September 2010 - Journeying with Jesus

Dear Friends

Journeying with Jesus

The Christian life is a call to journey with Jesus. Over the last ten weeks our Sunday readings from Luke’s Gospel have given us an insight into an important aspect of this journey, primarily that as disciples of Christ we are called to proclaim to the people we meet that the Kingdom of God is upon us. “Proclamation” is more than just an announcement: it is to live out a message. This means that our actions and attitudes are more important than our words; and that our relationship with God is visible even in the hidden moments of our lives: a somewhat daunting thought!

What is the “Kingdom of God”? None of the Gospel writers, including Luke, give us a clear, unequivocal description. Instead they portray Jesus as the visible sign of the Kingdom, and through his life – particularly in his interaction with others – we are afforded glimpses of what the Kingdom is. We begin to see that the Kingdom is about love-filled relationships that build justice and true hope in our world. The Kingdom is created through relationships that value love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (An Anglican Prayer Book 1989, pg 144). By incorporating these values into our relationships our lives become glimpses of the Kingdom both for ourselves and for others. This journey with Jesus is one of continual discovery.

What does our journey with Jesus mean for the various other journeys we are on with ourselves and also with others? Jesus’ comment in Luke 9:62, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (TNIV) makes us fear that we will have to leave these other journeys behind. Journeys that conflict with the values of the Kingdom need to be abandoned. However, many – if not most – of our journeys are complementary, and if we are committed and available to Jesus, God draws the journeys of our life together, interweaving them with the Kingdom journey that we are called to.

Too often we forget to make our Kingdom journey the priory of our lives, and we find ourselves pulled in conflicting directions. Rather than this being a conflict in values, it is a conflict of priority. As we increasingly permit our journey with Jesus to become the umbrella under which all our other journeys are allowed to shelter, we will gradually discover over time that the various journeys of our lives are redirected and are progressively guided by our Kingdom journey. The question always is, “How?”

We need to make time to reflect upon our lives, review our priorities, allow the Spirit of God to transform us. This is the call of Christian Stewardship: a call to review our relationship with God, and to reflect upon how we give leadership to our time, our gifting and talents, to our treasure. Our use of time says a great deal about our priorities; the manner in which we deal with our relationships and utilise our belongings says a great deal about our values; our approach to life says a great deal about our relationship with our Creator, Restorer and Sustainer.

Where are you in your journey with Jesus?

                Blessings

                                Mark

October 2008

Dear Friends,

Challenging Times

I spent ten days in the Richtersveld this month, followed by the Men’s Fly-Fishing weekend in Belfast. In this brief time our political landscape has changed dramatically, and I have returned to civilisation to find ourselves in a new phase of political transition. The rights and wrongs of the recent actions of the ANC in recalling President Thabo Mbeki from the Presidency can be debated, but the reality is that we are moving into a transition phase that will only find some resolution after a national election is called early next year.

During times of transition, complexity, confusion and uncertainty, we need to remind ourselves of our role as Christians within the broader society. Firstly and foremostly, we need remember our first loyalty is to God through Jesus Christ, that our confidence and security is in God and not in the material world around us. Secondly, that we are ambassadors for Christ in the World, and therefore need to allow our Christian values—not our very real human fears—to dictate our words and our actions: we are called to be symbols of hope in the midst of uncertainty. Thirdly, we are called to be people of prayer and instruments for God’s divine intervention in our society: our words and actions should at all times flow out of our daily times of prayer and devotion.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13:13 (TNIV) says, “… these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” He comments on the nature of love, “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:7; TNIV). In these uncertain times let LOVE be our watchword.

The Richtersveld

I spent a wonderful ten days in the Richtersveld with my father-in-law during September. We were with a group of nine vehicles (eighteen of us plus four young children), and spent a great deal of time driving. We entered through Namibia and spent a night under the most massive cliff I have ever seen on the Manchab River Eco Trail. The Richtersveld itself required regular use of 4x4 (I am definitely “shaken, not stirred”) and some “hairy” moments on some very steep and rocky passes. The scenery was enchanting, and so different. One valley would be incredibly lush, and half a kilometre further the next valley quite desolate. Bare mountains, on closer inspection, were full of life, and the most amazing variety of plants survive in gravel. Klipspringer, Dassies and Ground Squirrels were in abundance, and birds—while few—were all new to me. Two of our camps were on the banks of the Orange River, and one high in the mountains. Some intrepid fishermen managed to haul out a Yellow Fish and Cat Fish were in abundance. We covered over 3,500km in the ten days (500km in the Park), set up camp too many times, but nonetheless it was a truly marvellous experience.

