Category: Sunday Letter

On the 1st Dec. 1834 the Emancipation of the Slaves within the British Empire was announced from the Town House steps on Green Market Square.  It actually took another four years for the Slaves in the Cape Colony to be free because the colonial government of the day wanted to give the protesting slave owners time to adapt.  Slaves therefore worked as apprentices for their former owners without pay for four more years.  Many therefore regard 1st Dec 1838 as the real emancipation Day.  This reminds us that freedom was something hard struggled for.  We think of William Wilberforce who struggled against slavery for 50 years of his 74 year life.  The following speech he made some 42 years before the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act:

Let us not despair; it is a blessed cause, and success, ere long, will crown our exertions. Already we have gained one victory; we have obtained, for these poor creatures, the recognition of their human nature, which, for a while was most shamefully denied. This is the first fruits of our efforts; let us persevere and our triumph will be complete. Never, never will we desist till we have wiped away this scandal from the Christian name, released ourselves from the load of guilt, under which we at present labour, and extinguished every trace of this bloody traffic, of which our posterity, looking back to the history of these enlightened times, will scarce believe that it has been suffered to exist so long a disgrace and dishonour to this country. [House of Commons, 18 April 1791]

This past week we celebrate (though very late) the new Government plan to counter the AIDS epidemic and thank God for those who persevered in struggle. Let us assist and get ourselves tested  – trusting that the truth will set us free.  Advent Emancipation.   Alan

This past Tuesday I went to the National Assembly and witnessed the passing of the Secrecy Bill.  To see MPs voting as slaves to their party rather than as servants of the people was sad — the notable inspiring exception being Gloria Borman.  But as Upton Sinclair said: “It is difficult to get a man [sic] to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”   The Secrecy Bill goes against what we know to be true about the human condition and that is when we mess up — we cover up.  Adam and Eve taught us that. And therefore laws should make it more difficult to cover up and not easier.  Laws should encourage people to be whistle-blowers of the truth rather than threaten to criminalise the truth-teller.  Let us stay awake….

In the evening I bore witness to another meeting — this time in Khayelitsha and of mostly young     people.  The venue was very different to parliament’s plushness and that was not the only difference.  The conversation was defiantly hope-full.  I listened to people dream of “one Cape Town” and declare that they “cannot wait for government to deliver” so they must “deliver themselves – through education” and I listened to speakers   encourage young people to become “lawyers for the poor”.  How the crowd appreciated being seen as a generation full of potential rather than a lost generation.  Today is the first Sunday of Advent — a day of hope-filled expectation.  For me Advent started on Tuesday evening.    Alan

In the sermon last week we reflected on Gospel Economics as revealed to us through Jesus’ parable of the talents found in Matthew 25. The popular interpretation of this parable encourages us to not waste the gifts that God has given us and advises us to work hard.  Simply put: “God helps those who help themselves” (which by the way is not in the Bible).  But as we discussed last week (if you missed it you can listen to it at www.cmm.org.za ) it may well have been a peasant’s protest against the harsh master of economic inequality — who gave more to those who have, and took away from those who have little, leaving them with nothing.

In this light let me share some facts about South African income groups as printed earlier this year in the Business Report of the Cape Times:

24 060 179 people earn between R0-50k p/a

3 206 445 people earn between R50-100k p/a

3 489 549 people earn between R100-300k p/a

789 744 people earn between R300-500k p/a

304 767 people earn between R500-750k p/a

217 570 people earn R750k or more p/a

No wonder we are known as one of the most unequal countries in the world.   Alan

It is that time of year again — when we work on CMM’s budget for next year.  It is my hope that the budget will somehow honour God’s dream and answer God’s prayer for the people of this city.

I remember being taught that if you want to really see what a congregation believes in —  just ask to see the church financials.  We know that this is also true for individuals — maybe this is why we are so secretive about money matters.  Somehow we know that what we do with our money reveals the heart of our heart.  Money matters expose us and reveal us for who we truly are and not just who we say we are.  Jesus knew this to be true — he said: “Wherever you treasure it — your heart is there also.”  Money is like a GPS that automatically points out the location of our heart.

Join me in praying that in our budget planning for 2012 we allocate CMM’s money to draw us and others closer to God’s heart!  God’s dream and prayer is always about the vulnerable being cared for — the captives being released and the poor receiving good news, and so our budget should have this focus too.

It is also a good time for us to reflect on what our personal money matters say about the positioning of our hearts.  May God give us hearts that are grateful (and not resentful) for every opportunity to be generous in this life.

