Refreshing lives, transforming faith, at the heart of the community Haere Mai, Piki Mai
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A Sermon by Dean Charles Tyrrell
Nelson Cathedral
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Today is the final Sunday of this Easter season. Having said that, Easter must go on, it has to gone, for in the seeds of Easter are
planted the only hope for a dying world. So, on Thursday next which is Ascension Day, even though the paschal candle, the Easter
candle, will be processed out of the Cathedral at the end of the early evening service, we will continue to declare that "Christ is risen! He
is risen indeed. Alleluia!"
We only need to take a look at the world scene to see how urgently the message of Easter is required. Today we are thinking especially
about Zimbabwe. The nation of Zimbabwe has hardly been out of the news in recent years. This nation of more than 13 million people in the
southern part of the great continent of Africa, has had a turbulent history. I well remember the outrage in England when back in 1965 the then
white prime minister, Ian Smith, declared independence from England and the Commonwealth and established a republic, along the lines
of South Africa. This so called act of rebellion only came to an end in 1980 when after a bitter civil war Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF organization
won through and he was appointed as prime minister.
At the time, Robert Mugabe was hailed as a true victor, a liberator and saviour of the country. The people had taken control of their land from
the white minority and the world sighed a sigh of relief.
The first signs that were to lead to today's worrying situation began to show up as early as 1987 when Mugabe's government amended the
constitution and by 1 January 1988 had replaced the duly elected president, abolished the office of prime minister and elected Robert Mugabe
as an executive president with totaletarian powers. The seeds of despotism were beginning to sprout, seeds which have grown up to the full
fruition of dictatorship today.
At the centre of all this are the people of this great land. God's people, our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Anglican Church has been
strong in Zimbabwe but in recent years has suffered trials under the leadership of a corrupt bishop. That bishop was deposed and has been
replaced by a godly man. So changes can take place and this must be an encouragement to those concerned with the present political leadership.
Only three days ago, I received a message from the Lambeth Palace news service which demonstrates how seriously these things are
being taken. The message began,
"The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have issued a joint statement this morning concerning the deteriorating situation of
ordinary people in Zimbabwe calling for "a civil society movement that gives voice to those who demand an end to the mayhem
that grows out of injustice, poverty, exclusion and violence".
The archbishops warned everyone when they said,
"Without action from the international community, continuing political violence and drift could unleash spiralling communal violence,
as has been seen elsewhere in the Continent where early warning systems or the international community failed to act in time."
That's heavy stuff. Yet, what are we doing about it? What can we do about the situation? Are we forced to sit on the sidelines while this
nation is abused by its dictator? Women, children and men are going without the basic essentials of life while the despotic leader and
his cronies feather their nests and plan what to do with all the money they have stashed away in Swiss bank accounts.
Well, what are we to do? The archbishops got it right when the first thing they called for was a day of prayer for Zimbabwe,
hence today. Prayer does have a powerful effect not only on personal situations but also at times of international tension. I well remember
the response of the world community during the first gulf war in the early 90's. I don't believe that it was a coincidence that when people of faith,
Jews and Muslims as well as Christians and others, combined to pray about the situation, very soon it was brought under control and the war
ended. Have we grown blasé about wars for we do seem to have forgotten to pray about current conflagrations? As English philosopher
Edmund Burke said, 'The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good [people] to do nothing.' That is so true.
The least we can do, the best we can do about Zimbabwe is to pray. Prayer brings the heart and the mind into focus and helps us to
understand the mind of Christ on any matter. Wasn't it St Paul who taught the Christians in Corinth that,
'Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else's scrutiny. 'For who has known the mind of
the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ.'
So, what is the mind of Christ in this situation? I hope that after fervent prayer for Zimbabwe we may begin to come to a common
understanding. There are certain elements that our Christian reason teaches us already. For example, the truth that God loves each
person in that land and aches for them to care selflessly for one another. The truth that violence is not the answer because violence
begets violence and in the end innocent people are bound to be hurt even more. The truth that because God doesn't loathe Robert Mugabe,
neither should we. We must remember this, though. God cannot tolerate one person's abuse of another because that destroys the whole
essence of our being. This is true whether we are talking of the abuse of one weaker person - at home, at work, at school or even, and
yes I dare to say it, in the church, where abuse has reared its ugly head all too often - or the abuse of communities or nations by tyrants.
The only comforting truth is that where there is suffering of any kind, there is God, suffering WITH the person, the unwitting victim of sin. That's
the measure of the God whom we love and serve, the God who loves and serves us in Jesus, ever present in his resurrection power.
Another thing we could do is to attempt to make contact with Anglicans in Zimbabwe to let them know that we are concerned for them and are
offering prayers to our mutual heavenly Father. I will endeavour to do this on our behalf and be privileged to do so. As some elements in our
Angican Communion are working to pull us apart just because of differences of opinion, these Christians are quietly getting on with their ministries,
sometimes dying for their faith. Pray God that as they journey through what must be for them a 'dark night of the soul', they may begin to see
the light of a new day dawning, like an Easter dawn, bringing hope and new life.
I came across this report in the Guardian newspaper at the time the new Bishop of Harare was hoping to begin his ministry. To give you a
taste of the situation there, I'll read this short extract for you.
'The new bishop of Harare, Sebastian Bakare, was installed at a ceremony in a sports centre because access to the cathedral was
blocked by heavily built men who described themselves as Kunonga's bodyguards. The police refused to act on a high court order giving
Bakare access to the church.
"The same methods used to invade the farms is the method used by Kunonga to invade our cathedral," said Bakare.
"It's very much politically driven. Political involvement is clear in the way that Kunonga (the ousted, corrupt bishop) promised to deliver the
diocese to Zanu-PF [the ruling party]. His protection from arrest is telling, even though he is defying high court orders left and right."
In contrast, the police last week did arrest the high court's deputy sheriff as he arrived with bolt-cutters to enforce a writ permitting Bakare to
hold a service in the cathedral. The police then baton-charged and detained the congregation.'
Very little news about the church has found its way out since February. You can rest assured that worship and ministry continue to go on in
this troubled land. They are to be commended highly.
Before I conclude my words this morning, I want to return to the statement from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. It reads:
'The Archbishops [also] echoed the recent concerns of Church leaders in Zimbabwe of state sponsored violence against ordinary
Zimbabweans: "Faithful men, women and young people who seek better governance in either political or church affairs continue to be
beaten, intimidated or oppressed."
Commenting on the continued delays of the announcement of results for the parliamentary and presidential elections the Archbishops
said: "The current climate of political intimidation, violence, vote rigging and delay has left the presidential election process without
credibility. Now the people of Zimbabwe are left even more vulnerable to conflict heaped upon poverty and the threat of national disintegration."
If this situation was happening in this country, there would be an outcry. Today the people of Zimbabwe are crying out but few are reacting
to their appeals to help. We cannot afford to remain silent any longer. For the sake of our sisters and brothers in Christ, we must be fervent
and unrelenting in our prayers and support the good people of Zimbabwe not to give up hope because evil cannot be allowed to prevail.
Before the risen Jesus ascended into heaven, his work complete, he promised his followers that rather leaving them comfortless, he would
send the Holy Spirit, "If you love me and keep my commands". Jesus qualified his words by saying,
"This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides
with you, and he will be in you."
May this same Spirit of Truth be allowed full reign in Zimbabwe today so that people may discern between what is truth and what is untruth.
Let us pray for Zimbabwe.
Amen.
This sermon was written and delivered by Dean Charles Tyrrell QSO at Nelson Cathedral on Sunday, 27 April 2008
