Bishops blog

 

June 2010

International Labour Day (1 May), Freedom Day (27 April) and   Human Rights Day (21 March) have all come and gone, but we must not allow the struggles fought by our forbears, which these days commemorate, to be forgotten or lose their meaning.

 

The Methodist Church has a rich legacy of affirming the dignity of work and of supporting the values of trade unions such as the right to a living wage, fair working hours and safe working conditions. Today’s labour leaders need to be reminded that they owe much to the Wesleyan Spiritual Revival of the middle 1700s. The father of the trade union movement, Lord Shaftesbury, was converted under the preaching of John Wesley.

 

Lest we forget, many liberation movement leaders were all committed Methodists - three Presidents of the African National Congress – Rev JW Dube (1912-17) Rev ZR Mahabane (1924-27), and Nelson Mandela (1991-97), and two Presidents of the Pan African Congress, Robert Sobukwe (a local preacher) and Dr Stanley Mogoba (Presiding Bishop). They, amongst many others, clergy and laypersons, working in civil society, made valuable contributions to a free and democratic South Africa.

 

This Easter I met one of our living ancestors, Tata Philip Kgosana, who at the tender age of 22, while a student at the University of Cape Town, led an anti-pass protest of 7 000 on 21 March 1960.

 

In response to the Sharpeville massacre, he organised the historic march of 30 000 from Langa to Parliament.

 

Many believe he averted a bloodbath by negotiating with Colonel Terry Terblanche, who promised a meeting with the Minister of Justice, but instead Tata was arrested. He went into exile and worked for the PAC in many African countries. He is a Methodist local preacher in the Mabopane Circuit.

 

I hope that as you celebrated Aldersgate Day on 24 May, you remembered our African Methodist heritage and the contribution made by those who understood that in the Wesleyan tradition, a personal evangelical faith and salvation from sin holds together holiness which knows no distinction from “social holiness” that can transform individuals, institutions and the world.

 

The good news of the Feast of Pentecost is that there is no limit to the way God intervenes in our world to bring hope and healing. God's love, mercy and grace is more profound than we can begin to understand, envision or ever imagine. The Holy Spirit, like the wind, blows where it will.

 

It is my prayer this Pentecost that we will be alert to recognise the work of the Holy Spirit in one another and at work in the world that “God so loves”.

 

May our Conference theme, a prayer of invocation for the past six years, be realised in our world, church and homes: “Come Holy Spirit, Heal and Transform”.

 

May 2010

As South Africa celebrates Freedom Day it seems as if  the technicolour rainbow nation is losing its lustre as the sunshine of hope, peace and prosperity begin to fade, taking us back to seeing issues only through lenses of black and white.

 

In the Cradle of Humanity we have the wonderful discovery, by Witwatersrand paleoanthropolo-gist Lee Berger, of the two million year old hominid fossil which shows that we share a common human ancestry.

 

Not far away, in Ventersdrop, the spewing of racist bile at the funeral of Eugene Terre Blanche once again opened apartheid wounds.

 

At Luthuli House, African National Congress Youth League President, Julius Malema's puerile behaviour alienated and polarised many people of goodwill.

 

I added my voice to those of other responsible religious leaders by reaffirming the Methodist Church's commitment to the ideals of dialogue, respect, nation building and transformation.

 

To this end, the National Religious Leaders Forum (NRLF) called for an urgent meeting with President Jacob Zuma to discuss amongst other things, Mr Malema's conduct, service delivery, the protection and strengthening of democracy, as well as just and equitable land usage and distribution.

 

At the NRLF meeting, we were again forcefully reminded that while domestic capitalism was no longer exclusively white, the right to equality and dignity continues to evade the majority of South Africans at the septic fringes of all large cities and in rural areas.

 

The empty tomb at the end of Mark's Gospel, as well as the 17 post-resurrection appearances in the other gospels tells us that the story of Jesus has not ended but lives on.

I don't know about you, but as I retold the story of Jesus at Easter, I was not “parroting” a story that I had heard or read, but retelling my own encounter with the Risen Lord on the road of life.

