Creative Dislocation: A means of Grace
Prof. Lizo Jafta
(This lecture was delivered on the ocassion of the inaugural Rev. Simon Gqubule Memorial lecture at the Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary on the 25th April 2023)
It was after reading John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, which inspired me, that I decided to choose the topic or the theme of this lecture. I am very conscious of the fact that most of the audience today is made up of theological hopefuls, although there may be some who are not theological students. With that in mind, you will forgive my many theological assumptions.
As a former professor of ecclesiastical history, I assume that many would be ministers of the gospel have done the basic historical studies, hence my assumptions. But even if you have no basic knowledge of history, you may have heard through the media or through informal conversations about some of the figures and events that I will be using.
Before I define the term “creative dislocation,” let me say something about Foxe’s book which is the story of many Christians who died as martyrs- those who would not revoke their faith even in the face of vitriolic death- those who were willing to die for their faith.
In the liturgy of the so-called mainline churches, there is what is referred to as TE DEUM (an ancient Christian song of praise thanking God for mercy and kindness). It mentions martyrs, apostles, prophets and the worldwide Christian community. It traces the history of the church from its beginnings to the present. The words Siyakudumisa Thixo, in the vernacular languages of South Africa are a translation of TE DEUM. We sing it every Sunday and we enjoy doing so. We even sing it at funeral services. It is as if there is no service if the Te Deum has not been sung. There is a line which says “umkhosi odumileyo wabafele wena.” Translated into English, it says: the famous martyrs who died for you (God). This is what Foxe writes about when he says:
“The faced torture, brutality, the stake, rather than deny their vision of truth and of God. Unshakeable in their faith and courage, these early reformers and martyrs have inspired the Christian Church for centuries. This magnificent account of their ordeal, and its turbulent historical background, is an unequalled record of man’s reminder of a tragic and disastrous era.”
These martyrs were creatively dislocated; and that movement was a movement of grace, or you may say, if you are a Methodist, it was a means of grace.
John Foxe was born in 1517 and he died in April 1587. A tribute paid to Foxe when he died reads as follows: “He openly professed the gospel, was publicly accused of heresy, and being convicted, was soon after, expelled from the university where he was teaching.” The caption of the book says “time has failed to erase the courage and bravery, the terror and torment endured by early protestant martyrs. Their stories continue to inspire; their faith stood and will forever stand as a beacon to courageous action for the generations to follow.” This lecture is supposed to be a beacon of courageous action; if it touches on doctrine, it will be a process to action.
Creative Dislocation- A definition
On numerous occasions, people either relocate willingly or unwillingly. They resettle, or are forced to resettle. We, in South Africa, have gone through period of forced removals by the apartheid government. It became so common that many took it for granted that these removals were God-given and that refusal to remove was tantamount to rejecting God’s indictment. We went through those painful removals. Those forced relocations were the opposite of what I describe as creative dislocation. They were not moments of grace.
In this lecture we are talking about the creative dislocation as the movement of grace. We are talking about a situation where someone’s conscience relocates. We are talking about a situation where conscience equals God. When a situation becomes intolerable, when it becomes erratic, brutal, or dehumanising, when people like John Foxe preach the gospel, are expelled from universities for no other reason except that they have been preaching the word of God faithfully and fearlessly, their movement is described as a creative movement- a means of Grace.
Dislocation may be physical, mental, emotional, caused by political upheavals, conscientious or they may be a combination of all these. It is physical when you are bodily moved. It is mental when you remain fixed in a position, but your thoughts are far away. It is emotional when your psyche is tormented or paralysed. It is political when the powers that be relocate you forcefully. It is conscientious when you relocate because you feel you cannot tolerate the situation any more.
Let me now relate this concept of dislocation to the theological education and to the ministry at large. As ministers of the gospel you will be dislocated again and again, from parish to parish, from circuit to circuit, and from district to district. The situation will dictate the merits or demerits of those dislocations. You are all aware of that and you must be mentally and spiritually prepared for it.
