In my recollection, only the funeral of John Kennedy in 1963 would match the drama and significance of Nelson Mandela's funeral today. It was very moving.
The service ended with a sermon by the Methodist bishop. He read from Matthew 25, those familiar words of affirmation to the top performers in the Parable of the Talents. Then he surprised me...
He likened Mandela to the third servant, who buried his talent, refusing - in defiance - to play along with a top-down system in which an absent landlord can still dictate the rules of play to obliging servants.
He critiqued the servants with even more talents than Mandela started with for playing along with the status quo, in a performance-based role that never questions the way the Paradigm works. A system that rewards the rich and oppresses the poor, where to those who have, more is given - taken from those who don't have...
It was quite a new look for me at a familiar passage. He started to sound a bit like Pope Francis!
His interpretation had some answers for me, as I have recently struggled with this conundrum... that the rising ranks of youth cannot break into a job market that is shrinking, so that those with jobs are hanging on tight to them. Those with jobs are getting pay increases, while the demography of the unemployed is getting younger and the unemployed are gradually becoming unemployable.
Who is the good and faithful servant in that scenario?!
The Bishop's take on this Parable is that those who resist the system - like the Occupy Movement - are on the right track. He was one of several speakers who made pointed remarks about how Corruption is one way that those with more talents than others leverage their increase, fatalistically saying that this is how the system works...
A strong message of encouragement came through to me personally.
I have to admit to laughing out loud when Kenneth Kaunda spoke, and to shedding tears when Ahmed Kathrada spoke. He is one of the few remaining Treason Trialists, among those who spent decades on Robben Island with Madiba. Near the end of his tribute, he said "When Walter died, I lost a father. This week I have lost a brother. Now, I don't know where to turn to..." You could hear his voice quivering with sincerity, it was not just rhetoric. Eish!
There is also some good humour coming out of this week. Traditionally, the big ANC adversary has been the Boer... but that controversial Struggle song has now been parodied as "Kill the booer"! One commentator said wryly that this week we are not just saying goodbye to one President, but two...
As an individual, I can say that all the hype has certainly helped ME process a sense of loss and sorrow. It has been a week of drama and reflection. Those who have prepared all the media material and event logistics deserve to hear that phrase: "Well done, good and faithful servants". Except, of course, those like the psycho-signing-interpreter at the stadium memorial, who are reaping where they did not sow...
Thanks to all of you as well for your prayers.
