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Ikhonco                           December 2014

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The Bishop's Message

My Dear People of God

Ordinations



It is an undeniable fact that God, in His own pleasure, has blessed us with good vocations to this sacred ministry.

Many of the people we are ordaining are holy and faithful to God and His Church. They come timidly, looking forward to serviung God and His Holy Church with good intent and purpose. They come seeking for the face of God and wanting to please His heart and serve God with all their hearts, might and mind without fear all the days of their lives.

My plea to the Diocese is that do not manipulate or corrupt the ones whom we believe have been called by God to serve Him and Him alone, not our petty personal interests. It is not us …. to benefit from these ordinations. It is God. He must increase in them and let them decrease in themselves. Ordination does not make a person greater and bigger than the ordination. Ordination makes people who are ordained smaller in themselves and humbler in the eyes of God and His church.

Once you start singing litanies of praise to the ordained, know that you are the greatest enemy of the person you give accolades. If you are praised for whatever you have done, take that praise immediately in prayer and supplication to God, and say with the Psalmist, "not unto me Oh Lord, not unto me but to you all praise and honour." Do not listen to the death knell. Ordinations are making servants of God and His people.
I am happy that most of you stopped the bad habit of celebrating the ordination event. If you are called to the ordained ministry or your relative has been called, or you hear that there is going to be an ordination, know that God is increasing the number of His Martyrs. In the ordained ministry we are counted as sheep for slaughter. We die every day. If to some of you are singing honours, to some are singing choruses of insults, of course when we are called we always remember that the Church is both a Community of Saints and Sinners. Those of us who are being killed every day for this cause of God should remember that the one who calls is still the one who defends and nurtures that calling.

My wife joins me in wishing you a fulfilling Advent, a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New year.

Grace and peace be with all and warm greetings in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Yours affectionately in Christ.

+Sitembele Mthatha
Bantu bakaThixo endibathandayo

Ummiso

Yinyaniso engenakuphikwa mntu okokuba uThixo ngobubele baKhe usisikelele ngabo babizelwe ebufundisini obungcwele.

Uninzi lwabantu esibamiselayo kwindidi ezingcwele ngabantu abangcwele nabanyanisekileyo kuThixo nakwiTyalike yaKhe.

Beza benoloyiko olungcwele bejonge ukukhonza uThixo neTyalike yaKhe engcwele, iinjongo zabo zikuloo nto qha. Beza  befuna ukubona ubuso bukaThixo nokumkholisa ngeentliziyo nangamandla abo bemkhonza nangeengqondo zabo zonke yonke iimihla yobomi babo.

Isicelo sam eDayosisini sesokuba ningabenzi iizinto zokufeketha  nibarhumrhekise abantwana babantu esikholelwayo ukuba babiziwe nguThixo ebabizele ukuba bakhonze yena yedwa qha HAYI iinjongwana zethu ezingasi mntu ndawo.

Ayisithi abona bantu bamelwe kukuzuza nto ngokubekwa kwaba bantu nguThixo. Ummelwe ukuba ande yena size thina simiselwayo sinciphe kubuthina.

Ummiso olungcwele alwenzi mntu ngcono kubuyena koko kumenza mncinane abe ngothobekileyo emehlweni kaThixo neTyalike yakhe.

Ukuba nje uqale umncome lowo ubekiweyo yazi mhlophe ukuba ulolukhulu utshaba lwakhe. Ukuba ungulowo unconywayo: thandaza kwa-oko uthi mmayingabi kum Nkosi mmayingabi kum kodwa kuwe makunikwe udumo nembeko. Musani ukuvuyela iintsimbi zezingcwabo zenu. Ummiso olungcwele lwenza iizicaka zikaThixo nabantu bakhe.
Ndiyavuya kuba uninzi lwenu lwandiphula-phula xa ndandisithi yekani umkhwa ombi wokwenzela ummiso olungcwele umgidi nemibhiyozo.
Ukuba ubiziwe okanye isihlobo sakho sibiziwe yazi mhlophe ukuba ngawe okanye eso sihlobo sakho uThixo wandise iinani labaFeli bakhe. Ebufundisini obungcwele sibalelwa ekuthini sizizimvu zokuxhelwa, sibulawa imihla yonke. Aba bantu sibizelwe ukubanceda ngabo kanye aba basibulalayo. Ukuba uyanconywa yazi ukuba bakhona abo bathukwayo phofu sibe sisazi ukuba kwangela xesha sasibizwa sasisazi ukuba iTyalike inabangcwele kunye naboni. Abo bethu babulalwayo imihla yonke ngenxa kaThixoyazile ukuba lowo ubizayo ikwangulowo ulukhuselayo aluphuhlise olo bizo.

UMamjwarha utsho kunye nam ukuthi nisikeleleke kweli xesha le Advent nibe neKrismesi emyoli nonyaka omtsha onempumelelo.

Ngamana uBabalo noXolo oluvela kuThixo lungaba nani sinibulisa egameni leNkosi noMsindisi wethu uYesu Krestu.

Owenu onithandayo kuKrestu


+ Sitembele Mthatha