselves to: To be … Anchored in the love of Christ, Committed to God’s mission, and thirdly - Transformed by the Holy Spirit.
That all leads to the third lesson for church leaders that we draw from this passage.
(3) The mission of God is nothing less than the transformation of the world.
And God is going to do this through the Church, founded on the Confession of Peter, that Jesus is the Messiah of God. Jesus said, (vs 18) ‘And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of death (of hades, of hell) shall not overcome it.’
To appreciate the impact and relevance of these words we need to set this passage in its historical and geographical context. At this point Jesus has journeyed with his disciples up north from Lake Galilee and they have arrived in the region of Caesarea Philippi. It is the northern most part of Israel with a great pagan gentile history. In Old Testament times it was called Ba’al Hermon because the god Ba’al was worshipped there. In Hellenistic times it was called Paneas because the god Pan and his worship had replaced the ancient Ba’als. Pan was the half-man half-goat god of fright (thus ‘panic’). Today it is called Banias which is an Arabic derivation from Paneas. In New Testament times the city had been renamed - Caesarea Philippi. Philip Herod chose the name to venerate the Roman Emperor Caesar and link his name to the Emperor’s. A politically shrewd move one might say.
As for its geographical context Caesarea Philippi was the location of one of the largest springs feeding the Jordan River. A tourist attraction still today is the large cave in the cliff-side that is the mouth of the spring, with a pool of water in front of it. One can still see carved into the cliff face above the cave opening, a number of porticos in which shrines were placed to various gods. These shrines were where the people came and did homage to asked for protection and help. These gods they believed controlled life and gave them security, happiness and comfort.
At one level it is an attractive geological feature. At another it spoke of a cauldron of pagan occultic activity and associated bondages. In the 3rd century B.C., human sacrifices were cast into the cave as offerings to the gods. The cliff face towering above them with this array of gods and idols engendered an ominous sense of foreboding. In many senses it represented ‘the gates of hell’. The cave opening was a vivid symbol of the entrance into the realm of the dead - the gates of Hades.
It is in this location that Jesus says, ‘I will build my church, and the gates of death … the gates of hades, of hell … shall not overcome it.’
Now we know about the politics of renaming cities and roads, don’t we? And we know about making sacrifices to gods/idols that we look to give us security, comfort and pleasure. We may not cast our sacrifices into a cave but we pay subscriptions to DSTV, ADT, and we try to buy protection and happiness. And we know about bondages that keep people captive – grinding poverty and unnecessary unemployment. Who of us could survive on R150 let alone R65 a day? We know about HIV and AIDS, scandalous inequality and self-seeking corruption, gender violence and fear, absent fathers and moral decay.
In many ways we live in a society not that dissimilar to Caesarea- Philippi: beautiful on the outside, a wonderful tourist destination with impressive geographical features and lush countryside; but a cauldron of spiritual, political and economic powers keeping people in bondage and throwing too many into the realm of the dead.
But note this. Let me ask you the question. At that time, in the course of a battle, were gates essentially offensive or defensive weapons? Defensive. Gates were used as a defense against the advancing opposition. So if Jesus says, ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail’, that means that the church of Jesus the Messiah is on the offensive. It is pushing into the territory occupied by the enemy. It is moving against this spiritual, occultic, political, economic, systemic opposition to the rule of God symbolised by the gates of hell.
The Church of Jesus Christ is on the offensive, against all that seeks to hold captive and in bondage those made in the image of God. That is the promise in this text which we can take hold of today. The gates of hell and all that they represent will be blown apart. God’s Kingdom will advance. It will come on earth as it is in heaven. We dare to pray that and believe that. Theologians call this realised eschatology. It is about anticipating and living into the future that is secure and sealed.
Let me illustrate this with a story. Those who know me know that I love watching rugby. You will recall the Boks played a series of three matches in the UK towards the end of last year. The final game of the tour was against England at Twickenham and as it turned out I was conducting a wedding at the very time the match was being played. So I set the video recorder to tape the game hoping that no one would spoil it and tell me the score before I got home – so I could watch it live as it were. Well towards the end of the reception some one knowing my love of rugby came bounding up to me and said, ‘We won!’ Too late! The result was known. We what that meant was that on Sunday afternoon I got myself a cup of tea and sat down in relaxed fashion and with no stress at all watched the game. The game was exciting and went this way and that, but I could watch it with relaxed confidence. I knew we would win, it was just a matter of how. That is realised eschatology.
Darrel Johnson in his excellent book on Revelation tells the story of a group of seminary students who used to play basketball in the gym. They left their bags at the side and they noticed that the janitor was paging through one of their books. It turned out to be the Bible. When the students asked him what he was reading he it turned out to be Revelation. ‘Why?’ they asked. ‘I always read the last chapter of a book first to see if I will like it.’ ‘Do you understand what you are reading they asked?’ ‘Oh yes’ he said, ‘I do.’ ‘So what is it about?’ Looking furtively this way and that, he leant forward and said in a whisper, ‘Jesus wins.’
That is the promise of this text. The mission of the God in his Son Jesus is nothing less than the total transformation of the world. Nothing short of bringing all people and the whole of creation into what Paul describes as ‘the glorious liberty of the children of God’.
And the church of Jesus Christ, founded on the confession of Peter, that Jesus is the Messiah of God, will advance and take back that which has been stolen by the enemy. The gates of hell will not prevail. Jesus wins! That is point three. And to conclude – point four is….
(4) Get going!
Jesus says (verse 19), ‘I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will bed loosed in heaven.’
