Archbishops Christmas Sermon

Christmas Sermon Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:02 AM PST This sermon was preached at Midnight Mass, at St George's Cathedral, Cape Town. Isaiah 9: 2-7, Titus 2:11-14, Luke 2:1-20 The angel said ‘Do not be afraid; for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people: to you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour who is Christ, the Lord!’ A blessed, happy Christmas to you all! Dean Michael – happy Christmas to you, your clergy colleagues and staff, and to all of you who contribute to the life of the Cathedral through the year. Thank you everyone – this beautiful place of holy worship is a wonderful gift to us, each Christmas, and throughout the year. Dean Michael – let me also congratulate you and Bonita, on the celebration of your 28th wedding anniversary last Saturday! May God grant you many more happy years together. The angel said ‘Do not be afraid – I am bringing you good news.’ What is good news for us? Well, one piece of good news is that, to nobody’s great surprise, the world did not end last Friday! [A banner is displayed: ‘The end is nigh'] The general response was for everyone to just carry on – business as usual. Yet perhaps you saw the picture that was going the rounds on Facebook – a small grubby child, in tattered clothes, clutching a piece of bread in a dirty little hand, and looking with big eyes at the camera. The caption said ‘I’m not afraid the world will end in 2012: I’m afraid it will carry on with nothing changing.’ There is a lot we’d like to change – a lot we need to change. 2012 has been a hard year, in many ways – we can look back on the Limpopo text-book fiasco; the Marikana shootings; the Cape farm workers’ strikes. Farther afield, there is the continuing terrible conflict in the DRC; the ongoing struggle to secure lasting peace in Southern Sudan; and, of course, the tragic massacre at Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut. More generally, we want to see change in the ongoing issues of poverty, unemployment, inadequate health care and education, corruption and inefficiency, and environmental degredation. President Zuma may have been re-elected President of the ANC – but we say to our politicians and all in positions of leadership and influence, it cannot be ‘business as usual’. There has to be a greater urgency, a deeper commitment, to doing more and doing it better. Instead of the end of the world, we need a new beginning. And this, of course, is the message of Christmas. Jesus’ birth invites us to see the world as changed into a different place, full of new and hope-filled possibilities. We often describe the end of the world as ‘apocalypse’. But the word apocalypse actually means ‘revelation’. Therefore, Christmas is the true apocalypse, this December – and every December. [A new banner is now displayd ‘The Beginning is nigh'] Christmas, Christ’s birth, is God’s revelation of God’s true self, in human form. Christmas is God’s declaration that we are not created by a distant deity who sits on a remote cloud issuing condemnations upon our fallibility. It is the bold expression that God is more than on our side: God is with us. God in Jesus Christ experiences what it is to be human, with all life brings, its joys and disappointments, friendships and betrayal. He knows the turbulence of adolescence, and the challenges of adult responsibility. He knows what it feels like to face mortality. The child in the manger becomes the man on the cross, who puts death to death, rising with a promise of eternal life. Christmas says it is no longer ‘business as usual’. Christmas says God loves us so much that he willingly sacrifices himself so that we can have what we most need in life. And I don’t mean ipads or flat-screen TVs! Our greatest need is for forgiveness for our failings, healing of our brokenness, comfort in our sorrows, fresh hope and encouragement in all we encounter, strength to persevere in doing the right thing. We need the knowledge that God will always be Emmanuel, (literally ‘God with us’), helping us grow in love, in all that is good, every step of the way until we find our heavenly home. We need to know God’s new beginning, always available, always fresh, in our own lives – and his promises of life and love triumphing over death and destruction. Confident of this, let us pray for God’s great light shining wherever people walk in darkness, and for the Prince of Peace to reign in justice: in the DRC, in Southern Sudan – wherever conflict and strife has a hold –in Syria, in Egypt, in Israel and Palestine, the birthday place of our Lord and the Holy basin for Abrahamic faiths Confident of this, let us pray for ourselves, that God, incarnate through the Christ-child, may fill our own lives, our homes, our families, with his gifts of love and inner peace – so that they may dwell within us; and so that we too may be channels of love and peace in God’s world. Confident of all that Christmas brings, let us spare a special prayer for God’s full healing of Madiba. This is the prayer that is being used around the world for him, and for Me Graça, at this time: At Advent we sing and pray, O come, O come Emmanuel. We ask now, for Emmanuel, God with us, to be with Madiba and Me Graça Come Emmanuel and release our Madiba from the scourge of ill health; Come Emmanuel and offer Madiba everlasting healing; You are a God who knows vulnerability, weakness and frailty, You are Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Lord of life and death, Your power sustains us in life and death. May your arms of love, stretched wide on the cross for us, Now enfold Madiba, and Graça, with compassion, comfort and the conviction that you will never forsake them but that you will grant Madiba eternal healing and relief from pain and suffering. And may your blessing rest upon Madiba now and always. Amen. May God’s blessing rest upon all of you also: may the eagerness of the shepherds, the joy of the angels, the perseverance of the wise men, the obedience of Joseph and Mary, and the peace of the Christ-child be yours, this Christmas, and always. Amen.

I am the Vine and you are the branches

What a wonderful experience to be in wine country. I am here at Kleine Zalze wine Estate in Stellenbosch to officiate at the wedding of Corinne Hans and Envor Swart.

As I walked through the vineyard this morning the words of John 15 called out to me louder than the cry of the Guinea fowl. “I am the Vine you are the branches – remain in me”

I have grown maize, timber, vegetables, soya’s and even flowers and ornamental trees, and none of them conjured up in me emotions of love and nurture, as did the vines this morning. Walking among my dairy cows didn’t even match.

Each block labelled for the product that it would produce,  “ Blanc de Nior , Pinot Nior,  Merlot, Chiraz” the crop is destined to be something – people will celebrate with it, enjoy it, delight in it, friends will drink together and fellowship will be had, true some will abuse it, but that is life isn’t it.

“Remain in me” as I looked at the root stocks sturdy and seasoned and the new shoots seeking their own wayward path, if not woven into the trellis of the vine they would amount to nothing.

“The father is the wine dresser” – I could just picture him going down the lines lovingly weaving each tender shoot back into the vine where it could bear fruit.

At one point I could see a dam in the valley – like the sea of Galilee..

A walk of biblical proportions!

How blessed are we to have the scriptures rooted in the everyday things of life. As Jesus said “Behold I am with you even to the end of the age.”

I praise God for that and for the experiences of life that draw us nearer to him. 

The Church Speaks out

Introduction:
We, leaders and members from the Christian community, wish to affirm in what follows, our dependence on and submission to the depths and the height and the width of Christ’s love, for without that love we are nothing. God calls us all to focus on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—anything which is excellent or praiseworthy”  We ask that we will all hear what follows in the spirit of humility and concern for these virtues to prevail in our beloved country.
Where things in our society do not conform to these virtues and levels of excellence, we, leaders and members of the Christian community, have no option but to speak out. We are convinced that if a situation arises that needs to be urgently addressed and we fail to do so, then (as Jesus Christ warns us) even the stones will begin to speak out.
In faithfulness to our Lord, and in looking at South Africa post-Marikana and pre-Mangaung, we now speak out, in a moment that does indeed have the qualities of a “kairos moment”, a special moment where we discern that God is speaking to us in particularly urgent tones, a moment that requires transformational leadership and action.
This statement comes from the organisations who have initially endorsed it, the SACC, TEASA, Kairos SA and Africa Enterprise. In it we wish to address the ANC as it approaches its conference in Mangaung conference in December 2012, but also address those within the broader political and economic spectrum, and especially those within the churches and the poor and oppressed in our land. It should be read together with the Kairos SA “Word to the ANC” and the Church leaders statement of 16 October 2012, even though this statement now goes to and comes from a broader constituency.

We could have opted to remain silent, as we are sometimes urged to be silent in evil times (Amos 5:13 and Ps 37:7), but our silence at this crucial moment may be interpreted as consent or contentment, and for that reason and from a spirit of love, we now speak.....
We speak to ourselves:
Before we address our political and economic leaders, we confess before God and each other our own complicity in and relative prophetic silence about what is happening in our society. At the same time, we also rejoice that there are voices within the faith community who are engaged in certain actions that reveal the best of our prophetic and pastoral traditions. Many political and economic leaders as well as those who are regarded as the most poor in our society belong to the churches. Therefore, in a very real sense, this document comes from within the Christian community but is also directed at ourselves.
We speak to ourselves because we are convinced that our strength lies in our weakness, our wholeness can only be revealed in our brokenness and our healing will only come if we reveal and accept our own woundedness. We see this moment as a moment to effectively and decisively deal with the wounds and bring about the healing of our country.
 We confess that we have not fully implemented that which we declared in the Rustenberg declaration of 1990 as well as other statements and declarations we have made.
 We confess that we have not always stood united against poverty and all that perpetuates the material needs of many millions in SA, that we have not fulfilled our role in helping to strengthen civil society, and that we have not cooperated with political and economic leaders to ensure abundant life for everyone in our country.
 We confess that we have often been self-righteous rather than practising the righteousness and ‘big-heartedness’ of our Lord Jesus.
 We confess that we have not always been the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
Our most important quality, as those who follow the One who overcame death, is the quality of hope.