Synod 2008

Next time I write we will be on the other side of our Diocesan Synod. Looking through the Agenda Book there are some interesting topics up for debate, and Synod promises to be a productive time. Please keep this time (2-4 October) in your prayers and thoughts.

I look forward to seeing you all at the Diocesan Family Day service on Sunday 5 October 2008, where we will also be celebrating Bishop Jo’s 10th Anniversary as Bishop of Pretoria.

Blessings
Mark

May 2007

Dear Friends

Who are we?

A basic human question people have asked throughout the ages is, “Who am I?” There remain many answers, but one that continues to hold my attention is an answer that affirms my existence in the context of relationship. It is an answer that emerges from our African context, one that makes me proud to call myself African: “I am because of others.” This is a powerful statement of community, of belonging, as it speaks to my humanness and to my value as a person.

However, beyond our humanness we need to explore our spirituality, who we are in God. This is an exploration of our core, that part of our existence around which everything else revolves: our essence, our spirit. Our spirituality is partly defined by worship: the way we address God; the manner in which we acknowledge and respond to God; the environment within which we discover God.

The Church seeks to provide a context for such discovery. Too often we approach our faith – our worship, our relationship with God – from the perspective of what we can gain from such encounter, hoping for some cure-all that will magically and instantly make us whole people. When this does not happen we walk away despondent and unfulfilled, often angry. What is it that we are missing?

A beginning of an answer is that we are often overly “I” focused. It is in focusing beyond ourselves that we begin an adventure in faith; it is in immersing ourselves in a spirituality that draws us out, that stretches us, that makes us uncomfortable with being comfortable, that introduces us to God; it is in sharing the adventure and the moments of discovery; it is drawing alongside other people who will mentor us, and whom we can mentor, that the journey of faith gains meaning. Christian spirituality calls us to discipleship, and to make disciples. We are called to give before we receive, and to receive through our giving: in serving we are served; in caring we are cared for; in healing we are healed.

Traditional?

Our parish “Statement of Purpose” declares that at Corpus Christi we are traditional Anglicans. What do we mean by the word traditional? There are numerous legitimate ways to interpret this word: what it does mean for us? Sadly, in the wider Church context, traditionalism has become synonymous with maintenance and a refusal to accept new ways of doing things (e.g. the Ordination of Women). At Corpus Christi we need to beware this danger, and in order to do so we need to explore our interpretation of the concept.

I suspect that at the core what is important to us at Corpus Christi is that we do not lose the sacramental rituals that are richly filled with symbolic meaning. We fear that new innovations, new ways of doing things, will dilute our sacramental heritage; and so we are tempted to cling to those things that we associate with our past experience, such as classical hymnology. However, Christian praxis evolves and we need to recognise that much of what we consider core is just dressing. An Anglican Prayer Book 1989 is very different in perspective from the older South African Book of Common Prayer, and yet it is recognisably based on our earliest Anglican prayer books: Cranmer’s liturgical innovations of the 16th century.

In preparing and experiencing our Lent Course this year I was struck that in terms of the new social paradigm (referred to by some as “post-Christian”, “post-Modern”) – essentially defined by the attitude “anything goes” – that it is sacramental tradition and its complex symbolic imagery that has the power to reach our post-Modern society. However, we need to dress it differently: we need to liberate ourselves of the stuffy image mainline denominations are perceived to carry; we need to discover a greater flexibility in order to be relevant to a new generation who consciously avoid institutionalised religion. This is the challenge on which our future existence as Anglicans hinges.

Vision?

In our March Council meeting it was agreed that we (Corpus Christi’ians) are content with our values, our sense of purpose (as defined in our Statement of Purpose), and that this gives us a foundation on which to build. What we now need to develop is what Jim Collins in his book Built to Last refers to as a “Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal”: something that will draw us into the future with expectancy and enthusiasm. Twenty-five years ago building a parish on the eastern border of Pretoria was such a goal. We now need to develop a new Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal (a BHAG) that will guide our purpose for the next ten to twenty years. What is God calling us to? What is the vision God is setting before us? We need to seek God for our direction.