Now much ink has been spilled by commentators trying to get at what exactly Jesus said in the original language, who he was addressing, what he meant and what are the implications for the church today. But what is the impact of these words for us, ‘I will give you the keys … what you bind will be bound … what you loose will be loosed’? To cut to the chase: there was amongst many Jews the expectation that the messianic kingdom would come climatically without any human agreement or action. Jesus announces something different. The keys of the kingdom are entrusted to Jesus’ disciples. They must proclaim the Good News, bind that which is destructive, loose those held in bondage. There is a physical and a spiritual dimension to this. It involves earth and heaven.
Yes, God the Father is on a mission. Yes, Jesus is building his church, but the church of Jesus Christ is not an audience. It is a group of ordinary people who like Peter and John have been with Jesus, who with Peter confess that Jesus is the Messiah of God, who are given authority to bind and loose, who know them selves as loved, who are commissioned to feed the sheep. The mission of God is not a spectator sport. Get out of the stands and onto the playing field.
I recall the day I got my drivers license. For the first time my father gave me the keys of the car and said I could unlock it and go for a drive. Here are the keys. Go for a ride. So the fourth lessons for church leaders, which I draw form this passage is simply this – get going!
Conclusion
So Margaret, my sisters and brothers in Christ, I offer you from our text for today these four lessons for church leaders.
It is all about Jesus. Jesus is the Messiah of God who went to the cross and who invites us to put our faith and trust in him and in him alone.
The Father is on a mission. God is on a mission to reveal Jesus his Messiah to the world.
The mission is nothing short of the total transformation of this world. There are no ‘no-go-areas’. The gates of hell will not hold the church of Jesus Christ back.
So get on with. Out of the stands and onto the playing field.
Amen
You can also read more about the consecration at http://ray-wordpix.blogspot.com/2013/01/time-for-england-to-follow-africa-says.html#!/2013/01/time-for-england-to-follow-africa-says.html
Ezek 3:4-11, Psa 23, Acts 4:8-13, Matt 16:13-19
Thank you your Grace for the honour and responsibility you have entrusted to me to preach at this significant event and milestone in the life of our Province, this Diocese and of course in Margret’s life and ministry.
A little while ago my daughter wrote me a two line email. ‘Dear Dad, It says in 1 Corinthians 14:34 that woman should be silent in church, but they are not are they. How do you understand this text?’ My reply, for which I asked her forgiveness, ran to 20 pages, as I tried to explain how we read and understand Scripture in its original context, draw out the principles of what God was saying in that context as the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the human authors, and then applying the principle, the warning, the command, or whatever in our context today.
The subject of that email is not what I need to address here today. For the church of which we are apart through careful study of Scripture and theological reflection, and following due canonical process has opened the way for Margaret and before her Eleyna to be Bishops in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. This is a move I welcome and celebrate. If it is any help I have posted my reply to my daughter on my blog ‘Duncan’s Diary’.
But it is important that whenever the people of God gather to worship and pray, and especially when we come together for an event such as this, that we submit ourselves to the Word of God and allow the Spirit to speak to us freshly through the Scriptures. In the Sovereign providence of God this service is taking place when the church remembers the Confession of Peter, and the Archbishop asked that these be the readings for this service.
So I take as my text the Gospel Reading, Matthew 16:13-20, the record of the conversation that takes place between Jesus and Peter at Caesarea-Philippi, as Simon son of Jonah makes the Great Confession, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God’, and as Jesus responds declaring that on this foundation he will build his church. So our theme is The Confession Peter. But a subtitle for this passage could well be, ‘Essential lessons for a church leader’… not an inappropriate theme for an occasion such as this as we gather for Margret’s consecration and enthronement as the second Bishop of the Diocese of False Bay.
As we look at this passage I want to draw your attention to four statements Jesus makes and draw out four lessons for church leaders.
(1) Who do people say the Son of Man is? – vs 13
(2) Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven – vs 17
(3) I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it – vs 18
(4) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven – vs 19
Let’s pray: Come Holy Spirit of God and open your word to our hearts and minds, and open our hearts and minds to your word; that we may see the living word of God – Jesus Christ, our Messiah and Lord. Amen.
So, four lessons for church leaders. Here is the first …
(1) It is all about Jesus
It is as simple as that, but not quite as simple as that. Lets dig into the text a bit. Why does Jesus ask the questions, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’, ‘Who do you say I am?’ Jesus was not suffering a moment of self-doubt and looking for human affirmation. Asking questions is in fact a very rabbinic way of teaching, and Jesus taught in the rabbinic tradition. Asking questions was a way a way of moving your pupils from knowledge to understanding – from head to hands – from theory to practice.
So what does he want them to understand – to grasp – what change is he looking for? He wants them to understand, yes, who he is, and then what the implications are for the way they live. And up to that point that they had not ‘got it’. It was vitally important that they – that we – get this.
But note that this is not an isolated exchange. This question does not come out of nowhere. What is the context of this passage?
Flip back a few pages to Matthew 14. The chapter begins with the beheading of John the Baptist - which illustrates starkly the cost of being a disciple. This is followed in chapter 14 verse 13 by the feeding of the 5,000 - a dramatic demonstration of Jesus’ power to provide, as well as an invitation to trust him. This is followed immediately verse 22 by another opportunity to learn trust. Jesus comes walking across the water to the disciples in their boat in the middle of the lake. He invites Peter to let go of the feeble fragile failing security of the boat and trust him. Peter takes a few steps; sees the wind and waves and begins to sink. Jesus reaches out his hand and caught him and they climb into the boat and the wind and waves are still. ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’
That is Jesus asking another question, note. Why did he doubt?
You see Jesus is pushing them to try to get them to understand who he is and what that means for them. He gets him into the boat and the wind and waves died down and they worshipped him… Truly you are the Son of God.
Ah, they have got it. But have they?
