In Praise of Women
(Commemorating the 50 Anniversary of the Women’s March: Age of Hope through struggle to Freedom)
A Sermon preached by the Rt. Revd Musonda T.S. Mwamba Bishop of Botswana, at Christ
the King Church, Johannesburg
Sunday, 13 August, 2006
A famous old priest was being introduced to a congregation by the parish priest who waxed more eloquent by the second:
“We are about to hear from a man of such wisdom that even the most learned sit at his feet; of such kindness that even children flock to him for advice; with such a keen understanding of human problems that men and women bare to him their innermost secrets; a man of such…such… at this point, the old priest tugged at the sleeve of the parish priest, whispering, “And don’t forget my humility”!
I am humbled to preach in this historic Church of Christ the King. A Church rich
with memories of prophetic voices that opposed the evil Apartheid system. Rich with memories that have inspired many in this beautiful country in the fight against injustice as well as realising their God given talents such as Hugh Masekela and Jonas Gwangwa. A Church rich in Faith,Hope and Love.
Life is a mystery. This holy place contains rich memories for me too. I was named after Archbishop Trevor Huddleston whose ashes are interned here, a place he so loved and served. I know three quarters of South Africans are named Trevor! But Archbishop Huddleston was a family friend. I have two treasured pictures of him and I. One taken when I was a little boy in Lusaka and the other outside St. Luke’s Chelsea in London after my ordination as I knelt down for his blessing.
Stay awhile with me in London. There was an interesting piece of news in the Church Times published in London at the beginning of the year on bishops and fashion. The article written by a priest said 2006 could be a hip year for bishops because purple was back as he had noticed how the trendiest women in London were wearing violet or aubergine. The trouble he said was that the bishops will still be in purple when the fashion has moved on. So he warns bishops: this year’s cool outfit is next year’s wardrobe disaster.
Well, at least for 2006 bishops can be considered trendy in their purple attire!
Now from bishops in purple to women who are endowed with the gift of knowing that fashions move on as well as the gift of the moment, of spiritual wisdom and discipline. The gift of pulling us closer to God and making us better human beings.
This is God’s gift of womanhood. A gift which we ought to honour and celebrate more.
There is a story of a small girl who asked her mother, “Mummy who made me?” and the mother answered “God”. The girl asked again “and who made you?” And the mother answered “God”. The girl finally asked, “and who made grandmother”, and the mother answered “God did my dear”. She thought for a moment and then said, “God has certainly improved since He made grandmother”!
The English language is at times weak in describing God because we often think of God as masculine. But there is a feminine side to God. The Word which became flesh in Jesus Christ is in ancient teaching called Wisdom. Wisdom is a woman with a name and a voice. She is Hochmah in Hebrew. She is Sophia in Greek. In English we have a problem, but we are helped by a great writer of the 19 Century George MacDonald who called her, “The Wise Woman”.
The Wise Woman is, “a woman perfectly beautiful, neither old nor young; for hers was the old age of everlasting youth”.
In Africa, Wisdom, becomes Mother of the Nation whose attributes are vocalised in a sweet melodious song entitled, “Mother of the Nation” by Nokukhanya featured on her CD: Tribute to you. The Mother of the Nation is “protector, defender, God’s only One.” She is an African Woman, the foundation on which all is built. She is strong and keeps moving on.
The Mother of the Nation is with God from the very beginning before anything was created she is there.She is older than the earth, the oceans, the mountains and hills, older than the springs and streams. She gives birth to all.
God’s femininity is seen in the Mother of the Nation. The book of Genesis has this revealing picture of God that He created us in His image: “male and female he created us ”. This is the image of God. Womanhood as its roots in the divine image.
As we celebrate the “50 Anniversary of the Women’s March: Age of Hope through struggle to freedom”, we recognise a spiritual dimension greater than the political context from which the theme originates. In 1956, spiritually, we see the Mother of the Nation stirring up her daughters to stand up and correct an injustice. This stirring up was a divine act because women are Keepers of the Springs. That is keepers of the things which are important in life but which we take for granted, such as acts of love and service,
empathy.
There is a story of a Keeper of the Springs. A man lived up in the hills. All he did was to clear the rubbish that fell in the stream running down to a town in the valley below. He picked up the rubbish and made sure the stream was always clean and pure and sparkling.
The City Council in the town below the valley was run by hard boiled business people. As they could not see the value of the keeper of the springs they decided to fire him.
Soon the stream became clogged with rubbish and filth and below people got sick. The City Council realized they had made a big mistake in dismissing the keeper of the springs. So they begged him to return to his work. He gladly did and began once again to pick up the rubbish that fell in the stream. The stream soon became clean and pure and sparkling and health returned to the town below.
