As the year 2023 draws to an End: what concerns me the most?

As the year of our Lord 2023 draws to an end, I couldn’t help but meditate on things that worries me the most at this juncture. Ordinarily, people at this time of the year have their minds fixed on what is generally known as ‘New Year Resolutions’, often these are plans, desires and changes that they would like to see in their lives in the year ahead. Of cause many of these plans, desires and wishes are often based on their reflections on the year that has gone by, the year that is drawing to a close. Being one that has since resolved not to dwell much on resolutions of the ensuing year, but rather to proceed with life as if the year never ended and continue to march towards whatever life goals I may have, I have come to the conclusion that ‘whether I like it or not, the Gregorian calendar which we have come to accept at least for civil purposes, forces one to take stock of what has transpired in their life over the past twelve months and what ought to be done in the ensuing twelve months to bring about the desired change or improvements in life, meaning that New Year Resolutions for a normal thinking individual cannot be ignored or escaped’. However, this time around I felt it was more prudent to shift the mind and focus more on society and the world, as opposed to individual plans, goals and desires, reason why my reflections and future plans, goals and desires of 2023 are based on this pertinent question “as the year draws to a close, in no particular order I ask myself ‘what concerns me the most’?

 

As an African man that subscribe to African wisdom and way of life, I draw from many of our proverbs. At this juncture one that has brought serious pain and great concern is one that says ‘manong a ja ka tshika’, simply put ‘family takes care of their own before they could take care of outsiders’. As a Christian, this proverb seems to have been the same principle that Jesus used in a story narrated by Matthew, he tells us that “Jesus encountered a woman that was seeking help for her sick daughter, but because he was on foreign land he first indicated to her that ‘it was incorrect for him to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs, to which the woman replied that even the dogs were allowed to feed from the crumbs under the master’s table’ (Matthew 15:26-28), in other words he was alluding to the fact that ‘he needed to first address the challenges of his own people before attending to the outsiders, to which the woman fully agreed that indeed ‘manong a ja ka tshika’”. Therefore, as I took time during the Christmas weekend to visit members of my clan (maternal and paternal) in my place of birth Bloemfontein and surroundings, listening and observing the daily challenges faced by individual members and the different families in general, I came to realise how much of my time I have spent addressing issues of those that are not directly related to me than I have with those that are of my own. Many of these challenges were known to me throughout the year, but I realise that many a time ‘I kicked the can down the road’ with the hope that someone else in the family will take care of it, while I am busy fixing the world. Over the years my life has been about helping people of God in whichever way possible, especially in under privileged communities, fighting injustices perpetrated against the elderly, the less privileged, uneducated or those with little access to information, a ministry which I have come to accept as a revelation about my life. But when I reflect on the year that is drawing to a close, counting the number of times I have lent a helping hand to outsiders than I have to my own, the results left me bleeding with guilt, and I ask myself “have you done enough to live up to your own African proverb, what will you do differently in the ensuing year to balance the equation”?  

In the same breath, through my own family encounters and society in general, I am deeply concerned about the level of disunity among the people of God, the world is extremely divided. In my country of birth South Africa, leading up to the festive season, a season which is meant to symbolize love, reconciliation and unity among families and people in general, we saw a meme that continues to trend even beyond Christmas. This meme alluded that ‘many of the ensuing family gatherings over Christmas were nothing but pretense, and that many family members attending these gatherings were not doing so out of their own free will, that beyond these gatherings very little reconciliation and lasting love among families takes place’. As much as memes are generally meant to ignite the spirit of humour, laughter and fun, the reality is that it also speaks to the inward view of self, as a people. The reality that is revealed here is that the contemporary family environment has lost its grip on the basic principles of love and unity among clans. The same African proverb that says “manong a ja ka tshika” has evaded our people, because the extended version of this meme talks about ‘how some family members would rather spend Christmas with friends than being with fake family members’, leaving me wondering ‘have I done enough to unite and bring peace in my own clan’?