When we seek God, we are essentially asking him to lead us. Joan Chittester in her book The Rule of Benedict: Insight for the Ages says, “The function of leadership is to call us beyond ourselves, to stretch us to our limits, to turn the clay into breathless beauty.” She goes on to say, “But first, of course, we have to allow it to happen” (pg 174). The question must then be: are we willing for God to lead us in directions we may not yet have contemplated, may not be entirely comfortable with? In this regard our comfort zones are often defined by our own limited sense of who we are, and the challenge is to be open to seeing ourselves as God sees us. Chittester says, “The reality is that we are often incapable of assessing our own limits, our real talents, our true strength, our necessary ordeals” (pg 173).

Special Vestry

As a first step we will be holding a special Vestry Meeting on Sunday 13 May 2007 after the 9am Eucharist. We will consider our building – the place we meet to worship (the word “Church” actually refers to the people of God, not the building). It needs urgent maintenance, and this becomes an opportunity to increase its size. The building may sound a strange place to start seeking God’s direction, but it is the one constant in our Christian community life: it is our gathering place; it is the place from which we are sent, Sunday by Sunday, back into the world to serve God and humanity.

Thank you!

A big thank you to you all for the generous Easter gifts I received. Your care and love is much appreciated.

Blessings

Mark

April 2007

Dear Friends

Church Growth

I attended a two day Church Growth seminar last week. Substantial input was given by Eddie Gibbs, presently outgoing professor of Church Growth at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California. Eddie has been an Anglican Priest for over 44 years (longer than I have been alive!) and spoke with great excitement for where the Church finds itself today. There are many challenges as the “landscape” has changed as society moves into a post-modern and increasingly post-Christian mode. Two key characteristics of church ministry in this emerging paradigm are that the context is increasingly multi-cultural and mission becomes increasingly effective when it has an ecumenical base. This, however, requires that we become more centred and aware of our own denominational and faith base, and become more radical within our own denominational environment. I asked Eddie Gibbs how he would define a “Radical Anglicanism” – his reply:

By “radical” I mean someone who is living in conformity with the radical message of Jesus – i.e. The Gospel of the Kingdom. This is helpfully and fully spelt out by Bp. N.T. Wright, bishop of Durham in a series of books on Jesus. I hope this helps.

Our Lent course, for the few who attended, has been helpful in this regard by helping us to understand the breadth of Christian Spirituality, both in giving us clearer understanding of those aspects that shape our more traditional Anglican outlook and in giving us a better understanding of what shapes Christians in other denominational environments. It is important that we develop confidence in who we are as Christians and as Anglicans.

Values, Morality and Ethics

As I write this I am attending our Diocesan Clergy School, hosted and directed by UNISA. We have had some outstanding input from various high-calibre academics, including our Anglican sub-Dean Prof. Barney Pityana (also vice-Chancellor of UNISA). We have been exploring what the church’s role is in helping our society rebuild its value base, while exploring the diversity of our call in dealing with the various moral challenges all South Africans face, asking how we reclaim our prophetic voice. Again, the importance of good ecumenical relationships has been raised so that the church speaks with “one voice”, rather than with a fragmented denominationalism. There is a call to re-explore the message of Jesus, to regain a radical commitment to the Kingdom of God as put forward by Jesus, and as experienced in the early church, to be relational rather than legalistic in our interpretation both of Scripture and Tradition.

We have been reminded that poverty should remain one of the church’s main preoccupations, that an “option for the poor” is preferential and not exclusive (i.e. not an “option against the rich”), and that transforming the plight of the poor includes the transformation of the wealthy. Sadly, excessive accumulation of monetary and material wealth is mostly at the expense of the poor. We were asked, “Is inequality ordained by God?” because our lifestyles as Christian people often suggest that it is! Interestingly, while the USA Constitution enshrines “Freedom” as an inalienable human right, our South African Constitution enshrines “Equality”.

In considering the value-crisis in our society within the context of our Constitution and our Constitutional Democracy, we have been asked as Church to consider three important questions:

What is it that undermines our Christian values in the communities in which we live?

How do we “hold the centre” as a faith community, individually and collectively?

How do we become effective moral agents?

The crisis we face, both as Christians and as South Africans, is that our Constitutional Democracy is deliberately misinterpreted for personal (and financial?) gain. Twelve years into our new democratic society there is no consensus or collective commitment to definitive values, even though key values are enshrined in the preamble to the Constitution that include human dignity, human rights and social justice. In South Africa the centre is falling apart as we as a struggle to maintain the consensus gained in 1994, and this is visible in the corruption, crime and other indicators of moral collapse. As Church, we need to exercise authority in bringing people back to the values of the Gospel and values as defined in the Constitution.

Do we have the courage, as Christians and as Anglicans, to regain our prophetic voice?

Blessings
Mark