It is in this spirit women are Keepers of the Springs, they protect, preserve and enhance the good in life.
50 years ago, the 20,000 brave women from all races led by Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Sophie Williams and Rahima Moosa, were stirred as keepers of the springs to right a wrong as they marched to the Union Buildings to protest against the pass law restrictions imposed by the apartheid regime.
As keepers of the springs they opposed what sought to rob people of their human dignity. We honour them today.
In our time the springs of our world are clogged and polluted, by greed and poverty and other wrongs. Two weeks ago, President Thabo Mbeki in his Nelson Mandela Memorial Lecture pointed to greed which is bewitching many of this country’s privileged class. A belief that selfish pursuit and accumulation of wealth is the meaning of life at the expense of people. But is it?
Greed is both spiritually and materially evil. It corrodes the soul of self-
Generally, women share this attribute of God: they give birth to life with so much
potential for good.
In the midst of greed may the keepers of the springs touch us
with the spirit of
love to see and the generosity to help the needy.
In our time the springs of our world are also polluted by poverty. Three weeks ago,
the World Trade Organisation talks collapsed because rich countries are reluctant
to make the smallest steps towards fairer trade. A senior trade analyst at Christian
Aid, Dr. Claire Melamed, rightly said, ‘It is no good flicking a few crumbs of comfort
via the aid-
Greed, poverty and other wrongs are all indicative of a shrivelled society and world that has lost God and cannot love and see the need in others made in the divine image. It is lack of spirituality in our lives that is what is wrong in our nation and world. We think that wealth, designer clothes, status, can define our being. Dead wrong! We are humans only when we live and relate to each other in the spirit of God. That is the spirit of love and compassion, of justice and mercy, of forgiveness, of sensitivity and understanding, of care and encouragement, all spiritual and gentle virtues that the feminine side of life is strong on.
So, we need today the keepers of the springs to help us find our faith in God. Our spirituality. Only then can we see people with love and be moved to protest boldly against all that robs people of their humanity.
We still have injustices and discriminations against women perpetuated by men.
We still have injustices enshrined in cultural, social, religious, economic, legal, and political structures which need to be removed. So, inspired by the keepers of the springs we can make kinder and better our lives, especially in our homes.
It is in the homes that women must begin. For if the keepers of the springs fail by not teaching their children religious values and good manners because they themselves are too busy or devoid of them. If they bring up children in decent, cultured, comfortable but utterly irreligious homes, then we are all doomed.
Like dominoes falling, the broken home will tumble into the broken community. The broken community will tumble into the broken nation. The broken nation will tumble into the broken world. The gift of womanhood and motherhood is the cradle of true power to influence not only the life of a child but the destinies of nations.
Being in this holy place tells us that the challenge of women in the 21 century is not about being beautiful women, sophisticated women, professional women, women who know how to hold their cocktails. The challenge of women in the 21 century is to know God. To nurture the spirituality within. To be godly women. This is the challenge.
In 1956, the 20,000 women who marched were stirred and driven by spiritual values that came from their living experience of God. They were the ‘spirit of the nation, protectors and defenders, God’s only One’ out to right a wrong. In 2006, women need to be stirred up and driven by spiritual values that flow from God. They need a spirituality that maintains and seeks the common good and pass this on to their children and the nation.
One of the greatest African bishops of the early church was St. Augustine of Hippo. An interesting fellow he was a playboy of his time and for 30 years his mother, Monica, prayed to God for his conversion. She was a godly woman. St. Augustine changed because of her prayers to become a great bishop.
I too had a godly mother who knew her God. But I am not St. Augustine! All I know is that what I am can be traced back to her. She was loving, caring, firm – we called Madame peri peri!, and prayerful. And she passed this on to her children.
I have hope for South Africa. I have hope for Africa. I have hope for our world. I have hope because the Age of HOPE through struggle to freedom is still with us in the Wise Woman, Sophia, Hochman, the Mother of the Nation. The Age Of HOPE is stirring women to stand up and be brave and keeping moving on entrusted with the sacred gift of being Keepers of the Springs.
The Age of Hope is stirring women to be prophetic in our time in speaking against corruption and moral degeneration. The Age of Hope is stirring women to leads us in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Age of Hope is stirring women to teach us to love one another as God loves us. I have hope.
That is why we gather in this holy place, this place of eternal HOPE, to give thanks to God for the keepers of the springs and celebrate the femininity of God. Blessed are you, daughters, sisters, mothers, grannies. The spirit of the nation.
Blessed are you women who know the trendy fashions and point us to the things which are important in life, like God, love, service, and humility.
God bless you all.