The history and the journey of theological education in South Africa is interesting and we often wonder what its future is going to be like. We believe, however, that theological education is the will of God even if the future is bleak. You obviously have heard that the Federal Theological Seminary (FEDSEM) was the precursor of what we call today the Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary. I was part of the journey from Alice, in the Eastern Cape, to eMbali in Pietermaritzburg. Because I left South Africa and went for further studies overseas, there is part of the journey that I did not share but I was following all the developments all the way. I taught at FEDSEM, Rhodes University, University of Venda, UNISA and lastly, my alma mater, University of Fort Hare. I do have a lot of experience with theological education and with theological students. I also worked with church communities as a pastor. And so, I have experienced both the church as a community of believers and also teaching theological students.
When FEDSEM was established at Alice, it was the dream of the mainline churches, which together formed FEDSEM, to develop an informed spiritual formation which would eventually transform South Africa. It was a prophetic dream that all the participating churches shared. Congregationalists had been sending their theological hopefuls to Adams College near Amanzimtoti. Anglicans had been sending their theological students to Rosettenville near Johannesburg. Presbyterians had been training their students at Fort Hare. It was common sense to establish a strong theological education centre close to a university, and Fort Hare was chosen as a possible centre. No one envisaged that a political problem would arise as a result of the choice of this centre. It was thought that the nearness to a university would avail some deserving students to some of the courses offered at the university so that theological education is well grounded and well informed, just as was the case with many of the outstanding theological schools in Europe at the time.
The dream of the said churches did not materialise as FEDSEM was forcefully and embarrassingly dislocated from Alice. It is up to you to describe what kind of dislocation this was, but to those of us who were dislocated it was not only political, it was also cruel, unjust, forced and mentally disturbing. Some of the lecturers left for good, especially those whose backgrounds were in Europe or America.
FEDSEM was dislocated from Alice, to Mthatha, to the Edendale Lay Ecumenical Centre and ultimately to eMbali. There is no need to trace all the steps and causes of these dislocation. The full story is documented somewhere. Dr Simon Gqubule, whom we are celebrating today in this lecture wrote a book, Trials of a Pilgrim Church, where the details of this journey are told. The other book which you may want to refer to is written by professors Phillippe Denis and Graham Duncan titled The Native School that Caused all the Trouble.
Dr Gqubule served FEDSEM longer than any other lecturer who landed at FEDSEM. He deserves this Gqubule Lecture. Rev. Joseph Wing, who later became one of the presidents of the seminary used to laughingly say that Gqubule was the “ancient of days” because he “was” before the seminary was- meaning that Gqubule saw the beginning and the end of the seminary. He taught Church history, systematic theology and New Testament. He moved with ease in between these disciplines. Now I want to mention and analyse some aspects of dislocation as the movement of grace, bearing in mind our definition of dislocation as a movement of grace.
Dr Robert McAfee Brown, who repeatedly used the term of our topic, was dislocated from one university to the other in the United States of America. He thought that these universities, from which he was dislocated, were an irrelevant and connived with a lot of what was wrong in society. He could not, therefore, be part of that system. He allowed himself to be creatively dislocated. He did not wait for the university to boot him out. This was prophetic action on his part. Rather than tolerating an obscene and an obviously ungodly situation, he opted out of it. The theme of this lecture is the title of professor Brown’s book.
What you hear determines what you listen to
This is the maxim which shaped the prophets of the old testament. Who they listened to determined what they heard and ultimately their prophetic actions.
Why did Adolf Hitler destroy so many Jews in the 20th century? Who did he listen to? Who informed him? In your study of Church history you must have come across the sad story of the annihilation of Jewish people for no other reason except that they were Jews and not Germans. Hitler was a professing Christian but who was he listening to? What happened to the basic human rights which every Christian must uphold? Hitler was not only encouraged by his own madness, but there were voices; some vocal, some quiet within the German community, including church people who were so blinded by their racism that they could not see anything wrong in what Hitler was doing. The voice of racism was stronger than the voice of God.
