My dear People of God
I write to you as having just
landed from the Holy Land and packing our suitcases to travel on to
The words of the Psalmist to ‘Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem’, touched me afresh as I saw, listened and heard the longing for peace from those I met, including both Israeli and Palestinian soldiers.
Travelling
from Southern Africa, while political trauma and uncertainty still prevails in
I have been reminded that we should expect to find Jesus present and active in the places of greatest human struggle – whether political or theological, or in any other area of life. In the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God shows us the truth, the measure by which humanity ought to live, in the difficult and complex situations in which we so often find ourselves. Yet his desire is not to condemn us for falling short of his standards, but to come along side us and reconcile us to himself, so that, by his grace, dependent on him, we can come to a growing understanding of, and be increasingly conformed to, his pattern, his attitudes, his words and deeds in all we do (see John 3:16-17, Rom 12,2).
Once more I return to a phrase from my Installation Charge: ‘we seek afresh to discover what it is to be the body of Christ in our time, and who God is in Jesus Christ, for us here and now’ – for us in Southern Africa, in the Holy Land, in the Anglican Communion. The only way to answer that question is through opening ourselves more fully to experience Jesus as Emmanuel. Through making worship, private prayer and diligent study of the scriptures increasingly central to our lives, Jesus will become more central, and we will grow in our relationship with him.
The recent meeting of the
‘Global Anglican Future Conference’ in Jerusalem is therefore right
to challenge the Anglican Communion to ensure that, in the many and various cultures
of our world, we remain faithful to our Lord and Saviour
above all else. It is equally right that we begin the Lambeth
Conference in retreat – where, away from the eyes of the media and the
watching world, we can concentrate on listening to God together. And
then, once the Conference and the Spouses’ Conference begin in earnest,
worship and bible-study provide the grounding of each day. As I mentioned
in my previous ad
You will also find there the
details of the programme we will pursue over the
following two weeks or so (and be able to follow the news from the
Conference). Under the overarching twin themes of faithful, authentic,
Anglican identity and of equipping bishops as leaders in mission, our daily
topics range from evangelism and social injustice to the environment, and our
relationships with other churches and other faiths. We also have a day in
It is right that we should do this at the end, not the beginning, of the Conference. This too is a lesson of Jesus’ incarnation. It is by being with us, building a relationship with us, that Jesus transforms our lives, giving us courage and grace to turn away from all that holds us back from greater Christ-likeness, and to turn ever more towards him. My prayer is that our relationship with Jesus will grow in strength and depth through the Conference – not only the relationship of each individual, but our common relationship with him, as Anglican leaders and members together of the body of Christ – so that we become not only increasingly reconciled to him, but also to each other.
We should never forget that
salvation lies not in following laws, or rules and
regulations, but in our relationship with Jesus as Lord and Saviour,
the God who is Love in human form. In the same way, relationship, love,
respect, faithfulness and trust should be the essence of how we relate to one
another within the
Grace, faith, friendship, and the
bonds of affection between brothers and sisters in Christ – the care we
have for one another within our parish and diocesan families – was
something in which I was privileged to share last month, at the Umtata Diocesan
Family Day in Indutywa. Ordinary men and women,
in the dusty village streets of one of
To sum up - wherever there is
turmoil, expect God to be working for reconciliation (2 Cor
5). Pray for the peace of the
What then for the Anglican
Communion, where some claim schism is already at our door? I remain
optimistic founded on the sure hope, even Jesus Christ. True, some
bishops are staying away from the Lambeth Conference,
but far fewer than the third who boycotted the very
first Conference in 1867. Ironically, that was called as a result of
North American bishops’ concerns at what they feared was cultural
syncretism within Africa, not least in the teaching of Bishop Colenso of
Both cases return us to the fundamental question of what it means to be faithful to God, loving him and loving neighbour as Christ calls us to do, within the context with which we find ourselves, whether nineteenth century Africa or twenty-first century America. The answer is the same as it has always been – through prayer and Bible study to develop a living relationship with Jesus our Lord and Saviour, who desires to reconcile us to himself.
So do not be daunted by our struggles, because it is in the midst of them that we will find Jesus most present, and find hope for the future. For we know, to use the words of a famous hymn, that it is grace that has brought us safe thus far - and grace will lead us home.
Yours in the service of Christ
+Thabo Cape Town