Central Methodist Mission

Tuesday morning remains of Monday afternoon death.

Friends,

On Monday afternoon I was walking through the Company Gardens. Up ahead on the left side of the path (Government Avenue) there was a blur of movement. A person had toppled over. There was no alerting cry. No gasp or yelp. In that slouching moment breath had simply left him. He had no pulse. He was dead.

Soon there was a crowd. Respectful and concerned. The cops came. A triangle area cordoned off. The anonymous person’s body was covered by a space blanket. From outside appearance it was likely the person had been living rough for some time. An unhoused person, like so many on the city streets? He was probably younger than he looked. We wondered: “Who will let who know that their son, father, husband, brother, uncle, friend had died?” We held the sadness of the public, yet loneliness of his death. I fear this winter there will be many more lonely deaths.

Later in the evening I thought of the age-old question: “If a tree falls in the forest, and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?”  Do our lives make a sound if no one hears us? Do our lives matter if we are not noticed? Do we exist if we are never seen? Don’t we sometimes say: “They walked past me like I didn’t exist.”? Unhoused people living on the streets experience this all day every day. They are literally ignored out of existence. Spoken to and not with. They are constantly told to “move on, move on”. 

To declare faith in a God who notices every fallen sparrow is to work for the restructuring of society so that everyone is seen and recognised as precious and essential. Where no one is ignored out of existence. In these days of growing suffering may we be given strength to resist the temptation, out of anxiety and discomfort, to turn our eyes away from the heartache and pain. In all our relationships and encounters with others may we listen in such a way that we affirm not only their existence, but their sacred worth.

In grace, Alan

—

Below is the extract from Etty Hillesum’s diary [An Interrupted Life] that was quoted during
last week’s sermon.

“In the darkest years of Nazi occupation and genocide, Etty Hillesum remained a celebrant of
life whose lucid intelligence, sympathy, and almost impossible gallantry were themselves a form
of inner resistance. The adult counterpart to Anne Frank, Hillesum testifies to the possibility of
awareness and compassion in the face of the most devastating challenge to one’s humanity. 
She was killed in Auschwitz in 1943 at the age of twenty-nine.” (Quote from book cover.)

Sunday Morning Prayer

“Dear God, these are anxious times. Tonight for the first time I lay in the dark with burning eyes as scene after scene of human suffering passed before me.

I shall promise You one thing, God, just one very small thing: I shall never burden my today with cares about my tomorrow, although that takes some practice. Each day is sufficient unto itself. I shall try to help You, God, to stop my strength ebbing away, though I cannot vouch for it in advance. But one thing is becoming increasingly clear to me: that You cannot help us, that we must help You to help ourselves. And that is all we can manage these days and also all that really matters: that we safeguard that little piece of You, God, in ourselves. And perhaps in others as well. Alas, there doesn’t seem to be much You Yourself can do about our circumstances, about our lives.

Neither do I hold You responsible. You cannot help us but we must help You defend Your dwelling place inside us to the last. There are, it is true, some who, even at this late stage, are putting their vacuum cleaners and silver forks and spoons in safe keeping instead of guarding You, dear God. And there are those who want to put their bodies in safe keeping but who are nothing more now than a shelter for a thousand fears and bitter feelings. And they say, “I shan’t let them get me into their clutches”. But they forget that no one is in their clutches who is in Your arms.

I am beginning to feel a little more peaceful, God, thanks to this conversation with You. I shall have many more conversations with You.

You are sure to go through lean times with me now and then, when my faith weakens a little, but believe me, I shall always labour for You and remain faithful to You and I shall never drive You from my presence”.

Masha Moskaleva

Friends,

The first two lessons in Timothy Snyder’s best-selling book: On Tyranny – Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century read:

1. “DO NOT OBEY IN ADVANCE.
   Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”
2. “DEFEND INSTITUTIONS.
   It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. They fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning. So, choose an institution you care about – a court, a newspaper, a law, a labour union – and take its side. “

I highly recommend the full reading of Snyder’s book. South Africa and the world-over need reminding.

Regarding Lesson 2: On Tyranny

I wrote a while ago warning how the Constitution of SA was being used as a scapegoat to cover for the governing party’s failings. The truth is the Constitution has not failed us. We have failed the Constitution. Going forward, it will need attentive defending. Similarly, just this past week the government embarrassingly resigned, then retracted its resignation, from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Again, scapegoating the ICC to cover its own desire not to be held accountable by it. SA’s participation in the ICC requires defending.

Regarding Lesson 1: On Tyranny

A recent example concerns the Russian school girl Masha Moskaleva. She was 12 years at the time when she drew a Ukrainian flag in April last year with the words “Glory to Ukraine”, rockets and a Russian flag with the phrase “No to war!”

As missiles fly in from the direction of Russia, a mother and her child stand defiantly in their path.

Her teacher informed the school director, who then informed the authorities about Masha’s schoolwork. The police were called and her father, Alexey Moskaleva, was put under watch for “poor parenting”. Alexey Moskaleva, who was raising Masha alone, was given a two-year prison sentence in absentia on 28 March for discrediting the army. The authorities say he fled from house arrest the night before he was due to appear.

Yelena Tarbayeva, an activist present outside the court, was arrested for holding a placard with a version of Masha’s drawing and the words “Putin eats children”. Masha is now with her estranged mother.

A regime that is afraid of a child’s drawing is a clear definition of a tyrannical regime. Notice how the teacher and the school director “obeyed in advance”. They broke Lesson 1 on Tyranny.

Today we reflect on the beloved 23^rd Psalm – The Lord’s My Shepherd. If for a moment we release this psalm from its funeral home and hear it speak from its original context, we will hear it bravely honouring Snyder’s Lessons 1 and 2. We will hear a psalm against tyranny.

In grace,
Alan