Chapter 15 - they are given opportunity to write a sup in the Galilee School of Discipleship Course 101.They failed first time round. Now there is a second chance. They are once again in a deserted place surrounded by a large crowd - 4,000 hungry people this time. And Jesus expresses his compassion for the hungry crowd. He says he does not want to send them away hungry. (That was the solution the disciples came up with last time you remember.) You have to see the humour in the narrative as Matthew records the disciples response: ‘Where in a remote place like this could we get enough bread to feed such a crowd?’ Come on! They have just witnessed him feeding 5,000; walking on water; calming the storm. And now a chapter later they are all mixed up again. The sign they had witnessed first-hand; the worship meeting on the boat … the message had not got through to them.
And Jesus knew this about signs - however dramatic they may be, they don’t convince or convert us. Hence his refusal to acceded to the demands of the Pharisees and Sadducees for a sign at the start of chapter 16. Signs don’t convince or convert us. It takes more than – if you like – ‘flesh and blood’. It takes more than human effort, well resourced and planned programmes that deliver on time, be they to feed or heal people, or even change the weather. Bread and miracles won’t do it.
And we in the church can get so caught up in our plans and programmes, our institutes and institutions, … all well-meaning and lovingly conceived, ... sacrificially funded as they be… but have we forgotten who is at the centre of it all?
Do you get the picture? To be a leader in the church of God we have to come back to this essential and fundamental lesson. It is all about Jesus! It is that simple. But then it is not that simple.
For it is not what the latest popular opinion polls say about Jesus, or what we think Jesus should be, or what we want Jesus to be. It is about the Jesus revealed to us in Scripture - in the Gospels. It is all about Jesus who Peter recognises to be God’s Messiah; who invites his disciples to trust him; who has compassion on the hungry crowd; who invites us to get out of our boats – to let go of our fragile, feeble, frail security and step onto the water and take his hand. It is about a relationship with him, who wants to draw us into an ever-deepening understanding of his love.
It is that simple. But it is not that simple, because there is always more. This is not the end of the story. They had their worship meeting – ‘You are the Son of God’; Peter got the confession right – he got the formula right – but he had not yet understood the implications. In just a few verses on we see how he had ‘not got it’. How dangerously wrong he was in his understanding.
In verse 21 – the verse following our Gospel reading for today – Jesus begins to tell his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and all that awaited him there in terms of suffering and death - the cross. That was at the heart of what being the Messiah of God was all about. The way of the cross is the way of salvation. Without the cross there is no salvation. Peter, on a high as the newly recognised authority on Messiahship, tries to coach Jesus out of choosing this path. And he gets the sharpest most damning rebuke that anyone gets from Jesus. ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have the mind and concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’
A Messiah who avoids suffering is no Messiah of God. The Gospel without the Cross is merely a human programme. It is not of God. It is a stumbling block. Worse than that, it is evil. In effect Jesus says in his rebuke of Peter that the Gospel without the Cross is Satanic. Peter had got the formula right, he had the proclamation right, he had got the confessional statement right, but he had misunderstood who Jesus really was. But there is still more.
This may be Peter’s Confession, but it was not Peter’s Commissioning. That comes much later. That comes when Peter meets the resurrected Jesus is asked another question. Not, ‘Who do you say I am?’, but, ‘Peter, do you love me?’ And Peter is able to answer out of his brokenness and aware of his own limited resources and expressing his dependence on and surrender to Jesus: ‘Jesus, you know I love you.’ You know the limits of my love. You know me.
He was, at the moment we can say, ‘Anchored in the love of Christ’. Peter had got to that point. We need to get there too. So, ‘Who is Jesus?’ It is important that we get the confessional statement right. It is imperative that we understand the centrality of the cross. It is essential that we know our selves being wooed and drawn into an ever-deepening place of intimacy with Jesus. It is an ongoing journey for us all of putting our trust and faith in him who comes to us in the middle of the storm, in the middle of the lake in the middle of the night and says, ‘It is I’.
It is all about Jesus. That is the first lesson. Here is the second …
(2) The Father is on a mission
God the Father is on a mission. In response to Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah of God, Jesus responds… (vs 17) ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
God the Father is on a mission. And that mission is to reveal his Son Jesus, the Messiah of God, to the world. Mission is at the very heart of God. And the heart of that mission is that people should come to know and see Jesus for who he is – the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. This is expressed of course so definitively in that key text which, being brought up on the Prayer Book, I knew as one of the ‘comfortable words’… that our Saviour Christ saith unto all that truly turn to him. ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life.’
And we see in our text that there were any number of ideas and theories floating round as to who Jesus was:
- John the Baptist: Some say that is who you are Jesus … the fearless political aesthetic activist that took on Herod.
- Elijah: Some say you are Elijah, Jesus. Why Elijah? Last verses of the OT predict the return of Elijah (Mal 4:5 & 6). At the Passover Seder there is an empty chair left for Elijah – there was an expectation that he would come at the end of time. He is not the Messiah, but he would be a forerunner making way for the messiah.
- Jeremiah or one the prophets: You are spectacular Jesus. You are important. You are amazing. But you are just the curtain raiser. You are not the real deal.
And is that not our context today? There are many who honour Jesus and his teaching. Respect the principles he taught and lived by. But they are not at the place of saying he is the Messiah of God. Friends, if that is missing from our ministry and mission as the church we may be on a mission, but we are not the Father’s mission. We are, dare I say, on a ‘flesh and blood’ mission - a human mission. But it is not the mission of God to which we Anglicans commit ourselves to in our mission statement … Anchored in the love of Christ. Committed to God’s mission.
