Of good shepherds and good sheep
This is the first Sunday after 1st May - a day when our nation honours workers. And it is a Sunday when our Bishop has asked us to reflect on morality in public service. Our collect speaks of the Good Shepherd - surely a model for those who hold high office in our society.
As with Christ Leaders should serve those they lead, and not themselves. Leaders should benefit those they serve, and not themselves. Leaders should be accountable to those they serve, and not themselves.
Contemporary reality in our society tells us this is not always the case. We have a President who does not see a problem with state funds being spent on his private home. Nor does he see a problem with his son doing business with the government he leads. We have an acting CEO of Eskom who sees no problem with his daughter receiving catering contracts from the company he leads to the value of R 1 billion.
Our bishop has urged us not only to look at others but also to look at ourselves.
How then can we as Christians be witnesses for Good Shepherds and indeed living witnesses of good sheep?
With regard to the Shepherds we have a prophetic duty to call our leaders to account. To account in terms of the values of our Lord. We do this not simply as politically active citizens - DA or ANC or EFF. Nor do we do this as angry or frightened members of a race group. We do this as followers of Christ. And as Christian disciples we note that in our beloved country the struggle for servant leaders is not a divide between parties, and still less a divide between races. When a black president fired his Indian finance minister prominent black politicians both within and outside his party came to the finance minister’s defence.
And if our job is to hold our politicians to account as Christians we must do so as Christ did with the high leaders of society. More in sorrow than anger and always in the hope of a prodigal son who may yet come home.
Is this easy to do? Of course not. Imagine (in an Ignaition way) that you find yourself alone with President Zuma. What would Christ want you to say to him?
How then can we Christians be good sheep? As our Bishop has reminded us we are all both workers and also masters. Do we see our work as Christ saw his work? And as masters are we the good masters of Christ’s parables? Do we honour the dignity of those who work for us? Treat them, pay them, instruct them, indeed care for them as Christ cared for his disciples?
Is this easy? Of course not. To see Christ’s kingdom in our own work, and Christ in those who work for us requires a majestic mastery of our faith.
And indeed alone, and using our own wisdom. courage and energy it is simply impossible. But we are not alone.
Gillian and I have recently returned from a pilgrimage to an extraordinary chapel designed and constructed by the French impressionist painter Henri Matisse. He devoted the last 4 years of his life to designing every aspect of this chapel for his dearest friend, a Dominican Nun.
Central to this chapel is the quality of the light that enters it through 15 magnificent windows. These windows use the shapes of the prickly pear, and the primary colours yellow, green and blue.
On our last visit I sat watching the light blend and stretch across the chapel. I noticed that when the light was refracted by the chair in front of me it changed colour. Then I noticed that my foot was also refracting this light, re directing it and changing its colour.
Take a look at this video of the chapel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APaXLXAVkmQ
It struck me that the light was indeed the Holy Spirit at work. We need to be in this light. To stand firm in this light. And by so doing indeed we become this light.
In this dark hour in our country’s history Christians more than anything else need to find, hold and share this light and power of the Holy Spirit - God with us.
Bobby Godsell
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