Is there hope for our democracy?
A hundred years ago, when hope was scarce and conditions much worse than they are today, some South Africans gathered in a church near Bloemfontein and prayed for the God of all hope to help bring an end to colonialism and oppression.
We believe that God did. And thus began a process of de-tribalisation and a movement towards justice.
This process was deepened by the Freedom Charter (responding to the intense tribal ideology behind apartheid) as well as other movements that affirmed the dignity and unity of all South Africans.
So today, a hundred years on, we know something of the faithfulness of God:
Firstly, we note that there are restless voices in different parts and sectors of our society again yearning for change, not for a superficial change of one self-serving political leader for another, or one political party for another but for a different kind of leadership that can restore hope to the poor. They yearn for a change from an increasingly corrupt political, business and societal culture to one that is accountable to the people. They yearn for a country with life-affirming values that recognizes that the people belong to God, and not to politicians or political parties.
Secondly, we thank God that Christian hope frees us from the tyranny of the present to imagine a better tomorrow. We know that, even though the dream of a just, non racial and prospering democracy is temporarily in eclipse – being throttled by the actions (or lack of it) of a generation of leaders who seems to have largely lost their moral compass – the people of South Africa ARE capable of rising to reclaim their future. It is the church’s role to proclaim a message of faith in actions that will assist us all to reclaim a future of hope and compassion. We hope that it does not take another hundred years, but we are determined to begin that journey forthwith.
Thirdly, the unfinished story of reconciliation means that when many South Africans go to the polls in 2014, they will vote for the future, but largely with the past in mind. We are concerned that, for most of our people, this unfinished story means that their choices have become stereotyped into believing that it is as simple as “white” vs “black” parties, and that white for them equals apartheid and racism, while black equals freedom and justice. Many of our people understand that this is not always true, but the continued promotion of this perception by some political leaders (rather than focusing on building a culture of good governance, a just reconciliation and the building of greater social cohesion) only contributes to more and more racial alienation and growing cynicism in our society, putting even the small efforts at reconciling our society at risk.

Finally, we know that God is faithful to accompany us all when we are determined to rise with courage and faith to face such challenges of history. It is by God’s grace that we have, through much struggle and hardship, come to a place where colonialism and apartheid are largely defeated foes. We know and affirm that in this universe, evil does not have the last word.
It has been and continues to be the task of all South Africans to continue to de-tribalise our society and our minds and to build the democracy we want for our children. We are convinced that God who engenders faith, hope and love in us, those things that endure forever, is the same God who will stand with us in this moment and beyond.
With these thoughts in mind, we now address South Africa’s political and economic leaders:
We speak to you, political leaders:
Jesus sometimes addressed those in power in very direct but loving terms, and his followers should not shirk from doing the same.
Jesus called Herod “a fox” and he addressed Pontius Pilate directly on the question of where power comes from (‘you would have no power over me if it was not given to you from above’). We regard power as sacred as it is given to us from above.
Some political leaders are working hard and doing their best to serve the people of South Africa, and for this we are grateful. But we believe that too many are self-serving and arrogant.
We ask you:
Do you not understand that many of your words and actions are leading many South Africans towards cynicism and away from hope? And do you not understand that you are setting yourselves up against the arc of history, which is and will always be bent towards hope? Do you also not understand that lack of decisive action where waste of public resources has been revealed, leads to a culture of impunity and immunity where the poorest part of the population once again becomes the main victims of bad governance?
At this time, and to reverse what is currently happening, we urge you:
a. To recognise the loss of hope and the growth of cynicism and anger, of which Marikana and now De Doorns are massive signals.

b. To practice the authority and the power you have with the grace with which it was bestowed on you, addressing and repenting of corruption and self-service. Abuse of power is irresponsible, and you need to know that as people entrusted with power from above, you are held doubly culpable for such abuse. We will not remain silent on this issue as we regard power as something deeply sacred.
c. To stop the sickening double-talk, which we view as a form of deception and corruption, the wiles of a modern-day fox. You cannot on the one hand say that you are against corruption and on the other hand clearly take part in various acts of corruption or turn a blind eye to corruption. This continuous deceptive double-talk is causing a high level of cynicism amongst South Africans and a distrust of political processes, which are meant to hold the polis together. We need integrity in our politics and we ask that you stop deception and corruption and adhere to the highest possible levels of integrity.
d. To not settle for mediocrity, but to think deeply about the kind of leaders you appoint as part of a cadre deployment policy and those you elect at your elective conferences. South Africa deserves the best we have. We are alarmed at the growing tendency toward putting the interests of the party above the interest of the nation, even purging talented leaders and government officials simply because they served under a different leader within the same party! This is a practice for which South Africa is paying a high price in terms of moral values, social capital and the escalating levels of poverty. The choices you make affect us all. As South Africans, we will discern the direction you wish to take us by the leaders you chose.
e. To understand that the current electoral system, where internal party systems allow that a few thousand people begin the process of deciding on the political leaders for the rest of the Republic, is clearly not acceptable and sustainable. But given this reality, we ask that you particularly not ignore the voice and needs of young people in our country. Here we do not refer to the ANC youth only, but to the voices of all young people in this country, who are looking to you for leadership that would open up new vistas to the future. Listen to what they are saying. You ignore the voice of the youth at your peril.
f. To stop the compromising and decay of our education system. A government that allows the education system to regress in the way ours has regressed, does not deserve to be governing the people of South Africa.
g. That instead of adding any more plans to what is on the table, to rather start implementing the plans we already have, especially the National Development Plan. This will begin to create more economic certainty for us all.

If you are not willing to do these things and to imagine a new kind of politics that will bring abundant life to all, please step aside and make way for others who are able to re-imagine what a healthy democracy in South Africa will look like. The current situation is neither healthy nor will it produce good fruits. What happened at Marikana will merely be a first installment of much worse to come if we do not radically change our ways.
We now speak to you, economic leaders, trade unions, etc:
As a church, we have not addressed the economic leadership of this country before and not prayed sufficiently for our businesses. We do so now, with the confidence that Christ gives us.
Much of the teaching of Jesus in the New Testament speaks about economic matters, ‘oikos nomos,’ the rules of the household. Jesus speaks about rich and poor, about inclusion and exclusion, about greed and poverty. He does so in a context of repentance, forgiveness and the bestowal of grace.
We all know that economics and politics are intimately linked and that these processes have to work together. When they work against each other any nation will fall into chaos.
We express appreciation for those economic players who are acting with integrity and who are taking risks and growing our economy. But we also wish to ask our economic leaders and trade unions:
 Why, after 18 years of democracy in South Africa, and after several years of economic growth, do we have a higher unemployment rate now than when we started our democracy? Why is inequality deepening, so that we are the planet’s most unequal society? What actions have you taken to alleviate this situation? To what extent are you responsible for this? Some of these have global features, but some are relevant to us in South Africa only.
 What are economic leaders doing to share the pain of global economic trends, instead of continuing with huge salaries, in the face of economic downturns?
 Why are you, business leaders, more concerned about maximising the short and medium term profits of your companies via mechanisation, specialisation and optimisation, than about the long term future of our country via job creation, job preservation, education of our youth, and applying environmentally sustainable business practices?
 Why, for instance, is our mining industry still only extracting and exporting and not beneficiating that which is mined from the land that God has given to us? If there is anything good that has come from the Marikana massacre, it is that we are now beginning to ask these questions with more urgency.
 Why, for instance, are you not taking steps to ensure that the various agricultural empowerment initiatives achieve the desired outcomes for all?
 Why, economic leaders, do you not convene an economic negotiations summit to agree on an economic accord that all South Africans can subscribe to? Why do you wait on government to do so?
 Why are current structures that have been set up for dialogue, not working? What role do you play in that?
 Why are the needs of young people, particularly for employment, not being addressed? Can the differences between various groups not be resolved so that the focus can return to job creation?
 Why is the Corporate Social Investment (CSI) spending still as low as it is indicating an unwillingness to invest in communities from which massive profits are harvested?
 What can we, the faith community, do to assist the whole nation to engage in a more healthy dialogue about economics and its impact on the present and future of our country and our people?

