Wilhelm's space

Today’s “Draw” (Losung) from Scripture: “Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land” (Hos 4:1 ESV) and the teaching text (Lehrtext) associated to that by Herrenhut: “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!‘” (Luk 18:13 ESV)

7 May 2012 Sermon on Eph.5,8-14 (Matins)

“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things.” (Ps.98,1) That is the theme in the Christian church since Easter. For two thousand years, that’s been the new song. No longer the old song of death and dying, of darkness and sin, but rather of life, of salvation and eternity, made possible through Jesus Christ, the firstborn of the new creation.

This life has enlightened us. We too are in this light, because Jesus Christ has come into our lives. Nothing is as it was before. Everything is new now. My dear friends, contrast between old and new, between life and death, between those things which are of the past and those things which are of the present, they determine our perception and also our hope, yes, our whole existence. It is a perspective given to us from God’s judgement. We are told that the life with God is completely separated from that without Him. There is no middle ground. It is an either/or situation. These are alternatives, life or death. You can’t be half dead or half alive. It’s either/or.

For us, however, we have shades of grey in our perception because of our poor eyesight, we don’t see clearly, we see as if through a tainted glass. And it is not that we see Jesus Christ, the Son of righteousness, in all his clarity. No, we hear his voice, we sing his praises, but we don’t see Him clearly as He is. That is why St. Paul has to encourage us: “Now live as people of the light.” Find out what pleases the Lord, don’t just strive to go your own way, because it is very easy to lose track, to get lost and fall back into darkness. It is a constant threat to those who are standing, that they too may fall.

The big and marvelous deeds of God always show us a very clear departure from the old to the new. Just think of the liberation from Egypt. No longer under the power of Pharaoh, but rather, free to go into the Promised Land. We know it took more than forty years through the desert, and many times in that time, the people were distracted from the goal of the promised land. They were afraid to go in there, they were longing to go back because they had forgotten what it was. And that is a good description of our existence as Christians. You are baptized, you are a new creation, you are now in Christ. He has covered you with his garments of righteousness. Forget the old, and stretch out to the new which He has opened up to you: the promised land, unity with the family of God.

Jesus says, “Whoever is not for me, is against me. Whoever does not gather with me, scatters.” Yes, he discards, he is lost. This language is one of alternatives and not of both. Turning decidedly to the new and leaving the old behind. We struggle with that. Already called saints, and still fighting with our sin. Already saved, and not yet visible to be seen as what we are, namely one with God in Christ, reborn, enlightened, yes, that is our status thanks to Christ’s doing to us, through his Holy Spirit.

These words are ambiguous, because we sometimes think that it is our own mind that has become so enlightened so that we think for ourselves, like Emmanuel Kant said. “Be brave, think for yourself, stand on your own feet.” And even with rebirth, renaissance, is tainted. Should the spirit of the Greeks come back to us, or the spirit of Africa? No, it is the spirit of Jesus Christ. He the one who is the true light and the only way to the Father. That is the rebirth which has taken hold of you to make you a new creation, so that you can say goodbye to the old ways, to the futile ways, and dedicate yourself wholeheartedly to those ways of Jesus Christ.

It is the calling in which we stand, bearing the yoke of Christ, which is light and not heavy, a yoke which is not disappointing, but rather making our heart content, for Jesus says “Come to me all of you who are tired and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Yesterday’s gospel) And we have come to that grace, close to the fresh waters, and also to the green pastures, where our soul is invigorated, enlivened, and empowered to sing the new song for Him who has done marvelous deeds. That even as we travel through Death’s dark vale, we fear no evil, because He is now with us.

That is the new part of the story. We are no longer alone, but Jesus is with us. His light shines the way, even there where I don’t know where it’s going, I trust His guidance. He takes me by the hand and leads the way to go where He wants me to be. Yes, and when the going really gets so tough that I can’t keep going, he picks me up and carries me home. He does that: “Oh sweet chariot coming to carry me home…” We praise Him, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

And the peace of our Lord which passes all understanding, bless and keep you now and forever in Christ Jesus, the Light of the World. + Amen.

“Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!” (Ps.98,1) This is tomorrow’s watchword – and sure enough, we have all reason to sing God’s praises every day anew. If St. Paul and his companion Silas could sing in the dungeon of Philippi (Acts 16,23-34) – as we hear in tomorrow’s sermon – how much more reason do we have to be grateful and rejoicing? Did he not conquer sin, death and devil by his victorious crucifixion, burial, death and resurrection on Good Friday and Easter for all humanity? Even if some still won’t recognize this, God has given his grace to many that they together with babes, infants and little children sing his praises day in day out – because his “yoke is easy, and his burden is light” (Mt.11,30) as is proclaimed in tomorrow’s gospel. Yes, we have no reason to complain, but rather to be grateful and rejoice in Jesus name.