There were, of course, people with strong Christian conscience who refused to listen to Hitler. Bonhoeffer was one of them. So was Martin Niemoller who was a German pastor. In your studies on ethics and church history you must have read about these few outstanding Christians who remind us of John Foxe in his book of martyrs.
The story of Hitler and the annihilation of the Jews is a story of the 20th century. Here in South Africa we had the story of apartheid which is still in the minds of many South African today. I remember reading about the official visit of Dr. Verwoed and another high ranking official to Britain. They spoke admirably of the pernicious and dehumanising Bantu education in South Africa. The question we must now ask ourselves is: To whom had they listened to before giving those addresses to the European people? What they listened to was the voice from the suburban areas of South Africa. We must remember that the likes of Verwoedand his followers claimed to be Christian, just like Hitler and his followers. If Verwoed and his partners had listened to the Black voices compassionately, they would have told a different story. From what I have said so far, I hope it has become clear to you why the first ecumenical theological school was dislocated from Alice.
FEDSEM wanted to listen to God and not the apartheid regime. The result of its refusal to listen to the regime of the time was dislocation. It was not a voluntary dislocation, but a FORCED one. It was with grace, a disturbing grace. Grace comes in here because the conscience of the victim could not be denied. This reminds me of Jeremiah’s prophecy to the Hebrews who were enslaved in Babylon and Babylon was to be destroyed soon. Jeremiah says: “Flee from the midst of Babylon, let everyman save his life; lest he be cut off in her punishment, for this the time of the Lord’s vengeance, the requital he is rendering her.” We can substitute Jeremiah’s word “flee” for the word dislocate. In Jeremiah’s mind, it was expedient for Hebrews to flee from Babylon even if they did not plan to do so. There are those times in our lives when we have to flee or dislocate for the sake of conscience. When this becomes the case, then it becomes creative dislocation- a means of grace.
Where we stand determines what we see
This is the second leg of this pot. It is so obvious that it explains itself. You will see what you see depending on where you stand. My house is at Gamalakhe on a hillock. From the veranda of my house I can watch the ships and boats at sea. When I built the house I did not know that I would have such a good view of the sea and the rest of the township. And so it is in life. We see what we see largely because of where we stand. As theologians, where do you stand and what do you see?
A colleague of mine visited me in Gamalakhe and remarked: “why do you live in a squalid area like this one?” I retorted: I was born in a squalid area in the Eastern Cape. I now live in Gamalakhe because I love it because it reminds me of my home situation. I see the poverty of the people I have been ministering to and wake up with a challenge everyday. This is not a plea that one should remain poor and not enjoy life. Read behind the words of the prophets and understand what they were trying to communicate to the listeners of their time. Remember that Moses was a Hebrew of Hebrews. He lived and suffered with them. From where he was, he saw them and that was the source of his liberation movement. Moses experienced slavery in Egypt with the rest of his kinfolk because he saw them and listened to their cries.
Let me say something about Gqubule which relates to what I have just said. Gqubule was close to his students. Having himself struggled to be highly educated, he pioneered theological education for a number of deserving students. He not only encouraged them to pursue theological education beyond FEDSEM, he paved the way for them to go overseas. Some of these were Mvume Dandala, Maxwell Lungu, Danan Mkhize, Basil Manning and many others. Gqubule did not do what some educated people do, that is, kicking the ladder behind them when they are up there. He kept on pushing the deserving students up the academic ladder. He pushed students who did not even belong to his denomination. What he was concerned with was beyond denominational walls.
At the end of the day, as Gqubule taught, what is needed in South Africa are basic human rights for all. Whether one is at the top or at the bottom of society, the vision should be that of a society where life is lived by all to its fullest. Gqubule taught that our vision of a better South Africa may be crystalised or impaired by where we stand.