We speak to the most poor and oppressed in our land:
South Africa faces a crisis moment, and thanks to the strong messages from the poorest on the mines and the farms, South Africans now have no option but to begin to renegotiate our economic life together. This crisis is therefore an opportunity, and one that cannot be wasted.
As South Africans, we have to consider together what the best options are for us. From what we can see, there seems to be two options for our nation:
 Either we break the South African house down completely, destroy whatever foundation is there and start building again on a new foundation
 Or we re-inforce the present structure and ensure that it is infinitely better and safer than the first house that was built.
The image of the “house” is an important one. Jesus said that “a house divided against itself, will fall”. If we were to follow the first option, the South African family will not have a place to live in and there will be considerable chaos (making more room for criminal syndicates and demagogic leaders to move in) until the new house is constructed or until there is complete chaos. This approach has already caused and would mean considerable more pain for all of us as South Africans and the future would be completely unpredictable.
Re-inforcing the present house would mean that we can all continue to live in the house (we can agree that there are cracks but that it is not falling apart entirely) and while there would be some discomfort, we could start in one room and move to others and also build re-inforced structures and pillars outside the house, while the South African family – all of us together - continues to live with each other and build better relationships with each other. This would also allow us to evaluate what went wrong during the first phase and ensure that it does not happen again.
The fundamental decision must however be made: the present house is cracking and therefore something must be done urgently. Delay in making this decision to do something will only mean that the crisis and the danger grows. Therefore, as South Africans we must decide! And soon....
The most orderly way to do this is for our parliament to sit (these are the people whom we have democratically elected), even on Christmas Day if necessary, and with whatever support they need from the rest of civil society, to make this decision to re-inforce the house. It cannot be business as usual and all South Africans will stand in solidarity with our political decision-makers if this were to happen. If politicians refuse, civil society should meet and take over this role – we do not want our political decision-makers to only respond if there is widespread violence and neither do we want those who would commit violent acts to think that this is the only way to get the political decision-makers to react with urgency. This would be an extremely dangerous message, and we wish to warn against this.
The poor should then ask and demand clear answers to the following:
 What does re-inforcement of the foundations of our society mean?
 Will it mean that the elite will stop blocking all the different ways in which creative forms of restitution can happen?
 Will it mean that small pieces of land could be transferred to farm-workers from farmers, the church and the state, which have many hectares of land?
 Will it mean that workers in the mines will benefit even more when profits go up?
 Will it mean that executive remuneration will be frozen until workers reach a certain point?
 Will it mean that the Apartheid ministerial handbook will be revised within three months?
 Will it mean that poor schools will receive science laboratories and sportsfields, and budgets to pay sport coaches?
 Will it mean that governance will not be in the hands of those who prove themselves to be corrupt and in cahoots with criminals?

If these elements, however it is phrased, do not constitute a “new deal” within two to three years, then workers and the youth have no choice but to break down the foundation so that something completely new can emerge. This is the choice that face us as South Africans: we either work together on such a new deal (and do so urgently) or we face a revolt of the poor.
The church was sidelined – or we sidelined ourselves - in the initial negotiations prior to 1994, and if the poor and oppressed and young people, most of whom are in the churches, give us a mandate, we could help to begin a negotiating process that would result in a new social compact. This should be a transparent process and we can and will give monthly public feedbacks and draw in international expertise, if and where necessary.

We speak to you about the future:
If there is something on which we all agree, it is this: we wish to build this country for our children, our grandchildren and their children. We wish to deal now with “the problem of the future”.
We all agree that a high quality of education is the key to many of our challenges, and that this should not be further compromised. Unfortunately it has been compromised and now only a combined and collaborative effort from government, civil society, the church, the economic sector and other stakeholders will ensure that we do not continue on our present trajectory.
We all agree that steps must be taken now so that our young may be released from the burdens of the past,
We all agree that it is only when we work together towards the same goals that our country will move forward out of the moral, political and economic morass in which we find ourselves.
We speak about our commitments:
We firmly believe that an enormous opportunity lies in the unity of believers in SA and that this can be a beacon of hope. Our disunity is often caused by ourselves while sometimes it is engineered by those who see our unity as a threat to their nefarious activities. We pledge to not wait on others to do what needs to be done to address issues in our country, but to take the initiative to encourage all citizens to become actively involved towards the full realization of a healthy democracy for South Africa.

We therefore commit:
That we will never cease to pray for all our people of this country, for ourselves, for the political and economic leaders of our society and for the poor and oppressed.
That we will work together against corruption and for integrity. To this end we endorse the call for 7 – 9 December 2012 to be declared an interreligious ‘Preach and teach weekend’ against corruption.
That we will do all in our power to hold the value of quality education for all our people as something not to be compromised.
That we will work together towards employment opportunities for all in our country.
That we will request our congregations and official church structures to find the best possible ways to receive this statement
That we will regard creation as God’s painting, and that we will treasure the natural heritage in our country for future generations.
That we will together speak and act in hope and to engage in campaigns to revitalise and strengthen the voice of the church and the rest of civil society.

We now speak to God in prayer for our country, our society:
That you, Great God Almighty, Ruler of all nations, may sufficiently disturb us all that we will not settle for mediocrity and for the politics or economics of “you are on your own” or “it is our time to eat”.
We pray that we will all work together against the widening gap between rich and poor and pursue socio-economic cohesion and togetherness. We pray for ubuntu and samehorigheid to be restored and to be displayed in our life together.
We pray for courage to speak to each other with wisdom, grace and love.
We pray for equal justice, for abundant life, and for the inner and outer healing of all our people.
We pray for this wonderful place and people with whom God has blessed all of us, that we may order our lives in ways that give glory to our Creator.
We pray for wisdom. We pray that we may not only speak, but also continuously listen deeply to God and to each other....
May GOD continue to bless this 'rainbow nation' - Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika
May we take up our rightful place and be an inspiration for the rest of Africa

The church speaks…for such a time as this

Dear President Zuma

We greet you in the Name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
We write to you as the President both of the Republic of South Africa and of the African National Congress. We also write to you as a Christian.

God has entrusted these positions to you at this time and we wish to reflect with you what this moment in our country means for us. Please see our reflections in the attached document.
Many of our people pray for you every week, and we will continue to do so.
During apartheid, some Church leaders wrote to political leaders, but they often failed to listen to these voices. Unfortunately we find a similar trend today, but it is our duty to speak to you even when we think you might not be listening.
When our people ask us whether we have communicated with you about matters of common concern, we wish to point to the fact that we did. In Apartheid South Africa we learnt that real change seldom comes from above, but rather from below, from amongst the people, and therefore if political leaders do not take seriously what we are saying, we will continue to strengthen and support the Church’s role within the civil society movements, especially those working amongst the poorest of our people to bring about
a more healthy democracy. At this moment we believe that our democracy can be significantly improved.
We send this letter to you now, and will make it public to the media on 7 December 2012, but in fairness we did not firstly want to address you via the media. If you wish to meet with us, we are open to meeting with you to share our conviction that we have begun to stray from the path of building a united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic  South Africa.

God bless.
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba (Church leaders consultation)
Bishop Joe Seoka (SACC)
Rev Moss Nthla (TEASA)
Rev Edwin Arrison (Kairos South Africa)
Cc: Mr Gwede Mantashe

To the Laos – Advent 2012 : Archbishop Thabo Makgoba

           

Dear People of God

            ‘Come, thou long-expected Jesus’ is a well-known Advent hymn which goes on to describe Jesus as ‘hope of all the earth … desire of every nation … joy of every longing heart.’  Advent has been described as a ‘season of desire’.  It is a time for us to listen to the yearnings of our hearts, our souls: our profound longing for Jesus to come with the fullness of his redemption, into our lives and the situations around us.  It is a time for giving voice, in prayer, to the ache we feel for every person, every circumstance, which needs the compassionate, loving, healing, touch of our Lord and Saviour.  It is also a time for giving thanks for all that we have seen of God at work in our lives, and fervently asking that he may be present in ever greater abundance.

            I have been pondering this, particularly as I look back on November, which was a truly remarkable month, diverse and full.  When it began, I was in New Zealand, participating in the Anglican Consultative Council, with other Anglicans, nearly bishops, clergy and laity from around the world.  We shared deeply together around all aspects of the Anglican Communion’s ministry and mission – often from very different perspectives, but in a way that I felt was healing to relationships.  Please pray that it may be a turning point for moving ahead united in Christ, even where we do not wholly agree;  and especially that the ‘Continuing Indaba’ and ‘Bible in the life of the Church’ projects will keep on bearing fruit.  Please pray too for God to further guide and bless major issues which we tackled:  the environment; violence especially against women and children, and churches as places of safety; and Christian witness in a multi-religious world.  There is much here that we can pick up on, to enrich our own lives, and equip us in our own calling to be faithful witnesses to the good news of Jesus Christ.  You can find out more through the links at www.anglicancommunion.org.

            It was the last Anglican gathering with our beloved Archbishop Rowan before he steps down and returns to academic life.  My heart was full to overflowing – and so were many others – as he gave his final address to us.  We give thanks for his remarkable servant ministry over the difficult times of the last decade, and ask God to bless him, his wife Jane and family, in their move, and to continue to make him a blessing to so many others.  In the same vein, we thank God for Bishop Justin Welby, who will succeed him in the new year, and pray for him, together with his wife Caroline and their family, as he prepares to take on the great responsibilities that lie ahead.  I am reminded of the ‘Charge’ in our service of ordination and consecration of a bishop, which says ‘No one is sufficient for these things’ but then says ‘May the God who makes us able ministers of his new covenant equip you with grace and give you his blessing and joy.’  This is surely what we long for, for the new ‘ABC’.