 

It is as we tell the story in the narrative of our own lives that it has the power to invite and transform.

 

The Gospel story can be ours, but it has to begin with repentance (metanoia - Mark 1:4,15). We need to admit, own up to our collusion in historical injustice and violence that keeps two thirds of the world in misery and poverty.

 

This must be followed by the imagination and courage to say ““NO” to systemic robbery and domination – unmasking institutionalised lies and hidden crimes of violence that crucify the poor.

 

While we often speak of the poor in abstract terms, we will only encounter Jesus as we confront the human faces and voices of real victims, the majority who are black women and children living in rural areas, and who have not tasted the fruits of freedom of democratic South Africa.

 

Everyone in South Africa will continue to have sleepless nights and restless days as long as people still lack decent housing, access to safe water, basic sanitation services, food security and are left without the dignity of work.

 

Ched Myers contends that Jesus contested the powers of his day through the “subversive practice of symbolic direct action” - in our context, we must find meaningful and clear ways to do the same.

 

The writer to the Church in Rome reminds us - “Do not be conformed any longer by the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is. God's good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-3).

 

March 2010

In March I will be leading devotions at the Alpha National Conference in Pretoria. As I reflect on the Conference theme, “What’s God got to do with it?” in the aftermath of the devastation in Haiti, I can’t but think of the British novelist, H.G. Wells, who during the Second World War wrote, “If I felt there was an omnipotent God who looked down on battles and deaths and all the waste and horror of this war – able to prevent these things…….I would spit in his empty face.”

I am sure that many people who have been victim of violence, violation or natural disasters, whether in Rwanda after the genocide, Sri Lanka after the tsunami, New York after 9/11,  Zimbabwe during the economic and political implosion, or Haiti in confusion and distress – all ask the age old question, “Where was God?” or “What’s God got to do with it?” Can we blame God for all the human suffering, natural disasters and rogue regimes? All these things leave us with deep psychological and physical scars, and with more questions rather than answers to the existence of God.

In our Wesleyan tradition we have identified four sources of divine revelation – scripture, tradition, reason and experience. These four are definitely not separate entities for God’s revelation. While many of us cannot give neat theological answers to life’s questions, many have had an experience and assurance of God’s love and care in our lives. Often we can only respond with compassion as we witness injustice and suffering, realising that life is brief and fragile, and that death is certain.

The word compassion derives from a Latin combination. The first part contains the word compass – it gives direction and means, “to suffer with”. Often compassion is the route of returning to God. Henri Nouwen in his book, The Way of the Heart, explains that “Compassion is hard because it requires inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely and broken.”

As we enter the holy season of Lent, the five Sundays of self-examination leading Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter I pray that this pilgrimage will bring greater assurance and renewed faith in Jesus Christ. May I also take this opportunity to thank the Southern African Methodist family for your solidarity and support for the Haitian people as they rebuild their lives after the devastating earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 200, 000 people.

Let us remember the words of C.S. Lewis in his work, of The Problem Pain – “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse the deaf world.”

May the joy of knowing God’s love and care be yours.

Ivan M Abrahams

November 2009

First, on behalf of the Abrahams family, I wish to thank my global Methodist family for your sincere messages of condolences, prayers and generous expressions of support during our time of bereavement.

 

Whilst our hearts are broken, we find hope and solace in the fact that both my parents passed away peacefully in their home two days apart.

 

In a way, this bears testimony to the tapestry of their love and life woven together. The one could not live without the other and even death could not separate them.

 

Secondly, during the past two months, it was a singular honour, joy and privilege to share in two major milestones of the Church – the 150^th anniversary celebration of the translation of the Xhosa Bible at Mount Coke, and the 175^th anniversary of the Somerset West Methodist Church.

 

The foundations of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa were laid in the hearts of men and women of courage and faith. True Methodist torchbearers, who took seriously John Wesley’s utterance – “The world is my parish” – and ventured out to plant the seeds of Methodism in the Cape Colony. We express gratitude to God for the witness of our forebears who generously gave of their gifts, labours and talents.

