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