            And I am sure it is our prayer also for our newest Bishop in Southern Africa, Bishop Ellinah Wamukoya, whom we consecrated in Swaziland with such joy on 17 November – the first Anglican woman in Africa to be made a Bishop!  We rejoice with her and her diocese, and ask the ‘long-expected Jesus’ truly to be ‘Emmanuel’, God with her, and her clergy and people, as they go forward into this new chapter of life.  We pray also for The Ven Margaret Vertue, who will be consecrated Bishop of False Bay on 19 January; and the Revds Dintoe Stephen Letloenyane and Revd Stephen Moreo, who will be consecrated Bishop of the Free State and Bishop of Johannesburg, respectively, in two services in March.

            As we thank God for, and pray for, those he calls forth as leaders, shepherd of his flock, in every generation, let us also pray for the Church of England, so traumatised by their long synodical processes around the consecration of women to the episcopate, and the failure of last month’s vote.  May God give them light in their darkness (a powerful Advent theme), to show them his path ahead.

            For our part, we are moving forward on the path we believe God has set before us, the path of our Vision, ‘Anglicans ACT’, which we celebrated in a service in St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town at the end of November.  You can watch it on You tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5-9b7tWFFw, and copies are being made available via Dioceses on DVD.  The various teams are making progress in their work – watch this space in the new year, as plans unfold for helping equip dioceses and parishes in our priority areas!

            So, within the life of our church, at home, and globally, we have much to thank God for, even as we desire to grow more into the newness of life that is his promise.  But when we turn our eyes to look at the world around, our yearning for God’s redemptive touch becomes much more urgent.  In South Africa, we have had the tragedy of Marikana, now being investigated through the Commission of Inquiry headed by Judge Ian Farlam who is ACSA’s chancellor.  All involved need our prayers.  There is also the complex situation around farm workers’ salaries in the Western Cape, where we yearn for just living wages.  We also anticipate the ANC conference in Mangaung from 16 to 21 December.  With a vote on the ANC’s, and hence the country’s, presidency, it is of major importance to our future, and our ability overcome trends of corruption and self-interest among political leaders, and return to putting the needs of all citizens at the top of the agenda.  Elsewhere around our Province, countries battle with consolidating democracy, with food shortages, with wise use of mineral resources, with the scourge of HIV and AIDS, and with the ongoing long slow struggle to overcome poverty and all its consequences.

            Therefore, especially for those in South Africa for whom 16 December is the Day of Reconciliation, I am calling for a day of prayer and fasting.  Let us not be afraid to pour out our hearts to God – bringing before him all our hopes and fears for our countries, all our yearnings and desires for his kingdom to come and his will be done among us.  In Advent we look forward to God’s promise to reconcile all things in Christ to himself (Col 1:20); and we also recall how he has entrusted his ministry of reconciliation to us also – so let us make this a day truly of God’s Reconciliation.

Let us plead that we may know the fuller coming of Christ, ‘risen with healing in his wings’ within our nations and our communities, especially where there are divisions – whether of history, politics, economics, language or race, personality, or through some unhappy force of circumstance.  Let us pray fervently that God will meet us in all our needs, in Jesus Christ, so that there may be good news for the poor, freedom for the oppressed, liberty for all who are afflicted (Lk 4:18).  May those who walk in darkness find a new light dawning (Is 9:2), and may all of us have the wisdom, the courage, the commitment, to walk in the paths God lights before our feet (Ps119:104).  May justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24), and may God’s kingdom be found among us.

This Advent-tide, let us wholeheartedly pray for Jesus Christ to come to us, ‘Come, O come, Emmanuel!’

            Yours in the service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town

Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town to lead a 1000-man Procession of Witness to kick-start the ‘16 Days of Activism’

The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, will lead a 1000 men’s Procession of Witness to kick-start the 16 Days of Activism for no violence against women and children.

Details of the processions of witness are as follows:
Date: 25 November 2012
Time: 17h00
Where: from Keizersgracht Square to St Georges Cathedral, Cape Town

Through joining this act of public witness, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba is underlining his wholehearted backing for the annual, government-supported, campaign for 16 Days of Activism for no violence women and children.

The international theme for 2012 is From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let's Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women. Archbishop Thabo is firmly committed to increasing awareness around abuse and to developing effective support for victims and survivors of abuse.

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba invites men, women and young people, and representatives of business, government, NGOs, religious leaders and member of the media to join him in the procession of witness. The Anglican Church of Southern Africa recognises that not all men are abusers, and therefore warmly invites these men to stand up and be counted, and to join in sending a strong message to abusers out there, saying ‘Not in our name.’

The Procession of Witness will be followed by a service at St George’s Cathedral to celebrate the Anglican Church of Southern Africa’s Anglicans ACT Vision. The Procession of Witness highlights two of the eight priority areas of the Vision namely; Women and Gender and The Protection and Nurturing of Children and Young People.

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Inquiries: Petrina Pakoe, Tel: 021 763 1300 / 021 852 5243 / 084 552 5258, Petrina@hopeafrica.org.za

Almighty God, who chose your servant Clement of Rome to recall the Church in Corinth to obedience and stability: Grant that your Church may be grounded and settled in your truth by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and may evermore be kept blameless in your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

read the signs of the time and fight today's battles today

The following Sermon was preached by me at St Bede's Bethal on the 18th of November 2012 ; the readings were. Daniel 7:-14 Hebrews 10:11-18  and the Gospel of Mark 13:24-32

For nearly 2000 years the verses of this mornings  texts  have struck a chord with Christians as they have expected these events to come true in their lifetime.

Mark 13:30  Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

Every generation has thought that they were this generation.

I was just thinking about it the other day America has been at war since

 1 Sept 1774 - War of independence,

1785-1795 Indian wars

1798-1800 Franco wars

 June 18, 1812 – March 23, 1815 2nd war of independence with two minor wars proceeding this

1827-1845 more Indian wars

1846/47 Mexican wars

Then more Indian wars

1856–1859 Second Anglo Chinese war

April 12, 1861 – April 9, 1865 American Civil war

1916–1924 Occupation of Dominican Republic

1917/18 1st World war

December 7, 1941 - September 2, 1945 Second world war and the Russian wars in between the two world wars

1947–1991 Cold War

1950–1953 Korean War

1953–1975 Vietnam

August 24, 1982 - February 7, 1984 Lebenese Civil war

20 December 1989 – 31 January 1990 Invasion of Panama

August 2, 1990 – February 28, 1991 Gulf War

1991–2003 Iraq

1992–1994 Somalia

19 September 1994 – 31 March 1995 Haiti

August 20, 1998 Afghanistan

7 October 2001 – present - the war on terror

March 20, 2003 – December 15, 2011 Iraq

March 16, 2004 – present Pakistan

January 14, 2010 - present Yemini Al-Qaeda

2003 and 2011 Libiya

The Americans have not known peace for close on two hundred and forty years….

Every generation has longingly awaited Jesus coming in the clouds to put an end to evil and they have fought every perceived evil - the English the French the Spanish who stood in the way of their freedom, the Indians who stood in the way of their progress, the Russians and Allies who stood in the way of their belief system, the terrorists as they call them - those who want to dominate the world in the name of Allah.

The American's are a good parable of our own life struggles of freedom and desire for power and maintaining our own way..

But throughout this time every grieving mother every grieving brother and sister who suffered the loss of a son or a brother at war looked to the heavens and said "when oh when oh Lord will you restore the fortunes of Zion - when will Jesus come in the clouds and rescue us from the evil of this world."

After each victory in battle the words of Daniel  7:12  "As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. " must have echoed through the minds of every American …

But the end did not come -freedom of the Tyranny of the English, French and Spanish but eth end did not come -

Freedom form the Nazi's  the holocaust was over and the Jewish nation was even restored in 1946 when Israel again became a sovereign state yet the end did not come -

So what are we too do with all this - go on fighting for another two hundred years…

Mark 13:28/29 says   "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

  So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

Well we have seen the signs - of late there have been a number of  natural disasters The Tsunami of 2004, Katrina and now recently Sandy  but we forget that these are not new events - in 1556 the Shaanxi earthquake in China caused the death of 830,000 people

 in the great Chinese Famine of 1958 to 1961 between more than  15 mil  people died, in 1287 80,000 people died in the Netherlands  St Lucia Floods,  70,000 people died in 2003 in the European Heat wave, in 1755  in Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Ireland, and the United Kingdom (Cornwall) 100 thousand people died as a result of the Lisbon earthquake/and resulting tsunami and fire.