From our New Testament Lesson today we have Peter’s defense before the Sanhedrin for the healing of the beggar at the Temple gate. When asked by what power or name he did this, he responds (Acts 4:9) ‘If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.’ And he adds, verse 12, ‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.’
That truth is under attack. Michael Cassidy in his recently published book ‘The Church Jesus Prayed For’, explores the prayer of Jesus for the Church in John 17. It is an invitation to explore praying for the church in the way Jesus prayed for the church. He looks at the ten things Jesus prays for those who the Father has given him and who will believe in him through their message. The first of these is truth, and vitally, the truth about Jesus.
Jesus prayer is ‘Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth’ and ‘Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’ Dare we not join Jesus in praying for his church in the way he prayed for it? Dare we not join Jesus in praying that God’s Church be sanctified in the truth – the truth of God’s Word incarnated in his Son Jesus? This prayer stresses unequivocally the central uncompromising truth - Jesus is the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.
As the liturgy we use today expresses it: we gather to set aside one who will be tasked with amongst other things … ‘Interpreting the truth as it is in Jesus Christ, … of banishing error … and leading God’s people in mission to the world’. While this is a role and task assigned particularly to those called to serve as Bishops, we for our part as clergy and laity in the church must encourage, pray for and support our bishops and share in this task with them.
We want to say to you Bishops and Bishop-elect Margaret, we want you to lead us and serve us in ‘interpreting the truth as it is in Jesus Christ … of banishing error … and leading God’s people in mission to the world’. We are right behind you. We do, and will pray for you.
Margaret is one who knows the essential value of, and sets an example for us all in her dedicated disciplined life of prayer. People of this Diocese, learn from her and follow that example so that what was said of Peter and John may be true of us all. For in the Acts reading Luke continues the narrative … (Acts 4:13ff) ‘When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.’
Ordinary and unschooled you are not Margaret, but we covet for you that essential character of a Bishop that we covet for all who serve in the church; that we may be those who are seen and known to have been each day with Jesus – the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. In essence that is at the heart of God’s mission. That is what we as Anglicans in this Province commit ourselves to: To be … Anchored in the love of Christ, Committed to God’s mission, and thirdly - Transformed by the Holy Spirit.
That all leads to the third lesson for church leaders that we draw from this passage.
(3) The mission of God is nothing less than the transformation of the world.
And God is going to do this through the Church, founded on the Confession of Peter, that Jesus is the Messiah of God. Jesus said, (vs 18) ‘And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of death (of hades, of hell) shall not overcome it.’
To appreciate the impact and relevance of these words we need to set this passage in its historical and geographical context. At this point Jesus has journeyed with his disciples up north from Lake Galilee and they have arrived in the region of Caesarea Philippi. It is the northern most part of Israel with a great pagan gentile history. In Old Testament times it was called Ba’al Hermon because the god Ba’al was worshipped there. In Hellenistic times it was called Paneas because the god Pan and his worship had replaced the ancient Ba’als. Pan was the half-man half-goat god of fright (thus ‘panic’). Today it is called Banias which is an Arabic derivation from Paneas. In New Testament times the city had been renamed - Caesarea Philippi. Philip Herod chose the name to venerate the Roman Emperor Caesar and link his name to the Emperor’s. A politically shrewd move one might say.
As for its geographical context Caesarea Philippi was the location of one of the largest springs feeding the Jordan River. A tourist attraction still today is the large cave in the cliff-side that is the mouth of the spring, with a pool of water in front of it. One can still see carved into the cliff face above the cave opening, a number of porticos in which shrines were placed to various gods. These shrines were where the people came and did homage to asked for protection and help. These gods they believed controlled life and gave them security, happiness and comfort.
At one level it is an attractive geological feature. At another it spoke of a cauldron of pagan occultic activity and associated bondages. In the 3rd century B.C., human sacrifices were cast into the cave as offerings to the gods. The cliff face towering above them with this array of gods and idols engendered an ominous sense of foreboding. In many senses it represented ‘the gates of hell’. The cave opening was a vivid symbol of the entrance into the realm of the dead - the gates of Hades.
It is in this location that Jesus says, ‘I will build my church, and the gates of death … the gates of hades, of hell … shall not overcome it.’
Now we know about the politics of renaming cities and roads, don’t we? And we know about making sacrifices to gods/idols that we look to give us security, comfort and pleasure. We may not cast our sacrifices into a cave but we pay subscriptions to DSTV, ADT, and we try to buy protection and happiness. And we know about bondages that keep people captive – grinding poverty and unnecessary unemployment. Who of us could survive on R150 let alone R65 a day? We know about HIV and AIDS, scandalous inequality and self-seeking corruption, gender violence and fear, absent fathers and moral decay.
In many ways we live in a society not that dissimilar to Caesarea- Philippi: beautiful on the outside, a wonderful tourist destination with impressive geographical features and lush countryside; but a cauldron of spiritual, political and economic powers keeping people in bondage and throwing too many into the realm of the dead.
But note this. Let me ask you the question. At that time, in the course of a battle, were gates essentially offensive or defensive weapons? Defensive. Gates were used as a defense against the advancing opposition. So if Jesus says, ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail’, that means that the church of Jesus the Messiah is on the offensive. It is pushing into the territory occupied by the enemy. It is moving against this spiritual, occultic, political, economic, systemic opposition to the rule of God symbolised by the gates of hell.
The Church of Jesus Christ is on the offensive, against all that seeks to hold captive and in bondage those made in the image of God. That is the promise in this text which we can take hold of today. The gates of hell and all that they represent will be blown apart. God’s Kingdom will advance. It will come on earth as it is in heaven. We dare to pray that and believe that. Theologians call this realised eschatology. It is about anticipating and living into the future that is secure and sealed.