 

Equally concerning, is the divided world and the inability to stand up for each other as nations of the world. At one point I thought perhaps I am simply being emotionally immature when I speak about my deep concern over the massacre that is taking place in Palestine, but then it dawned me that in fact I am not, because I was equally saddened by the mass murdering of people in Ukraine, Dafur, the war in Northern Mozambique, including the injustices against the LGBTQIA+ communities in Uganda. The response by world leaders through statutory bodies such as the United Nations, European Union, African Union and the likes, is always the same indifference. In all the conflicts that the world is faced with, nations first calculate their socio-economic and political positioning before standing up on principle, while innocent civilians are being killed like flies. The Israel and Palestine conflict becomes an even heavier concern because of my Christian affiliation, particularly if you have to refer to Apartheid Israel as a South African, and its history of Apartheid injustices. Of cause it would have been much easier to look at the Israel and Palestine conflict as just another political matter, but as a Christian it is more than that, especially if I will have to continue to use Israel as the basis of my Biblical reference and belief. Given the indifferent response of the world, you cant help nut wonder if God is as indifferent on these matters. As a result, the most difficult and unavoidable question that arises is ‘whether the continued biblical reference to Israel is of any relevance to any contemporary Christian, when Apartheid Israel is relentlessly murdering the people of God or has the Bible simply become irrelevant’?

 

The latter concern gives rise to my next big concern, my Faith. It is a fact that the world is becoming more secular with each day that passes, with more and more people questioning religion. Christianity has never been at greater risk of extinction than it is today. Therefore, I ask myself if I have done enough to make my religion practical, attractive, most importantly have I represented my faith well enough to my immediate community and the world. Have I defended my faith through thought, words and deeds, have I lived and lead by example?. It is one thing to defend Christianity on the basis of faith and belief, it is another to defend it on the basis of pragmatism and reality, in other words 'is my faith in line with the realities of the world'?. In the year 2023 I have observed and encountered a Christianity that is overly cosmetic and far from reality, one that failed to defend the victims of its our contradictions and misinterpretations. Therefore, I have come to a conclusion that "in the contemporary, the most attractive religion is one that is pragmatic and realistic, a religion that is at greater risk is one that is cosmetic and out of touch with reality, I choose to practice the former in my Christian faith".  

 

The realities of the world when brought closer to home, our beloved South Africa becomes even more concerning. On the 27^th of October 2023, the 66^th Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Johannesburg had an opportunity to discuss the 2024 General Elections and the realities of the country, a pragmatic Christian approach which I referred to earlier. This gathering ignited this concern in me, the electoral ballot overload that we will see in the up coming elections, we are told by the Electoral Commission of South Africa that the ballot paper is likely to be a ballot booklet, given the number of political parties registered to contest these elections. My personal view is that ‘the number of parties registered to contest these elections are nothing but personal hunger for power’, I’m convinced that politicians are no longer about their contribution in changing the lives of the people they claim to represent, had that been the case then they would have joined the existing parties on the basis of ideology. I know many of them will come back to say ‘all these other parties do not represent their beliefs and values blah blah blah’, which I totally refuse to believe. In the year 2023 I encountered a sermon by Revd. Theo Khanyile, which focused on the issue of 'leadership'. He makes a point that "abantu a bafuni uk' phathwa, bafuna ukuphata" (T. Khanyile: 25 November 2023), loosely translated it means 'people dont want to be lead, everyone wants to lead', a view which I strongly hold about the current South African politicians 'everyone wants to lead, hence we are faced with a situation of a ballot booklet in the up coming elections'. The danger about this is that "'many of these politicians establish their parties on the basis that they want to unseat the ANC, as a result of its failures in government and what it has become as a political party'. But what they dont realise is that they are splitting the vote too far and wide, to the advantage of the same ANC. Therefore, my prediction is that ‘the results of the 2024 general elections, on technicality, will see the ANC emerging with an outright majority’, simply because the splinter vote will be scattered across the different party lines. It is a fact that this elections will boast a much younger voter, the IEC has indicated that the November 2023 voter registration weekend recorded a historic increase in the number of younger voters, with another round set for February 2024. Now that tells us that we have a new voter behaviour to look forward to, my take is that 'this is a truly independent voter, by that I mean they are not going to vote on the basis of the South African history of Apartheid and oppression'. I foresee a voter that will vote on the basis of 'which political party outside the ANC is most attractive in both ideology and presence', and the contestation between the newer parties is tight, hence the vote is going to be split too far and wide, leaving the ANC with an opportunity to win the elections through the vote of the older generation.         

 

As we enter into the New Year, I’m of the view that it is high time we changed from being concerned about ourselves and God’s blessings upon us and our personal challenges, instead we ought to be concerned about the world and the challenges that leads to the downfall of society, perhaps fixing the society will lead to less personal challenges, a better world will lead to a better personal experience. Indeed these concerns aren’t going to change the world, but with each individual contribution I’m convinced that some kind of effective change will take place.

 

What concerns you the most, what are you going to do in 2024 to address your societal concerns.

 

God’s grace