 

At Conference we launched the Methodist Heritage Foundation. It is my hope and prayer that we will celebrate with pride and gratitude the legacy of men and women of faith who went before us and pray that in honouring them, we will be given the grace to re-examine and re-commit ourselves to continue with joy the work begun by them.

 

I want to encourage the Methodist people to celebrate our heritage by remembering Ntsikana, the first ama-Xhosa convert and his contribution to music, Rev Jacob Links, the first indigenous minister, and the many other Methodist missionary pioneers.

 

We cannot forget the first Methodist martyrs, the Rev William Threlfall, Rev Jacob Links and Evangelist Johannes Jager who were murdered by Naaugaap of the Bnndle-Zuaarts and Khoi-Khoi on the night of 10 August 1825 at Warmbad, Namibia.

The blood of these martyrs was the seed for the spreading of the Gospel in Southern Africa.

 

We honour all our departed loved ones and their memories. We are now the continuation of their lives.

 

Let us make them proud.

 

Ivan M Abrahams

 

September 2009

The month of September not only introduces us to spring, the bridesmaid of summer but also presents us with many opportunities for mission and ministry.

 

At the 120^th Conference to be held in Pietermaritzburg, the Methodist people will celebrate, debate and untangle a veritable skein of issues around the theme: “Come, Holy Spirit, Heal and Transform Your Creation”.  We will also commemorate Arbour Month with a tree planting ceremony at the Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary. It is no co-incidence that the Bible begins with a tree of life in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9) and ends with the tree of life in the city of destiny, the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22:1-2).

 

A Jewish wisdom saying teaches: “If you have a sapling in your hand and they tell you that the Messiah has arrived, first plant the sapling and then go to greet him.”

 

Trees predate the human species by millions of years. They are essential for life on earth. A community protects its own life by protecting tress, as they provide a renewable source of fuel, food, shelter and medicines, as well as sustaining the environmental and social health of the planet. Go out and plant a tree, or better still, make a contribution to green the SMMS campus.

 

September is also Heritage Month. I will launch the Methodist Heritage Foundation and Eastern Cape Mission Trail at the 150^th Anniversary Celebration of the Xhosa Bible translation at Mount Coke on 6 September.

 

On 4 October we share in the advent of another milestone in the history of Methodism in Southern Africa with the 175^th Anniversary of the Somerset West Methodist Church. We express gratitude to God for the witness of our forbearers who planted the seeds of Methodism and generously gave of their gifts and labour to erect places of worship.

 

In closing, I appeal to you to remember the people of Fiji in your prayers in this, “the most Methodist country on earth”, where more than one third of the population are Methodist. The military regime arrested nine Methodist leaders, including the church’s president, the Rev Ame Tugaue. They have also banned the Methodist Annual Conference, which was to be held from 11-15 August.

 

A message to the people of Haiti from the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa

 

It was with great shock and sadness that we received news about the loss of life caused by the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

 

On behalf of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, I wish to assure you of our prayers and support at this time.

 

Please convey our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the families who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.

 

While sharing in your grief, we have no doubt that Rev Gesner Paul, the District President and other leaders will stand in the vanguard of the relief and reconstruction drive. I take this opportunity to pledge the support of the Methodist community in Southern Africa. We are committed and ready to contribute in any way possible that would alleviate the suffering of those affected by this devastating and traumatic experience.

 

An initial amount of U$1 000 will be deposited into your account.

 

May God Almighty grant Divine comfort and consolation to all bereaved families, and give strength and wisdom in the days ahead.

 

Yours in Christ

 

Ivan M. Abrahams

 

The Presiding Bishops Message to Conference

 

 

I greet you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour who has brought us to this place and time under the Conference theme “Come, Holy Spirit, Heal and Transform Your Creation”. It is a theme that is pregnant with hope and possibility, even at a time of global economic recession, job losses and lack of confidence in the market economy.