Tomorrows order of service is again made available with the courtesy of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation (LHF). Read also the sermon in isiZulu for this Sunday on Acts 16,23-34 by missionary Peter Weber (Ohlangeni Lutheran Church, KZN): wz1225120506 Kantate and also in seTswana thanks to the translation of Rev. E.A.W.Weber DD: Wt1225120506 Kantate

While dean Danisa and members of the diocesan council are attending to urgent matters at the Lutheran Church of Naledi, I will be preaching at the Lutheran Church of Mabopane, where the pastor has just handed in his resignation. Please pray for us as we are going about this needful work in these congregations and trying to remember and fight all tribulation and anxiety with God’s gospel: “Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!” (Ps.98,1)

The quest goes on and also the task to translate the gospel into the African context faithfully. Here a posting from ENInews about efforts in this matter:

Theologian sees links between Christianity and African traditional religion Nairobi, Kenya (ENInews)–When a missionary asked Africans in Zanzibar to tell him something about their God, they simply said, “God thunders!” The cleric had travelled across the seas in the 19th century to tell “the heathens without religion” or “people with a primitive religion” about God. The missionaries succeeded in spreading Christianity in Africa at a time when tribal religions were ignored or denigrated. However, a new version of the book “Concepts of God in Africa” (which relates the scene described above) says Christianity was actually helped by some aspects of traditional religion. [556 words, ENI-12-0258]

Dear friends of the Lutheran Church and its mission in Southern Africa: Thanks to Michael and Danielle Grosse from Gunnison, Colorado you can get a first-hand feel for their perspectives on missions in South Africa in their latest newsletter: 2012 Grosse Mission Letter

May the good Lord of Church and Mission bless you and all of Africa +

Thanks to the Grosses in Gunnison, Colorado you can read about the orphanage project in Ntshongweni (Thekweni in KZN): African Orphans project.

Thank you for your support and ongoing intercession for the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa – especially where it is suffering and in dire straits. God bless you and Africa +++

FREEDOM DAY

Statement by the F W de Klerk Foundation

The 18th anniversary of our first universal democratic election on 27 April 1994 should be occasion for celebration. This year, the appropriate response should be introspection. At no time since 1994 has there been more reason for concern regarding the future of our constitutional democracy.

On 5 March the ANC announced its intention of dispensing with some of the elements of the historic constitutional accord on which our nonracial democracy was founded – and upon which our future national unity depends. It said that the historic constitutional agreements that we reached during the negotiations between 1990 and 1994 were no more than a  ‘first transition’.  It said that this first transition embodied a framework and a national consensus that may have been appropriate for political emancipation, a political transition, but has proven inadequate and inappropriate for our social and economic transformation phase.”

Evidently, former President Nelson Mandela did not regard our 1996 Constitution as a transitory document. On 8 May 1996, after the adoption of the new constitution, he said that its founding principles were “immutable”.  He described the Constitution as “our national soul, our compact with one another as citizens, underpinned by our highest aspirations and our deepest apprehensions”. He also pledged “Never and never again shall the laws of our land rend our people apart or legalise their oppression and repression.”

There are also disturbing indications that the government is thinking about limiting the powers of the courts to review the constitutionality of legislation and executive conduct. On 8 July, 2011 President Zuma warned, “the powers conferred on the courts cannot be superior to the powers resulting from the political and consequently administrative mandate resulting from popular democratic elections”.
He added that the government’s political opponents should not be able to subvert the popularly elected government by using the courts to “co-govern the country”.   He later stated baldly that the government wanted to review the powers of the Constitutional Court.

The clear intention is to limit or remove the power of the courts to review legislation and executive conduct.  In an article on 16 April Adv Ramathlodi, the Deputy Minister of Correctional Services and member of the Judicial Service Commission, wrote that “judicial incursion into other spheres (of government) should happen only in exceptional and limited cases – if at all.”

The simple reality is that if the courts lose their power of review, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights will be reduced to impotent pieces of paper with no role in limiting the power of the executive and of the majority in Parliament. We will no longer be a constitutional democracy subject to the rule of law.

We should also be deeply concerned about the erosion of the role and independence of key institutions, such as the National Prosecuting Authority and the Judicial Service Commission.

Government has consistently interfered with the independence of the NPA. It dismissed Adv Vusi Pikoli because he disobeyed presidential orders to drop charges against former police commissioner Jackie Selebi. The Constitutional Court subsequently set Adv Menzi Simelane’s appointment as the head of the NPA aside because he was not a fit and proper person. More recently, there have been persistent and apparently well-founded allegations of high-level political interference in the NPA’s decision to drop fraud and murder charges against General Richard Mdluli, the Head of the Police’s Crime Intelligence Division.

There is growing concern over the poliiticisation of the Judicial Service Commission. Critics charge that the JSC concentrates excessively on the race and political orientation of judicial candidates – and not enough on whether they are fit and proper people with sufficient experience and unquestionable integrity.

The media, civil society and COSATU are worried that the Protection of State Information Bill will drastically limit public access to government information on mismanagement and corruption.  They fear that it could have a chilling effect on the freedom of expression and investigative journalism.

There are other reasons for introspection.

•We have failed to make progress in promoting equality in our society.
•We have failed to provide the vast majority of our children with decent education.
•More than 35% of our people are unemployed – including more than 70% of our youth.