The latest spate of earthquakes, Tsunamis, and violent storms are by no means a new phenomenon; Kaveripattinam (Poompuhar) Tsunami was somewhere between 400 and 600 AD the  Minoan Eruption was in the 2nd Millennium BC; -

Why am I giving you a natural disasters history lesson  -because my question is  what are these signs and wonders that are supposed to point us to the end times and how could Jesus say 

Mark 13:29  So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. And then say

Mar 13:32  "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

I don’t think that the NEAR meant in time I think it meant in proximity -

Since the time of Nero Christians have believed that the world is ending - people have spent their lives trying to work out the day and the hour - some say that Dec 21 2012 is the time because the Mayan Calendar ends then - do you remember midnight of 1999, or back in about 82/83 -

I believe that there will be a day when this world end s and a new order begins - but I believe more importantly that we are being called to make a paradigm shift in our thinking about this world: -

The Truth is that Jesus will return in the clouds and establish his reign forever.

The Truth is that we do not know when that will be..

The Truth is that we have to get on with the task of living between now and then.

I believe that we need to read the signs of the time and fight today's battles today - we need to recognize the signs in our own lives and in our own area of influence -  we need to be as  Archbishop Rowan said - his successor needs to be someone with a newspaper under one arm and a bible under the other . Or as John Stott put it we need to have double listening -  we should listen to the world and its needs and we should listen to God for the solutions.

Today is our Armageddon.  Today we are standing in the battle field of existence and seeking to bring God's glory into every situation. Today we are called to make every encounter a Divine encounter - today there is a tsunami /a volcano a famine and a flood in the spiritual world around you: -

- a tsunami of expectations to produce the impossible

-a volcano of expectations from investors and employers

- a famine of integrity and character, and

- a flood of despair and hopelessness.

And into the midst of this Christ sends His disciples to live and work to his praise and glory.

How can he do that - how can he expect that of us…??

(Heb 10:12)  But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

(Heb 10:13)  waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.

(Heb 10:14)  For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

We are in the business of living a life that brings the enemy to its knees because it has no authority over us and we can set our hearts and minds to doing things God's ways - for we have been perfected in Christ and  evil has been defeated  - now we need to live in the victory - we need to  be transformed by the renewing of our minds - we need to change our paradigm we need to rethink our existence - as messengers of the news that the foe is defeated and we are no longer prisoners to sin but free to bring out the best in ourselves and in others...

When we look to the natural world around us we have people who live in defiance of Tornadoes and earthquakes - they have built cities and houses and lives in places like California - where you can get a handbook on putting down roots in earthquake country.

Why is it that people are prepared to:

- go to war for an ideology,

- live under a volcano or

-on a fault line,

why are people prepared to live in areas that are prone  to flooding -

 but we are afraid of Spiritual battlefields, We are afraid to live where there is risk of eruptions with other people, contact with others in their lack (famine) and overindulgence in self - (floods) .

Hurricane Sandy affected at least 24 states, from Florida to Maineand west to Michigan and Wisconsin, with particularly severe damage in New Jersey andNew York. Its storm surge hit New York City on October 29, flooding streets, tunnels and subway lines and cutting power in and around the city.[13][14]

Yet these people are putting the their lives back together and going on. THE effects will be long-lasting and it will take a lifetime for some of these people to piece their lives back together - but they have set their minds to it..

Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Sandy>

Have we set our minds to the task of piecing our broken Spiritual lives back together? Can we restore our sense of purpose or are we drowning in the flood?

The troubles in your life are signs of the fact that this life is not permanent - that Jesus will return and that you can endure.

God is saying to us - read the signs of the time - this is not permanent this is not how I want you to live this is not my plan for you - I designed everything and said - It is Good-the turmoil you see around you is because this world is temporary -

And so I challenge you to look at your situation and liken it to the volcano, the handbook - the bible on "how to put down roots in flood, the tsunami the hurricane" - open your handbook on" how to put down roots in earthquake country" and get on with the task of living - God's way.

Seek truth in all you do -

Demand integrity in every relationship

Seek to reconcile with God and your fellow human being in every circumstance -

In other words ask in every encounter in every thing you say - is this going to bring me and the one I am interacting with closer to God or not.

See the bigger picture - what will the thing that I am doing now survive - what will my legacy be - so often we are so trapped in just doing what we are doing that we forget why we are doing it.

Lets keep the main thing the main thing -

1Peter 2:9  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellences of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

That's what being at Armageddon means  - proclaiming the excellences of God - giving thanks always in every circumstance - persevering for as St Paul says 2Co 4:8/9 - we are a great witness when we acknowledge that we are :

" afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;

 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; "

And he goes on to say  - 2Cor 4:16-18  "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. "

Are you managing your life according to these principles?

Are you conducting your conversations the godly way?

Are you seeking first the kingdom of God?

Are you seeking to serve self - or are you seeking to serve God.

Just like the earth - within each one of us are emotional and spiritual forces at work - floods, volcanoes, tsunamis and earthquakes - can you identify them within you or must I point them out to you.

Anger ;

Prejudice;

Selfishness;

Despondency;

Brokenness - your lives are rent apart by events and heartache and broken dreams

You are flooded with problems and demands and expectations

The signs are within - the upheavals are within - in your own lives are the things that God is speaking about:  and Jesus says -

(Mark 13:28/29)  "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.   So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

Not that the hour is near - but that Jesus is near - and able to strengthen you and see you through and give you the victory.

And so I conclude in the words of Scripture:

 (2 Timothy 4:5)  As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

(1 Peter 2:1)   put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.  (Phil 4:8)whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Php 4:19)  And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

 Amen

‘God’s Creation ~ Our Responsibility?’ public talk at ECI conference

A public talk on ‘God’s Creation – Our Responsibility?’ took place on Friday 14 September as part of Eco-Congregation Ireland’s inaugural conference.
Prof David Horrell, Dr Alastair McIntosh, Rev Peter Owen-Jones and Dr Anne Primavesi each spoke for 10 minutes on different aspects of the topic. This was followed by an open forum chaired by Gabrielle Stuart RSM.
Dr Alastair McIntosh has written the following summary of what he said:
It has pleased me very greatly to see the cross-denominational representation at this first Eco-Congregation Ireland conference. If I might be a little cheeky and tongue in cheek, we’ve got everyone from ‘God’s only elect’ to ‘the one true faith’! And is that not wonderful? You really have to wonder if the Spirit is not moving here. I mean, here we are, in a Roman Catholic centre, but it is the King James Bible that is prominently on the table. These are good signs.
They’ve got me thinking too about a metaphor for the work of Eco-Congregation. One of the ways in which the old Protestant versus Catholic divide has been caricatured has been in terms of justification by faith versus justification by works. We all know it’s much more complex than that on both sides, and I think both sides would hold today that the one is in a symbiotic relationship with the other. But I’ve been sitting here and seeing it like a metaphor in this way. It is easy to think that as eco-congregations we have to try and fix the world’s problems by multiplying works. One of the strengths of the Protestant criticism of works was that it reminds us to be humble. We’d be fooling ourselves if we thought we held the keys to life all in our own hands. It would be hubris, and so a theology of faith is important. At the same time, as St James said, faith without works is dead, so we need both in what the biologists call symbiosis – a kind of higher working together – but what does that look like?
I was raised in a Presbyterian tradition and there is a story from my island, the Isle of Lewis, that sheds some light on this reconciliation. It is told in a book called Lewis in the Passing by John the Miller of Habost. He recounts that when he was young, in the 1930s, there was a terrible epidemic of tuberculosis sweeping the island. A young woman lay dying in her bed. Her mother was penniless. The young woman called out for food and her mother had to say: “My dear daughter, I am sorry, but we have nothing in the house.”
In her despair the mother went to the doorstep and stood and looked out across the moor and the sky. She saw a man walking along the road and as he came closer, she withdrew, so that he would not see her tears. The man walked past, but after a little while he turned round and came back and knocked on her door.
“Here is a pound,” he said to her. “The Lord directed me to give it to you.”
Now, that story is so simple, but I think it takes the debate between faith and works, both in the work of eco-congregations and in theology, to a completely transcendent level.
At the one level, it is a brilliant way in which he managed to avoid leaving her with a sense of obligation that she could probably never repay. It had not been him who gave the pound - it was the Lord - end of story.
At another level, what we see here is that the man’s action has been raised to a level where it is at one with the movement of the Holy Spirit. As Second Peter has it, we become, in effect, “participants in the divine nature.” As Paul put it, it becomes a question of not us in the small ego sense, but Christ within us as the greater Self that we Quakers speak of as “that of God within.”
In Eco-Congregation it is not our task merely to replicate the “works” of the secular world. To do that could drain the energy of the parish, which is why some ministers and priests are uneasy about it. Our task needs to do what works we can bear, for sure, but more than that, to understand them as a form of sacrament. To raise them to a level that becomes an expression of faith. To be both practical and spiritual at the same time.
That way, the parochial or parish work as para and oikos - as “alongside the home” – becomes not drained by the ecological demands of our time, but sustained by it. It leads us towards a mystical union of faith and works. That union is realisation that God gives rise to all things, and sustains them, and that we are participants in that great and on-going creative process which is, ultimately, the work of love. The work of realising the Communion of the Saints in relationship with all of Creation. In other words, I’m suggesting the work of ecology is central to the work of being and becoming what in the Christian tradition is called “church”. What we do is a question of constant discernment of how the Spirit is moving us, and to a relaxing of ourselves into that life of the Spirit.
Now, what I have written here is written down in a hurry after I said it, and what was said was spoken without script and so I’m giving a health warning that it may be a bit rough at the edges. It may be doctrinally not quite right – we Quakers are rarely very strong on that - but I leave it with my reader, and hope that from whatever tradition they are coming, it might provide a little food for spiritual deepening and appreciation of what is good within one another’s traditions.
There was one last thing about that which came up in a different part of the conference. How do we respect such differences in our traditions when they might conflict with our own? How do we work beyond denominational limits? My answer to that is, when home on Lewis recently, I went in for a cup of tea with the minister of the Free Church manse in Callanish. His name is the Rev Calum Macdonald, and he has previously had a significant influence on me even though I’m not one for five point Calvinism.
As we sat down he looked at me and said: “The old people often say that there is one thing that the Devil cannot counterfeit in the human heart.”
“What is that?” I asked.
He said, “It is a word that we call in Gaelic the miann. It means ardent desire. They say that the one thing the Devil cannot counterfeit is the ardent desire for God.”
Wow! It blew my mind and has done so ever since. We may have good reason to disagree between our denominations and different faiths on theology. But if the miann is there, it carries us beyond those limitations. It lifts us into the realm of the Spirit. I do believe that is the key to how people of faith the world over can work together for a different world.