Alan

What is the best way to stop your child becoming an atheist?  Here is someone’s answer.  Be warned, the sarcasm bites!  But maybe the bite will wake us up a bit…

“The best way to stop your child becoming an atheist is to not educate them, or expose them to critical thinking, logic or science.  Lie to them constantly about how the world works. … Make them loathe their own natural bodies and functions. Convince them they are small and weak and worthless and need redemption.  Tell them everything enjoyable is grievously wrong to even think about, and that their only fun should be in grovelling to an invisible friend. Ensure that they resent anyone who is not like them in every way — skin colour, nationality, political opinion but especially creed. Make such people out to be evil and vile and give them — impotent minorities — all the fictional power to somehow oppress and persecute the vast majority who think like you.  Teach them to laugh at and dismiss out of hand any faith but their own. … Instruct them with all severity and import to never question for themselves — to never think for themselves …”

It is maybe because so many Christians have lived out this sarcastic portrayal that others have decided to be atheists. If this is what it means to be a Christian then I am sure even Jesus would prefer us to be atheists.

Alan

During the time of Jesus the world population was around 300 million. It reached a billion in around 1800. The 2^nd billion in 1927.  The 3^rd billion in 1959. The 4^th in 1974. The 5^th in 1987. The 6^th in 1999 and now tomorrow we reach 7 billion.

There is not doubt that the issue of population growth is an important social issue, but I believe we can use it as a scapegoat to save us from dealing with the single most important issue that threatens our sustainability on this planet — namely our over-consumption.

Ironically, it seems that the richer we are the more likely we are to blame population growth for the social and environmental troubles of our day. Yet the richer one is, the more one consumes and the more one is a burden to life on the planet.

Here are some facts: “An extra child born today in the United States, would, down the generations, produce an eventual carbon footprint seven times that of an extra child in China, 55 times that of an Indian child or 86 times that of a Nigerian child.”

Oh Lord help us to consume less!  Alan

If you have access to the internet I recommend the following blog by Rachel Held Evans.  Here is one of her latest offerings that I have been challenged by:

“Some like to say that the bravest thing Christians can do is defend their faith, to stand their ground and refuse to change.

But it’s easier to defend our faith than to subject it to scrutiny. It’s easier to dig in our heels than to go exploring. It’s easier to regurgitate answers than to ask good questions. It’s easier cling to our beliefs than to hold them with open hands. It’s easier to assume we’re always right than to acknowledge we may be wrong.

I don’t want an easy faith, I want a brave faith.

I want a faith that takes risks, that asks questions, that experiments, that evolves, that thrives amidst change and obeys amidst doubt. I want a faith that engages both my heart and my head, a faith that operates out of love, not fear, a faith that leaps when it needs to and crawls when it has to. I want the kind of faith that moves mountains precisely because it is small: small enough to need, small enough grow, small enough to surrender to a God that is much bigger than it will ever be. I don’t want an easy faith.”

Nor do I … Alan

http://rachelheldevans.com/easy-faith

Quotes by the Dalai Lama …

In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess.

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.

When you think everything is someone’s else’s fault you will suffer a lot. When you realise that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.

If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not able of developing compassion for others.

Through violence you may ‘solve’ one problem, but you sow the seeds for another.

With these words from the Dalai Lama I think we can safely say that Jesus would have given him a visa into Galilee.

Alan

My travel diary for the past week or so has been quite hectic. I started out in Port Elizabeth presenting the 2nd Barry Marshall Memorial Lecture. Some of you will remember that Barry, my friend and colleague, died two years ago while surfskiing in Algoa Bay. I spent time with Elaine and felt her pain that doesn’t go away. Oh that God’s promise of comfort may be real for her and all those who grieve. I was also again reminded how unpredictable life can be and that we should treasure each moment.

Then I went to Johannesburg, picked up a car and drove to Ladybrand through the beautiful Bethlehem and Ficksburg rock outcrops (too big to be hills yet too small to be mountains) — grateful for the reminder of God’s solidness.

From Ladybrand I drove to Maseru in Lesotho to attend the Methodist Conference and participate in the Ordination Service. The Presiding Bishop called us to join the “Revolution of Love” — and really, that is what the Gospel is all about. Which begs the question: “When last were we accused of being revolutionaries?” Or is there not enough evidence to make such an accusation?

I then returned to Johannesburg to catch a flight back to Cape Town, only to catch another flight to Port Elizabeth the next day to plan our October Indaba that will involve 250 clergy in discussion and reflection on where we believe God is calling us as a Church. As a Planning Committee we resisted the temptation to have a list of outcomes. Rather we are concentrating on the authenticity of the process by remaining truly present to all the participants — trusting that if our means are authentic so will the ends be. This is really all we can do — remain present to the present moment in grace and truth — and then be attentive and honest about what flows out of that. Anything else is a forced and manipulated agenda.  Alan