Let me illustrate this with a story. Those who know me know that I love watching rugby. You will recall the Boks played a series of three matches in the UK towards the end of last year. The final game of the tour was against England at Twickenham and as it turned out I was conducting a wedding at the very time the match was being played. So I set the video recorder to tape the game hoping that no one would spoil it and tell me the score before I got home – so I could watch it live as it were. Well towards the end of the reception some one knowing my love of rugby came bounding up to me and said, ‘We won!’ Too late! The result was known. We what that meant was that on Sunday afternoon I got myself a cup of tea and sat down in relaxed fashion and with no stress at all watched the game. The game was exciting and went this way and that, but I could watch it with relaxed confidence. I knew we would win, it was just a matter of how. That is realised eschatology.
Darrel Johnson in his excellent book on Revelation tells the story of a group of seminary students who used to play basketball in the gym. They left their bags at the side and they noticed that the janitor was paging through one of their books. It turned out to be the Bible. When the students asked him what he was reading he it turned out to be Revelation. ‘Why?’ they asked. ‘I always read the last chapter of a book first to see if I will like it.’ ‘Do you understand what you are reading they asked?’ ‘Oh yes’ he said, ‘I do.’ ‘So what is it about?’ Looking furtively this way and that, he leant forward and said in a whisper, ‘Jesus wins.’
That is the promise of this text. The mission of the God in his Son Jesus is nothing less than the total transformation of the world. Nothing short of bringing all people and the whole of creation into what Paul describes as ‘the glorious liberty of the children of God’.
And the church of Jesus Christ, founded on the confession of Peter, that Jesus is the Messiah of God, will advance and take back that which has been stolen by the enemy. The gates of hell will not prevail. Jesus wins! That is point three. And to conclude – point four is….
(4) Get going!
Jesus says (verse 19), ‘I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will bed loosed in heaven.’
Now much ink has been spilled by commentators trying to get at what exactly Jesus said in the original language, who he was addressing, what he meant and what are the implications for the church today. But what is the impact of these words for us, ‘I will give you the keys … what you bind will be bound … what you loose will be loosed’? To cut to the chase: there was amongst many Jews the expectation that the messianic kingdom would come climatically without any human agreement or action. Jesus announces something different. The keys of the kingdom are entrusted to Jesus’ disciples. They must proclaim the Good News, bind that which is destructive, loose those held in bondage. There is a physical and a spiritual dimension to this. It involves earth and heaven.
Yes, God the Father is on a mission. Yes, Jesus is building his church, but the church of Jesus Christ is not an audience. It is a group of ordinary people who like Peter and John have been with Jesus, who with Peter confess that Jesus is the Messiah of God, who are given authority to bind and loose, who know them selves as loved, who are commissioned to feed the sheep. The mission of God is not a spectator sport. Get out of the stands and onto the playing field.
I recall the day I got my drivers license. For the first time my father gave me the keys of the car and said I could unlock it and go for a drive. Here are the keys. Go for a ride. So the fourth lessons for church leaders, which I draw form this passage is simply this – get going!
Conclusion
So Margaret, my sisters and brothers in Christ, I offer you from our text for today these four lessons for church leaders.
It is all about Jesus. Jesus is the Messiah of God who went to the cross and who invites us to put our faith and trust in him and in him alone.
The Father is on a mission. God is on a mission to reveal Jesus his Messiah to the world.
The mission is nothing short of the total transformation of this world. There are no ‘no-go-areas’. The gates of hell will not hold the church of Jesus Christ back.
So get on with. Out of the stands and onto the playing field.
Amen
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Sermon at Funeral of Zwelakhe Sisulu - The Truth Will Set Us Free
This sermon was preached at the funeral of Zwelakhe Sisulu on 13 October 2012.
1 Pet 1:3-9; Matthew 5:3-10
May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, dear President Zuma and Deputy-President Motlanthe, dear Sisulu family, clergy and all distinguished people, I greet you all in the precious name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Saviour, our Redeemer. Let me also thanks program directors Comrade Duarte and Mr Makhura. In his summation Mr Makhura reminded us of the refrain from Zwelakhe’s poem, ‘Lest we forget’. Comrade Duarte mentioned the cost of apartheid. In the light of these, I want to adjust the theme of my sermon: I want to speak about ‘Lest we forget’ the human face to the cost of apartheid in our times, and ‘Lest we forget’ that the truth will set us free.
We have just sung Zwelakhe’s favourite hymn: ‘This is my story’. And it is in the story of Jesus Christ that we find a place for our own story. Within the story of his birth, his life and ministry and teaching, his death on the cross, his resurrection and his ascension to heaven where he now prays for us – in this story of his, we find a place to make sense of our own story, our lives and our deaths.
As St Peter wrote in his first letter, ‘By God’s great mercy, he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.’ It is kept in heaven for us, it is kept in heaven for Zwelakhe. Zwelakhe’s story is now one with the story of Jesus Christ.
And so today we celebrate the life of Zwelakhe Sisulu, we mourn his death, we commend him to the everlasting love of God, and we share our own grief. As we do this, we also place ourselves within the story of Jesus Christ, so that we too may know that death has been defeated, and find the comfort that he offers to all who seek his solace in their mourning. Finding our story and Zwelakhe’s story in God’s story gives us confidence, and allows us to be honest in our joys and in our sadnesses, as we remember this special man, this child of God, and give thanks for him, even as we grieve his passing.
As the tributes have reminded us, Zwelakhe packed a great deal into his 61 years. When I think of him – as I think also of Tata Walter and Mamma Albertina Sisulu, and so many of your family – other words from our first reading, strike a loud chord. St Peter writes of us suffering various trials, in which we dare to rejoice, because, he says, the genuineness of our faith is being tested, and is being found, through this fiery testing, to be more precious, more valuable, than gold.