DIOCESAN AD LAOS 2  ( Bishop David Bannerman Highveld Diocese)

Dear Friends,

Synod of Bishops and PSC

Accompanying this Ad Laos is the Bishops’ statement following our meeting at the St. George’s Conference Centre outside Pretoria, reflecting on the some of the matters which we covered.  It is a document for your reflection as we seek to be the People of God in our rapidly changing country.

At the beginning of PSC we celebrated the 20^th Anniversary of Women’s Ordination to the Priesthood.  It was wonderful service at which Bishop Barbara Harris from the United States powerfully preached. As I write this, I am conscious of the women priests of our Diocese preparing a  celebratory service for us to remember this wonderful event on the 3^rd November in the Cathedral in our Diocese!  All are welcome!

You will be receiving copies of the resolutions passed at PSC in due course, but one of the matters that received a fair amount of attention was the need for the Anglican Church to once again become  more actively involved in education in Southern Africa in the light of the terrible difficulties we are facing.  The possible role of the Church in Early Childhood Development in parishes as well as the creation of link between parishes and local schools to assist schools in their work was discussed.

The Anglican Ablaze Conference in Johannesburg was spoken a great deal, and I encourage any who have not committed themselves and are able to attend, to do so.    

Bible Society of South Africa

The Rev Shane Fraser of the Bible Society of South Africa (formerly of the Diocese of Port Elizabeth) has visited me and said he would like to visit some Parishes in our Diocese in the coming year to speak about the work of the Bible Society.  I have given him my blessing so that when he visits your Parish you can welcome him.

The Diocesan office is in the process of liaising with the Bible Society with a view to selling bibles from our office.  As soon as bibles are available we will advise you so that you can purchase them in addition to ACSA publications.

School of Leadership Questions

Continuing my reflections on the questions that were raised in the Schools of Leadership.  One of the questions was:

·         Who appoints priests to a parish?

Clergy are not appointed as employees, they are licensed, reflecting the unique of their call. The Bishop licenses a priest to a parish, since all formal ministry performed in a Diocese is by license of the Bishop. [1] A minster cannot function without the License of the Bishop. As the Anglican Prayer Book  1989  says, ‘It is your responsibility and your joy to ordain deacons and priests and to send forth other ministers.’[2]  

·         What is the role of an Archdeacon?

This is clearly set out in the Canons of ACSA.

---

[1]  Canon 25.2

[2] Anglican Prayer Book 1989. Page 598. 

Anglicans Ablaze - Committed to God's Mission - Alison Morgan

Anglicans Ablaze - Committed to God's Mission - Alison Morgan

Alison Morgan, of ReSource, a Church of England charity dedicated to serving the church in renewal and mission, gave this challenging and inspiring talk at Anglicans Ablaze on 4 October 2012

Committed to God’s mission - Living as disciples of Jesus

Good morning! This is my first visit to South Africa, and I am very glad to be with you.

About 10 years ago I did something which changed my life. I prayed a prayer. I had been a university lecturer and I had been ordained as an Anglican minister, but then I had had three children, and my daily life was about being a wife and mother. And as the children became more independent I was feeling I wanted to do more than I was doing. So I prayed the prayer of Jabez. Jabez was a descendent of Jacob, and all we know about him is that he prayed this prayer. Nothing else. It’s in 1 Chronicles 4 and it goes like this: “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from hurt and harm!” I prayed that prayer each day for several months. And then one day God spoke to me. He showed me an eagle in the sky, and he said You are down there on the ground. Are you ready to fly up here with me? I’d no idea what he meant, but I remembered my prayer and so I said yes I was. It turned out he meant two things – was I willing to try and see the world as he sees it, to help him speak his word to his people; and was I willing to be sent to new places in order to do that. Well, I’ve now been to so many places and crossed so many borders that I need extra pages in my passport, and here I am in South Africa! You have to be careful what you pray…

I start with that because we are talking this morning about mission. The word mission isn’t actually a word we find much in the Bible. We use it as a kind of summary word, a word which sums up a concept which we do find there. It’s a Latin word, and it just means being sent.

When a person meets Jesus, two things happen. First of all we are called to come to him and to be with him. This is what happened to the first disciples, recruited one by one to leave their normal occupations and travel with Jesus. But for each one of them there was then a second moment, a moment not of calling but of sending. The same is true today. For us, commitment to Jesus means both being called and being sent. Calling, and sending. Coming, and going.

We can watch this pattern unfold in Luke’s gospel. In Luke chapter 5 we see Jesus calling the first 12 disciples, inviting them to come. By chapter 9 he is sending them out, telling them to go. In chapter 10 he calls 70 more disciples, and then he sends them too. Come; go. Come; go. It’s the beginning of a constant process. By the end, in chapter 20, he explains that although he is now going to be with the Father, nothing has changed: 's the Father has sent me, so I send you.' And then he said one more thing. He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ So we are called, we are sent, and we are equipped. And these are the three elements of the ACSA vision statement.

So we are sent. That begs the question, sent to do what? What was Jesus sending these first disciples to do? Well, he was sending them to do exactly the same things that they had seen him doing. So mission isn’t just about going, it’s not just about having the bus ticket or the dusty shoes or the border stamps in your passport, it’s about what you do when you get there. This is how Jesus understood what he was sent to do: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ And this is what he was sending them to do too. He was sending them to do the works that he had done.

So if we are committed to mission, this is what we are committed to. The Anglican Consultative Council has summarised it like this. These are the Five Marks of Mission, five things which we are supposed to do as people who have been sent by Jesus:

1. To proclaim the good news of the kingdom
2. To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
3. To respond to human need by loving service
4. To seek to transform unjust structures of society
5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and to sustain the life of the earth

This list is helpful, because it reminds us not to fall into a narrow and incomplete understanding of what it is that Jesus is sending us to do; it helps us maintain the same whole-life understanding of mission that he had. But when Jesus wanted to explain what it was he was sending us to do, he used a different word. We’ve already mentioned it. The word he used was disciple. A disciple is someone who is called by Jesus and then sent to do these things in the name of Jesus – just as the first disciples were. Discipleship is the key to mission; if we get our discipleship right, we will find ourselves doing all these things. They are the natural outcomes of a life of discipleship.

We actually find that this link between discipleship and mission is made in another biblical word. The New Testament usually refers to the followers of Jesus as disciples, but sometimes it refers to them, as Jesus himself did, as apostles. And the word apostle means guess what? It means sent. Mission is what disciples of Jesus do. Let me share with you something said by Bishop Graham Cray, who will be speaking to us later this morning: “Mission will never be effective without authentic discipleship. Discipleship will never be taken seriously unless we engage in mission.”

What is discipleship?

So let’s think a bit more about what it actually means to be a disciple of Jesus. Let’s turn to Matthew 28, and the words of the Great Commission. This is what Jesus said to his disciples as he prepared to return to the Father:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

He actually said make disciples of all people groups, which is especially helpful here in Africa I think – Jesus is looking for disciples not just in every nation, but in every people, every tribe and every community. We are sent to the other side of the world, and we are sent to the people next door.

Now often we tend to see mission and discipleship as different things, different aspects of what we do as followers of Jesus. But I want to challenge that. I think words are a bit like clothes. I come to Africa each year, and people are very kind, and sometimes they give me a shirt made from beautiful Tanzanian or Zambian cotton. Like this one. And I take it home, and I wear it, and I wash it. And often I wear it and I wash it so much that the shirt shrinks or it fades. And gradually it stops looking as good as it did.