However, our failure to make progress in these critical areas is not the fault of our Constitution. There is nothing in the Constitution that stands in the way of achieving success  with social and economic transformation. The problem lies in inappropriate policies and ineffective delivery – and not in any basic defect in the Constitution

Faced with these looming challenges, our reaction should not be one of despondency or despair. During the last 25 years we South Africans have been in far worse situations and have shown our ability to find solutions to the most serious challenges.

Our reaction should instead be to recommit ourselves to the values and the vision in our excellent Constitution.  We should redouble our efforts to build a society based on human dignity, the achievement of equality and the enjoyment of human rights and freedoms. We should insist on non-racialism and non-sexism. We should do everything we can to preserve our multiparty system of government based on accountability, responsiveness and openness.

And most importantly, we should ensure that the Constitution will remain supreme and that everyone in our society – including government – will continue to be subject to the rule of law.

Cape Town
26 April 2012

The Evangelical Lutheran Mission (ELM/Hermannsburg) wrote the following about Bishop Rapoo’s death this month: 
“Am 11. April ist der frühere leitende Bischof der 1975 gegründeten Evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche im Südlichen Afrika (ELCSA), Daniel Porogo Rapoo, im Alter von 93 Jahren in Tlhabane/Rustenburg (Südafrika) gestorben.

Im Namen des Ev.-luth. Missionswerks in Niedersachsen (ELM) und den Bischöfen Ralf Meister, Prof. Dr. Friedrich Weber, Dr. Karl-Hinrich Manzke seiner drei lutherischen Trägerkirchen Hannovers, Braunschweig und Schaumburg-Lippe, übermittelte ELM-Direktorin Martina Helmer-Pham Xuan seiner Familie und der ELCSA deren Mitgefühl. Darin würdigte sie das Leben und Wirken Rapoos als „ein besonderes Geschenk für unsere christliche Gemeinschaft“. „Dafür sind wir dankbar, für all den Segen, den wir durch Bischof Rapoos Wirken erfahren konnten“, so Helmer-Pham Xuan.

„In seinem Wirken und in seinem Leben erinnerte Bischof Rapoo uns daran, dass wir im Leben und im Tod zu Gott gehören, dessen Liebe stärker ist als der Tod. Im Verbund mit Bischof Rapoo haben wir verstanden, dass unsere christliche Hoffnung ein rastloser Protest gegen den Tod ist“, schreibt die ELM-Direktorin. Dies sei nicht nur persönliche   Überzeugung Bischof Rapoos gewesen, sondern habe auch konkret Gestalt gefunden durch ein vorbildliches Leben in der Gemeinschaft, die durch seine Verkündigung und sein gelebtes Evangelium während seiner langen Jahre im Dienste der Kirche geprägt gewesen sei. „In der Zeit der Trauer wissen wir, dass wahre menschliche Erfüllung nur jenseits dieses Lebens geschieht“, so Martina Helmer-Pham Xuan. Sie grüßte die Trauergemeinde mit den Worten des Apostels Paulus aus Römer 14, 7-9:„Keiner von uns lebt sich selber, und keiner stirbt sich selber: Leben wir, so leben wir dem Herrn. Ob wir leben oder ob wir sterben, wir gehören dem Herrn. Denn Christus ist gestorben und lebendig geworden, um Herr zu sein über Tote und Lebende.“

Geboren am 14. März 1919, begann er seine berufliche Laufbahn als Privatlehrer, folgte später aber dem inneren Ruf Pastor zu werden. Nach seinem Theologiestudium an der Hochschule Bethel wurde er 1949 zum Pastor ordiniert.

Es folgte sein erster Pfarrdienst in der Gemeinde Borobalong (Wolmaransstad). 1959 wurde Rapoo zum Präsident der ELCSA (Tswana Region) gewählt (später zum Bischof der aus ihr entstandenen Westdiözese der ELCSA) – einer der vier lutherischen Regionalkirchen, die zu den Gründungskirchen der ELCSA gehörte, der er von 1980 bis zu seinem Ruhestand 1986 als leitender Bischof vorstand. Bischof Rapoo gehörte zu den regionalen Kirchenführern, die sich für die Vereinigung der lutherischen Kirchen im südlichen Afrika eingesetzt hatten.

Im Jahr seines Dienstendes erkrankte Rapoo schwer und war zunehmend auf die Hilfe seiner Frau Johanna Augustina Motshelanoka angewiesen war, bis auch sie schwer erkrankte und 2003 nach fast 55-jähriger Ehe starb. Seitdem wurde er von seinem jüngsten Sohn Daniel Happy Ralentswe betreut.

Bischof Daniel Porogo Rapoo hinterlässt drei noch lebende von fünf Kindern, neun Enkel und fünf Urenkel.”

Well, whether you’re in Ghana, Botswana or in Tanzania, in Germany or even in Brazil – you’ll be able to find the Lutheran Church – and brass bands too. Read more about this history in an overview by Reinhard Lassek readable in “Zeitzeichen” 2 (2012) ???: Zeitzeichen – Posaunenchöre