Zwelakhe’s faith, Zwelakhe’s life, were ‘the real deal’ – they were certainly tested, but, by God’s grace, the quality of this man kept shining through. I am reminded of that saying that our characters are like tea-bags: we only discover their strength in hot water. Well, in one way or another, hot water – or at least, the heated politics of the last half century and more – shaped Zwelakhe’s life as they have shaped so many lives. And he was found to be strong in rising to the challenges, even when it came at personal cost.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled’ said Jesus. Righteousness is a word we don’t hear very often outside of church – but it is a word we could do with more of, especially in public life. Righteousness (very different from self-righteousness) is about reflecting the character of God, of Jesus – reflecting Jesus’ story in our story. It is about promoting God’s best, in all circumstances. It is about all that is upright, virtuous, just and good, excellent and true.
Zwelakhe showed us that to live in pursuit of excellence, justice, goodness, truth, certainly does bring a deep and lasting fulfilment and satisfaction – those who hunger for righteousness will be filled. And though he was in many ways larger than life – as I well remember from the time when he was running the New Nation out of rooms in our church complex – he was also content to be active behind the scenes. He let his life speak for itself – just as, as a journalist, he let the words speak for themselves, as he sought to make the truth known.
Jesus said that the truth will set us free (John 8:32). Today I want to emphasise, ‘Lest we forget – it is the truth that sets us free.’ Zwelakhe fought for the truth, as a means of fighting for freedom and for justice – so that our whole country could be set free. He inspired a generation of journalists, both in the written press; and across the entire media, as he took the helm of SABC. He demonstrated the value, the importance, the absolutely vital role, of an independent, intelligent, engaged media in the development and sustaining of healthy democracy through open, informed, debate.
My prayer is that we will never forget this.
Truth and transparency are the most effective tools we have for building the society, the nation, for which so many gave so much, even their own lives. Open and honest debate is our most powerful weapon, in combatting all that threatens to undermine the vision of our Constitution. It is indispensable for creating a united nation, in which we can find healing for the divisions of the past; and pursue a just and equitable society, based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights: a society which delivers a decent quality of life for all citizens and frees the potential of each person.
Truth will help us all pursue this. Because truth is the corner-stone of trust. And without trust, the different sectors of society cannot work well together – as the National Development Plan rightly tells us we must work together – in order to achieve the vision of the Freedom Charter, and of the Constitution.
For all of us need to stand together and play our part. Politicians, government, have their spheres of responsibility and action. Others of us have ours – Zwelakhe showed us something of the best contribution that the media can make. Business, academia, civil society, the church – all of us have our places, our responsibilities, our roles. And while none of us can do government’s job for them – we must all be ready to ‘stand in the gap’ and ensure that where politics and government fail, our people and our nation are not failed.
Truth helps show us what is needed; and helps us highlight that need, to ensure it is not forgotten, overlooked, ignored. And truth will help us all find the best way forward.
Truth, about how difficult this task of nation-building is, and about what can realistically be achieved – rather than inflated promises designed merely to win votes – will help our politicians to be the people we need them to be, and to do the job our Constitution asks of them.
Truth about the nature of problems we face, will help us find realistic, workable, solutions, that are rooted in the reality before us.
Truth around financial and commercial dealings – everything from tender processes to wage settlements – are the necessary first step to defeating the scourge of growing corruption – and also to overcoming the corrosive effect that suspicion increasingly has, even where due process is followed.
The humorous playwright, Noel Coward said ‘It is discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty, how few by deceit.’ We might laugh, but this is not the sort of society for which Zwelakhe strove. It must not become a valid description of the new South Africa.
Truth in the financial sector is necessary for overcoming international structural distortions, that fuel global instability in the economic sector that overflows into social unrest – for example over food stability.
Truth about our economic practices is also the foundation stone to reversing increasing inequalities between rich and poor, and in ensuring that the wealth of this country is made to serve those who are in greatest need.
US President, Franklin D Roosevelt, in his second inaugural address, said ‘The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.’ Mr President, sir, if you should, post-Mangaung, find yourself making your own second inaugural address, we trust that you too will make the alleviation of poverty your first priority, in your words and actions.
Truth is what brings the cries of the hungry, the lament of the poor, the grieving of the bereaved, the voice of the oppressed, to the ears of those who have: who have power and influence and material well-being, and the capacity to make a difference that benefits those who are without.
Truth is what will touch our hearts, change our minds, and shape our actions – so that we might become channels of blessing to those who are in greatest need.
Truth is the oil in the wheels of genuine democracy, which allows the voice of every citizen to be heard, and treated with dignity and respect.
Truthfulness in debate is what will rebuild relationships across the chasms that have opened up around Marikana, and the wider mining sector. We pray for Judge Ian Farlam and the Commission of Inquiry, that they may deal in the truth that sets people free – free from the ignorance about what happened, what went wrong, how we can do better in our employment practices, in our policing, in our dealings with disputes.
Truthfulness, and the trust it can bring, are also needed for spanning the gulfs between service providers and those who need – and who have a right to – these services.
Truth is the bridge across which we will have to walk if we are to meet with one another again, and find common solutions to the ills of our nation.
Truth is also the basis of education – of bringing understanding at every level of society. Above all else, our children and young people need to learn. We need to overcome the shocking standards of education which far too many receive (and too often in wholly inadequate facilities); and which leave them with so little hope of finding stable employment, with a decent wage, so they can support a family with dignity.
And though truth puts the spotlight on those areas where we are failing – truth is to be welcomed, because truth truly does set us free. We must never fear truth – even if it may be painful to hear at first. Because truth will take us forward to a better life.