 

Matthew’s gospel teaches us that the disciples realised that God knew something they did not, and asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.” So too, for us in times of difficulty, confusion and crises, we implore the presence and teaching spirit of our God by pleading: “Lord, teach us to pray.”

 

I believe that God has, through the power of the Holy Spirit, called us together for a great purpose. It was Mr. John Wesley’s conviction that God raised the people called Methodist “... to spread scriptural holiness throughout the land by the proclamation of the evangelical faith.” My question to us is: “are we still driven by that conviction?”

 

My dear brothers and sisters, listen to our father in the faith, John Wesley again: “Give me one hundred men and women who fear nothing but sin, and I don’t give a straw whether they be clergy or lay, and we will shake the gates of hell.”  Can Father Wesley count on you? Can the Methodist Church count on you to be amongst that hundred?   Can the Lord of all Creation count on you?   

 

During this time of global economic recession, environmental degradation, declining public health, food insecurity, lack of service delivery and energy crises, we need a fresh and expanded understanding of old religious stories – stories of Jesus’ teachings such as the Lord's Prayer to His early followers in order to confidently proclaim universal salvation for all the cosmos and God’s created order. Our theology – that is, making sense of our faith – affects the way we understand ourselves and how or whether we respond to the cries for justice that include “the groaning of creation.” (Rom8:31)

 

This Lord’s Prayer is addressed to God, the owner, controller and source of all earthly and human resources. It is NOT directed to Caesar, because even Caesar’s sources of power and authority come from the Creator God. Neither is the Lord’s Prayer directed toward any trans- or multi-national corporation which seeks authority and power to control the world by amassing wealth and control of the means of production, even subverting national sovereignty of poorer nations. The Lord’s Prayer reminds us that there is only one Holy God – the owner and controller of all wealth and resource. All others are pretenders and impostors.

 

Having cleared that up, the followers of Jesus are mandated to make three petitions. I am particularly interested in the petition for DAILY BREAD which comes before the petitions for FORGIVENESS and PROTECTION FROM TEMPTATION.

 

BREAD has great symbolic power!

It is the marker of poverty – the bread line

It speaks of friendship and community – breaking bread together

It is the symbol of hope and opportunity – cast your bread upon the waters

It captures security and responsibility – the breadwinner

It also signifies basic needs – bread and butter issues

 

Bread also takes many forms; buns, croissants, tortillas, bagels, rye bread, focaccia, roti, naan, wholemeal, pita, chapatti, marraqueta, baguette ……..and so we can continue.

 

The Bible abounds with references to bread. Matthew teaches the Church that complete and utter dependence on God for our needs is what sustains us. Do we have that dependence, or has our reliance on the market for our daily provisions blunted that faith? Do we, at this Conference, really acknowledge that God sustains us as God did the early disciples of Jesus?

 

The prayer very powerfully affirms that God cared for the children of Israel wondering in the desert for FORTY years. When they grumbled and almost lost hope, the Lord told Moses; “I will rain down bread from heaven for you EACH DAY. “

 

The Bible reminds us that God not only makes promises to a people of faith but that that same God fulfils such promises! It says that each day the Israelites were supplied with their daily bread until they entered the Promised Land? (Deuteronomy 8.)

 

It is both important and significant to note that the collective pronouns, US and OUR are used in the petition for daily BREAD. There is no room for INDIVIDUALISM and SELFISHNESS here. We ask God for bread not as INDIVIDUALS but as a COMMUNITY. Bishop Dom Helder Camara once said, “Bread for me is a material matter but bread for my neighbour is a SPIRITUAL matter.”

 

Luther was correct when he said, “When we pray for bread we are praying for everything necessary for the preservation of life, like food, a healthy body, good weather, house, home, wife, good government and peace – that God may preserve us from all sorts of calamities, sickness, pestilence, hard times, war, revolution and the like.”

 

A theology of Bread means working for a world without hunger. Hunger in a world that produces more food than can be consumed is a scandal and blight on the witness of the Church and Christians everywhere.