Now I think that happens with words too – we wear them and we wash them so many times that they shrink and they fade. And because it happens gradually we don’t even notice. I want to suggest to you that this has happened with the word disciple. When Jesus said go and make disciples, he was talking about something new and big and radical, something profound, something that had never been seen before. And yet often what we are left with after we’ve worn this word disciple, and washed it and passed it down from one generation to another, is something more like this, something shrunk and faded. And what happens? People look at us, and they see this small and faded shirt, and they are not impressed, and they do not come running to join us. Our new clothes have become old clothes. Our discipleship has become less than it should be. Instead of being the core of our identity as people called and sent by the living God, it has become just one of the things we do.

So what is discipleship? What did Jesus mean when he said, go and make disciples? If this word has shrunk and faded, what have we lost? I think two things.

1. Apprenticeship

First of all, when we think about discipleship today we tend to think about some form of study. The English word disciple comes from the Latin, disco, which just means to learn. And we know all about learning – for most of us, certainly in the global North but I think here in Africa too, learning means classrooms and colleges. Learning is about understanding, it’s about what we know. So we help people to become disciples of Jesus by inviting them on a study course – perhaps a Bible study programme to start with, then maybe a certificate or diploma in theology.

And yet this is not what Jesus meant by discipleship at all. The biblical word for disciple is not Latin but Greek, and it’s mathetes. Mathetes is not a classroom kind of word – it doesn’t mean student, it means something more like apprentice. Something like this. Christian discipleship is not theoretical, it’s practical. Jesus did not teach his disciples in a classroom, and he did not teach them to engage in theological debate. He taught them, apprenticeship style, to do the things which he did; he taught them how to live and how to minister. And then he told them to teach others to do these things too. So we see him not so much teaching them as training them, in the same practical way he’d been trained to be a carpenter. “Watch me,” he said as he healed the sick, freed the oppressed and offered good news to the poor. Then he said, “You go out now in pairs, try it yourselves, and we’ll go through it when you get back.” Then finally, “I’m off now, and you are to keep on doing this, and teach others to do it too.” Jesus wasn’t training theologians; he was training practitioners. It seems that for Jesus you can’t get to be a disciple by going on a study course. In fact I want to suggest to you that discipleship is not about what you know at all. It’s much bigger than what’s in your head – it’s about your whole life, everything that you are and everything that you do.

So what about our Bible study programmes? Bible study is very important, of course it is; but it is not enough. If we are to make disciples, we must do more than help people study the Word of God. Our task is to get it off the page and into their lives. Like this.

The Bible itself often tells us this. “Don’t read it, eat it,” God said to Ezekiel. “Don’t speak it, live it,” he said to Hosea. “You know what it says, but you have no understanding of its power,” Jesus said to the Pharisees. “The Word of God is living and active,” said the writer to the Hebrews; it is meant to change us and change the people around us. American theologian Dallas Willard puts it like this: ‘there is absolutely no suggestion in the NT that being a disciple consists of reading your Bible and praying regularly.’ It’s much, much bigger than that.

Let me tell you a story, told to me by Isaiah Chambala, now the Bishop of Kiteto in Tanzania. A Christian was living in a village near Arusha – she was the only Christian in the village. She was known for her faith, and one night some people came to her house with a sick girl. No treatment had worked, and they had been told that Christians know how to pray for healing. This woman was an Anglican, a churchgoer, baptised and confirmed – but she had absolutely no idea how to pray for healing. Desperate to help, she did the only thing she knew how to do. She recited the 10 Commandments. Nothing happened. She prayed the Lord’s Prayer. No result. She said the Creed. Still nothing. She reviewed the sacraments, she confessed her sins, she said the grace. The girl was as sick as ever. In frustration she burst into tears; what use was her faith? When eventually she raised her head, the girl had been healed. This experience changed her life. Determined to make her faith effective in practice, the woman joined a discipleship group. Soon she had led the whole family to Christ.

The point, Isaiah says, is this: discipleship is like football – knowing the theory is all very well, but it’s not enough to know the theory, you are supposed to win the game. It’s no use us just knowing stuff in our heads; being a disciple of Jesus was never meant to be about that. It’s about whether we can put it into practice, whether we can live it. Discipleship is not about information. It’s about transformation.

2. Community

But there’s a second thing I think we have lost too, and this is not the shrinking but the fading. We tend to see discipleship as an individual thing – particularly in the global North, but I think increasingly here too. I have a son and two daughters. They are all at college or university. They chose what to study according to their own interests – Ed is studying engineering, Bethy is studying dance and Katy is studying classical literature. This is good for earning your living, but it is not the right model for discipleship. For Jesus, discipleship was not an individual process but a community one. His disciples didn’t choose a subject or a syllabus, they chose a person; and they learned not as individuals attending classes but as part of a new, living community. Their discipleship was embedded in relationships. For them, discipleship was about leaving their families in order to travel together in community with Jesus. It was about loving one another, learning to recognise one another as brothers and sisters irrespective of background or status. It was about learning not to compete with one another or judge one another. It meant thinking we instead of thinking me. Jesus told them they were meant to be like branches of a vine, people who were conspicuous for the fact that they loved one another. Paul told the Romans, Corinthians and Ephesians that they were no longer individuals but members of one body, the body of Christ. We cannot be disciples alone. We can only be disciples if we are disciples together.

So I’d like to unshrink and unfade our concept of discipleship, and offer you a new definition. Here it is: Discipleship is a form of apprenticeship undertaken in community. To recognise this changes everything. It means that the focus of our discipleship will be not on what we know but on who we are becoming. And we aren’t becoming engineers or dancers or teachers, though all those are good things to be. We are becoming like Jesus, the Son of God, growing into his likeness day by day as we learn to obey him. This is why the first Christian disciples were called Followers of the Way. They were following Jesus. They were going on a journey that no one had ever been on before; and they were going on it together. They were so good at going on it together that people rushed to join them, and the church was born.

In the 2nd century a Roman Christian called Minucius Felix explained it like this: ‘Beauty of life causes strangers to join our ranks; we do not talk about great things; we live them.’ You will be pleased to know that Minucius was African.

So that is why people want to join us. Because we are living in a different way from those around us. Because we have been baptised in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and because Jesus is with us and ministers through us as we commit ourselves to obeying him. Just as Matthew said he would.

I am the Director of a discipleship programme for Africa called Rooted in Jesus. It’s a programme which gathers people into small groups and helps them to become apprentices of Jesus. Group members learn to apply their faith to their whole lives, and to live it out in practical ways, supporting and helping one another as they do so. Intellectually it is not a difficult course – group members do not even need to be able to read. But spiritually it is very challenging, and it leads to radical change in the lives of those who take part. This is what one group leader in Zambia wrote to me recently, and it’s fairly typical: “Many people have been healed, demons are cast out, broken marriages are brought together, lost items are being recovered. Therefore the group is encouraged on how Jesus Christ is answering our prayer requests and people are changing in their lives.”

The plural of disciple is church

Some time ago the Bishop of Carlisle in the UK invited me to speak to a gathering of archdeacons and rural deans about discipleship. As part of my preparation I decided to do a Bible study. I found that in the Old Testament the word disciple is used only once. In the New Testament it is used a lot in the Gospels, and sometimes in Acts, where it describes the followers of Jesus. But to my astonishment I found that the word disciple does not appear at all in the Epistles. Peter, Paul, James and John do not use the word disciple. Not even once.

Now I was very surprised by this, and I began to think about what the explanation could be. It could not be that only these first followers of Jesus were to be called disciples, because according to Matthew Jesus was quite clear that he wanted them to go and make other disciples, and he said that this was a task which would last until the end of the age. Discipleship did not stop with Jesus.

I thought some more. The first thing I concluded was that it is absolutely clear that when we are thinking about discipleship we are thinking about Jesus, and only Jesus. If it’s not focussed on Jesus, it isn’t discipleship.

But then I realised something else. The word disciple is not used by Peter, Paul, James and John, but there is another word which they use in their letters all the time, and which we don’t find in the gospels. Anyone guess what it is? It’s church. What does that tell us? I think it tells us this: the plural of disciple is church. A church is nothing more or less than a community of disciples, a gathering of people who have been called into relationship with God. The English word ‘church’ in fact carries this meaning beautifully: it derives from the Greek kurios, or ‘Lord’.

This is how Archbishop Rowan Williams defines church:

“Church is what happens when people encounter the Risen Jesus and commit themselves to sustaining and deepening that encounter in their encounter with each other.”

So I find it helpful to remind myself that a church is not a building, or an event, or an institution. A church is a group of people who are helping one another to deepen their relationship with Jesus. A church is, or should be, a community of disciples. If discipleship is not at the heart of what we do, then we are not a church. And that means that the health of the church depends on the depth of our discipleship.