Truth lights the banner of hope – because truth is what tells us the good news stories, of what is being achieved, by so many people, even with such few resources.
Truth tells us that we can make it: with hard work, with effort, with commitment, with perseverance, with cooperation and collaboration.
Truth can bring a smile to our faces, and joy to our hearts, when we hear of triumphs against the odds; of generosity of spirit; of communities uplifted; of courageous men and women, young people and old, who have stood up for what is right and seen good triumph.
Truth tells us that we need not despair – that we are not condemned to lives of uselessness in a failing society.
Truth is the signpost to a better future.
This is the truth for which Zwelakhe stood, the truth for which he strove. And though it breaks our hearts that he has died, facing the hard truth of his passing will help us deal with our sadness and sorrowing.
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted’ said Jesus. If we dare to face our grief with honesty, and bring it before God, opening our hearts to him, then he will reach out to us with his tender, loving touch. Zodwa – our hearts go out to you, your children, to all the family, and to everyone who loved Zwelakhe. We mourn with you, we grieve with you. And we pray with you also, that God’s eternal arms of love will surround you with their compassion, so that you might know his full consolation, even as you are not afraid to weep and mourn. May you find his blessing, his comfort, in your sorrow and sadness.
God the Father watched his own son die on the cross – he knows what it is to mourn. Jesus himself wept at the death of his friend Lazarus – and then himself experienced dying, in pain and suffering. He has gone before us through those gates that lie at the end of the valley of the shadow – and he holds his hand out to us all, in our mortality, assuring us that we need not be afraid.
We know that Zwelakhe is now safe, in the eternal love of God. He has run the race, he has finished his course. I am sure that he will hear the words ‘well done, good and faithful servant.’ Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord – and let light perpetual shine upon him. May he rest in peace – and rise in glory. Amen
1 Pet 1:3-9; Matthew 5:3-10
May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, dear President Zuma and Deputy-President Motlanthe, dear Sisulu family, clergy and all distinguished people, I greet you all in the precious name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Saviour, our Redeemer. Let me also thanks program directors Comrade Duarte and Mr Makhura. In his summation Mr Makhura reminded us of the refrain from Zwelakhe’s poem, ‘Lest we forget’. Comrade Duarte mentioned the cost of apartheid. In the light of these, I want to adjust the theme of my sermon: I want to speak about ‘Lest we forget’ the human face to the cost of apartheid in our times, and ‘Lest we forget’ that the truth will set us free.
We have just sung Zwelakhe’s favourite hymn: ‘This is my story’. And it is in the story of Jesus Christ that we find a place for our own story. Within the story of his birth, his life and ministry and teaching, his death on the cross, his resurrection and his ascension to heaven where he now prays for us – in this story of his, we find a place to make sense of our own story, our lives and our deaths.
As St Peter wrote in his first letter, ‘By God’s great mercy, he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.’ It is kept in heaven for us, it is kept in heaven for Zwelakhe. Zwelakhe’s story is now one with the story of Jesus Christ.
And so today we celebrate the life of Zwelakhe Sisulu, we mourn his death, we commend him to the everlasting love of God, and we share our own grief. As we do this, we also place ourselves within the story of Jesus Christ, so that we too may know that death has been defeated, and find the comfort that he offers to all who seek his solace in their mourning. Finding our story and Zwelakhe’s story in God’s story gives us confidence, and allows us to be honest in our joys and in our sadnesses, as we remember this special man, this child of God, and give thanks for him, even as we grieve his passing.
As the tributes have reminded us, Zwelakhe packed a great deal into his 61 years. When I think of him – as I think also of Tata Walter and Mamma Albertina Sisulu, and so many of your family – other words from our first reading, strike a loud chord. St Peter writes of us suffering various trials, in which we dare to rejoice, because, he says, the genuineness of our faith is being tested, and is being found, through this fiery testing, to be more precious, more valuable, than gold.
Zwelakhe’s faith, Zwelakhe’s life, were ‘the real deal’ – they were certainly tested, but, by God’s grace, the quality of this man kept shining through. I am reminded of that saying that our characters are like tea-bags: we only discover their strength in hot water. Well, in one way or another, hot water – or at least, the heated politics of the last half century and more – shaped Zwelakhe’s life as they have shaped so many lives. And he was found to be strong in rising to the challenges, even when it came at personal cost.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled’ said Jesus. Righteousness is a word we don’t hear very often outside of church – but it is a word we could do with more of, especially in public life. Righteousness (very different from self-righteousness) is about reflecting the character of God, of Jesus – reflecting Jesus’ story in our story. It is about promoting God’s best, in all circumstances. It is about all that is upright, virtuous, just and good, excellent and true.
Zwelakhe showed us that to live in pursuit of excellence, justice, goodness, truth, certainly does bring a deep and lasting fulfilment and satisfaction – those who hunger for righteousness will be filled. And though he was in many ways larger than life – as I well remember from the time when he was running the New Nation out of rooms in our church complex – he was also content to be active behind the scenes. He let his life speak for itself – just as, as a journalist, he let the words speak for themselves, as he sought to make the truth known.
Jesus said that the truth will set us free (John 8:32). Today I want to emphasise, ‘Lest we forget – it is the truth that sets us free.’ Zwelakhe fought for the truth, as a means of fighting for freedom and for justice – so that our whole country could be set free. He inspired a generation of journalists, both in the written press; and across the entire media, as he took the helm of SABC. He demonstrated the value, the importance, the absolutely vital role, of an independent, intelligent, engaged media in the development and sustaining of healthy democracy through open, informed, debate.
My prayer is that we will never forget this.