This is what Tanzanian Gaspar Kassanda writes about the church in East Africa:

“If the church would revisit the biblical teachings on discipleship it would revive its life and many of its problems would be rectified. Note that simply teaching the Word is not all there is to discipleship. There must be personal involvement, practical training, practical experience and positive role modelling.”

In my view this can be done only in the way that Jesus did it: by gathering people together into small groups and training them to live a different way. It’s how Paul did it too, gathering little groups of people together in different places, helping them to learn what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus in the context of their daily lives and in the midst of their communities. These were the first churches, formed all over the Roman empire. We know the names of their leaders, we know they met together in homes – we know in fact that there were no church buildings for 250 years. It was all about small groups of disciples meeting together, learning to love Jesus and love one another. Apprentices of Jesus, gathering together in community, learning to live in a different way.

Community with a purpose

So a church is a community of disciples of Jesus, committed to him and committed to one another. But is that enough? If we get our relationships with Jesus and our relationships with each other right, have we done all that Jesus is asking us to do?

This is what Peter wrote to the churches in Asia Minor:

Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…

Peter is talking about the church, and he is comparing it to a temple. The cornerstone of the temple, the stone which holds the whole building up, is Jesus. The stones from which the temple is built are the believers. They are living stones because they have been made alive through Jesus, and they have been built together into a spiritual house. But a temple is not built just to stand there and look good, it has a purpose. So the believers are to be not just a spiritual house, but a holy priesthood – they are to do something. They have a purpose. Peter explains what this purpose is:

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

Their purpose is to proclaim the gospel to others. They have a job to do. So first we come to Jesus, and we are changed from dead stones to living stones. Then we are formed together into new communities, spiritual houses which we call churches. Finally we are given a job to do; we are sent to proclaim the gospel to those who are still in darkness.

And this is the third point I want to offer you this morning. We began by defining discipleship as a form of apprenticeship in community. It starts there, but it doesn’t stop there. The community has a purpose which reaches beyond itself. This comes as no surprise – right from the beginning Jesus taught his disciples to minister to others, to do what he himself said he had come to do: to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. What is our purpose? It is to do the things that Jesus did, to minister to those around us. Our purpose is mission; we are sent to share with others what we ourselves have received.

So as disciples we are apprenticed to Jesus, we are formed into communities and we are sent to reach out to others. Discipleship is about apprenticeship, about community and about mission. It’s about being salt and light to the people among whom we live; it’s about making a difference. One church in the United States summed it up like this: our mission is to offer living proof of a loving God to a watching world.

Now if we embrace this fully, if we unshrink and unfade our understanding of discipleship and we restore it to its rightful place as the centre of everything we are and do, we begin to see some remarkable things happening. We begin to see lives being changed, churches being renewed and communities being transformed. We begin to see the kingdom of God coming among us.

We’ve already heard some testimonies of what God is doing in the Diocese of Niassa. Niassa is a diocese where they intentionally place discipleship at the heart of everything they do, a diocese where discipleship is neither shrunk nor faded, a diocese where discipleship is at the core of their understanding of mission. They are experiencing extraordinary spiritual and numerical growth as a result.

But it seems Jesus is prepared to work with little groups of disciples even in places where there is no strategic support from the diocese. This is a group in Mansa, Zambia. They meet daily, and twice a week they go out to pray for people in the community. Their leader is a lay man called Robert. He’s using Rooted in Jesus, and he has been sending me reports as they travel together through the various books. This is what he wrote after the group had completed a module on prayer for healing: “The group gives spiritual support to individuals, families and groups depending on their requests. The group gives counselling, healing prayers, casts out demons and encourages those who are spiritually weak and have stopped attending church meetings. The group has received people from far villages for healing. The group is very much encouraged by the people’s response and how they are with the power of prayers.” More recently, after the group had completed the modules on evangelism and prayer for the community, he wrote this: “I am proud in Jesus name to inform you and your team that our group has started charity work in the community after learning the word of God on ‘Salt and Light.’ After the lesson, members of the group contributed financially and materially. The group raised 24kg of maize grain, 6 bars of soap, salt, and second hand clothes.” Keen to reach out to others, they travelled to a village 35 km from Mansa to teach about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. This is what happened: “I am proud that many Christians surrendered their lives to Jesus as Lord, and demons, evil spirits were cast out in many people during the altar call healing prayer time. I thank the power of God by releasing many people from the power of darkness to light.” They are now planning to plant groups in 8 new places by the end of the year. Discipleship makes a difference, and these ordinary group members are being to sent to places both spiritually and geographically in a way they never dreamed possible.

Rooted in Jesus

So we have three threads. Discipleship is about apprenticeship to Jesus. It is about the formation of small groups where people can grow together. And it is about mission, about bringing something completely new to the communities in which those groups are set.

I’d like to close by telling you a little of what I have seen in one of the places where discipleship is understood like this. Rooted in Jesus was developed 10 years ago now, with and for the Diocese of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, with whom our diocese in Leicester was linked. When the first generation of groups completed the course, we went to ask them how they had got on. We hoped to hear they’d found it very helpful. What we actually did hear took us completely by surprise.

Firstly, we noticed a change in the group leaders themselves. Being with them was like being with a completely different bunch of people from the nervous and shy ones we’d met with 4 years earlier. They looked taller, stronger, more determined. Here they are. One after another they said they now had great confidence in God, that he was now with them and working powerfully through them. Many said they used to read the Bible ‘like a newspaper or magazine’, but now read it and pray over it daily and find that it speaks to them. Some said that they had lost their fear; that they feel power in preaching; that they feel a love for their group members. Several said their churches are now full. They were keen to share their experiences, keen that we should use their testimony to encourage people in other places.

Then they began to tell us about the changing lives of group members. A man called Simon, known for his quarrelsome nature, had turned to God and been released dramatically from his anger; astonished to see him transformed by inner peace, his wives (he had 12) had all joined the group. Abraham had been freed from his overwhelming fear of the local witchdoctor, who he thought would destroy his animals. Leah, barren, had discovered you can pray to Jesus about your personal needs; the group had prayed, and she had conceived. A man who had left his wife and children for another woman had repented and returned home.

Many of them said that their whole group had changed as they had met together. One said that on the 4th lesson he had taught his group the memory verse John 1.12, which says ‘to all who received him he gave power to become children of God’. He said they hadn’t known that. They were just churchgoers, and they’d not heard of the Holy Spirit or realised any act of commitment was necessary. He explained the verse and the whole group was filled with the Holy Spirit. Other leaders said their people had stopped worshipping the wrong god, had stopped using drugs and smoking, and were no longer getting drunk. They were only beating their wives occasionally (!). They were now praying for the sick and seeing healings. Some had been inspired to learn to read and write so they could read the Bible. All the leaders said their churches had stopped being impersonal Sunday gatherings and become active fellowships of people committed to God and to one another.

Finally, they told us about the impact the groups were having on the local community. Prayer was becoming normal in the villages; in one Masai village the elders were still meeting under the tree to take decisions, but they were now praying over those decisions. People were sharing their faith and others were coming to Christ; illiterate people were teaching others from the memory verses. People in the community were being prayed for and many had been healed; the sick were being cared for. An evangelist called Japhet told how one day as his group was meeting in the church a passing Muslim rushed in, overcome by the sudden sensation that his feet were ‘on fire’, and saying he had no idea what they were doing but could he join in? Everywhere group members were speaking out against witchcraft and had stopped putting ‘medicines’ on crops, and many witchdoctors had been saved. A woman who had been bitten by a snake came to the group for prayer instead of visiting the witchdoctor; and was healed. A child who used to fall down all the time had been prayed for until he too was healed, with the result that the whole family came to Christ and joined the group. Teachers were now teaching about Jesus in the primary school. One leader said his whole village had been transformed, another that his village had changed dramatically. The testimonies were extraordinary and unexpected; I was so overwhelmed that I cried.

Well, that was a long time ago. Since then we have worked in many other places. We have never advertised Rooted in Jesus, but everywhere the Lord seems to be speaking to his people about discipleship, and it has spread from one place to another, including of course here in South Africa where it was first adopted in the Diocese of St Mark the Evangelist. It is now in use in 43 dioceses in 14 countries, and we have learned so much through our partnerships with these dioceses that we have actually adapted Rooted in Jesus for use in more Western contexts as well, under the title The God Who is There. I think this is probably the first time that a programme developed in Africa has been adapted for use in the UK. I suspect it will not be the last!

Tomorrow afternoon I will be leading a workshop with Bishop Martin Breytenbach on making disciples who make disciples. This talk has been quite theoretical – in the workshop we will be very practical. We will look at Rooted in Jesus as a tool for whole life disciplemaking, and Bishop Martin will talk about what that they have been learning as they have tried to place discipleship at the centre of what they are doing in the Diocese of St Mark’s.

But for now I will leave you with a quote from Bishop Graham Cray, who will be speaking to us later this morning: ‘Mission will never be effective without authentic discipleship. Discipleship will never be taken seriously unless we engage in mission.’

God bless you.