Truth and transparency are the most effective tools we have for building the society, the nation, for which so many gave so much, even their own lives. Open and honest debate is our most powerful weapon, in combatting all that threatens to undermine the vision of our Constitution. It is indispensable for creating a united nation, in which we can find healing for the divisions of the past; and pursue a just and equitable society, based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights: a society which delivers a decent quality of life for all citizens and frees the potential of each person.
Truth will help us all pursue this. Because truth is the corner-stone of trust. And without trust, the different sectors of society cannot work well together – as the National Development Plan rightly tells us we must work together – in order to achieve the vision of the Freedom Charter, and of the Constitution.
For all of us need to stand together and play our part. Politicians, government, have their spheres of responsibility and action. Others of us have ours – Zwelakhe showed us something of the best contribution that the media can make. Business, academia, civil society, the church – all of us have our places, our responsibilities, our roles. And while none of us can do government’s job for them – we must all be ready to ‘stand in the gap’ and ensure that where politics and government fail, our people and our nation are not failed.
Truth helps show us what is needed; and helps us highlight that need, to ensure it is not forgotten, overlooked, ignored. And truth will help us all find the best way forward.
Truth, about how difficult this task of nation-building is, and about what can realistically be achieved – rather than inflated promises designed merely to win votes – will help our politicians to be the people we need them to be, and to do the job our Constitution asks of them.
Truth about the nature of problems we face, will help us find realistic, workable, solutions, that are rooted in the reality before us.
Truth around financial and commercial dealings – everything from tender processes to wage settlements – are the necessary first step to defeating the scourge of growing corruption – and also to overcoming the corrosive effect that suspicion increasingly has, even where due process is followed.
The humorous playwright, Noel Coward said ‘It is discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty, how few by deceit.’ We might laugh, but this is not the sort of society for which Zwelakhe strove. It must not become a valid description of the new South Africa.
Truth in the financial sector is necessary for overcoming international structural distortions, that fuel global instability in the economic sector that overflows into social unrest – for example over food stability.
Truth about our economic practices is also the foundation stone to reversing increasing inequalities between rich and poor, and in ensuring that the wealth of this country is made to serve those who are in greatest need.
US President, Franklin D Roosevelt, in his second inaugural address, said ‘The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.’ Mr President, sir, if you should, post-Mangaung, find yourself making your own second inaugural address, we trust that you too will make the alleviation of poverty your first priority, in your words and actions.
Truth is what brings the cries of the hungry, the lament of the poor, the grieving of the bereaved, the voice of the oppressed, to the ears of those who have: who have power and influence and material well-being, and the capacity to make a difference that benefits those who are without.
Truth is what will touch our hearts, change our minds, and shape our actions – so that we might become channels of blessing to those who are in greatest need.
Truth is the oil in the wheels of genuine democracy, which allows the voice of every citizen to be heard, and treated with dignity and respect.
Truthfulness in debate is what will rebuild relationships across the chasms that have opened up around Marikana, and the wider mining sector. We pray for Judge Ian Farlam and the Commission of Inquiry, that they may deal in the truth that sets people free – free from the ignorance about what happened, what went wrong, how we can do better in our employment practices, in our policing, in our dealings with disputes.
Truthfulness, and the trust it can bring, are also needed for spanning the gulfs between service providers and those who need – and who have a right to – these services.
Truth is the bridge across which we will have to walk if we are to meet with one another again, and find common solutions to the ills of our nation.
Truth is also the basis of education – of bringing understanding at every level of society. Above all else, our children and young people need to learn. We need to overcome the shocking standards of education which far too many receive (and too often in wholly inadequate facilities); and which leave them with so little hope of finding stable employment, with a decent wage, so they can support a family with dignity.
And though truth puts the spotlight on those areas where we are failing – truth is to be welcomed, because truth truly does set us free. We must never fear truth – even if it may be painful to hear at first. Because truth will take us forward to a better life.
Truth lights the banner of hope – because truth is what tells us the good news stories, of what is being achieved, by so many people, even with such few resources.
Truth tells us that we can make it: with hard work, with effort, with commitment, with perseverance, with cooperation and collaboration.
Truth can bring a smile to our faces, and joy to our hearts, when we hear of triumphs against the odds; of generosity of spirit; of communities uplifted; of courageous men and women, young people and old, who have stood up for what is right and seen good triumph.
Truth tells us that we need not despair – that we are not condemned to lives of uselessness in a failing society.
Truth is the signpost to a better future.
This is the truth for which Zwelakhe stood, the truth for which he strove. And though it breaks our hearts that he has died, facing the hard truth of his passing will help us deal with our sadness and sorrowing.
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted’ said Jesus. If we dare to face our grief with honesty, and bring it before God, opening our hearts to him, then he will reach out to us with his tender, loving touch. Zodwa – our hearts go out to you, your children, to all the family, and to everyone who loved Zwelakhe. We mourn with you, we grieve with you. And we pray with you also, that God’s eternal arms of love will surround you with their compassion, so that you might know his full consolation, even as you are not afraid to weep and mourn. May you find his blessing, his comfort, in your sorrow and sadness.
God the Father watched his own son die on the cross – he knows what it is to mourn. Jesus himself wept at the death of his friend Lazarus – and then himself experienced dying, in pain and suffering. He has gone before us through those gates that lie at the end of the valley of the shadow – and he holds his hand out to us all, in our mortality, assuring us that we need not be afraid.
We know that Zwelakhe is now safe, in the eternal love of God. He has run the race, he has finished his course. I am sure that he will hear the words ‘well done, good and faithful servant.’ Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord – and let light perpetual shine upon him. May he rest in peace – and rise in glory. Amen
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