Some pastors are sitting with big hats and are unable to see the real problems of the world. Those who are sitting with and among the marginalised and poor are able to see their poverty abd are able to minister to them.
What we do determines who we are
This leg is as important as the previous two. I want to make it clear that it is not what we are which determines what we do; it is what we do which determines who we are. How easy is it for a politician to say that he/she is a politician and that he stands for justice, when in fact, he indulges in injustice! How easy is it for a minister of religion to say that the upholds spirituality and Christian ethics and he does the opposite! The list is endless. It is what you do which ultimately determines who you are. When Jesus was confronted by people who were curious to know who he was, he pointed them to what he was doing. What he did determined who he was. Read Luke 4:18-19. It is a fallacy to say that who you are determines what you do. The opposite is true; what you do determines who you are. Adolf Hitler professed to be a Christian- what did he do? The Broederbond, which gave birth to apartheid, was the breeding ground for the hated Bantu education which Gqubule worked hard to dismantle. What was Christian in the Broederbond? Remember, the Broederbond gave birth to what was later known as Christian National eduction, the mother of Bantu education. It is not the clerical collar; it is not the ministerial attire with long dresses and colourful stoles which makes us ministers; it is not the loud shouting behind the that wooden block called the pulpit which determines whether we are ministers or not. What determines who you are is your daily ethic. What worried the reformers of the 16th century in Europe was that the priests were too conscious of their status as priests while their behaviour was far from what could be described as priestly. They were present but absent.
Orthodoxy versus orthopraxy
This brings me to another point: Right belief versus Right doing!
You will not be defined by how much orthodoxy you embrace but you will ultimately be defined by how much orthopraxy has become the focus of your ministerial life. If orthodoxy means the right doctrine, then orthopraxy means the right practice. This follows naturally from the last point we have been discussing- we are defined by what we do.
We bear in mind, first of all, that all religions have both systems that is orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Christians have no right to claim these terms as if they only belong to them. There are no orthodox Jews, orthodox Muslims and orthodox Hindus. In any seminary worth the name, orthodoxy is taught. The consequences of orthodoxy should automatically lead to the right practice, or you may say, the right ethics.
By its nature, religion is supposed to bind. When orthopraxy follows naturally from orthodoxy, society should be bound together by the tie of religion. We must admit, however, that in the past there were religious wars and many divisions caused by religious people. Some of the problems in our world today are the result of those religious wars. We have to admit that this was the main weakness of religious communities, Christianity included. We must work in such a way that this never happens again. This reminds me of Professor Simon Maimela’s book, in which he argues that denominationalism is a sin. While I think that his analysis is far-fetched and needs to be taken with caution, I however, understand the source of the problem.
Religion is a very powerful tool to transform society; but it all depends on how it is used. If it is used to uphold orthodoxy or to maintain social conventions which have not been tested by the voice of reason, then it is used for a wrong reason. If orthopraxy naturally flows from orthodoxy, then it is used correctly.
I do not know if you have been following the media closely. There are politicians who do not attack religion directly, but they glibly and carelessly use it for their own political purposes. Sometimes they use it correctly for convenience. I remember someone who was earmarked for the presidency of the country and, of course, he wanted the position. I remember him addressing one of the major independent churches with a clerical collar around his neck. What an embarrassment for the church to have a statesman who is not a clergyman addressing such a group of people dressed like a pastor while he was not! The same man, when he became president, was quoted as saying that his political party would rule until the return of Jesus. Another politician was recently quoted claiming divinity on himself for no other reason except that he was trying to win voters.
It was the misuse of religion which raised the ire of 16th century reformers. Dislocation automatically happened because the reformers found it difficult to tolerate the misuse of religion. HOW DO WE DO? Do we want to compromise religion or are we ready to be dislocated for the sake of the Gospel? If we are dislocated simply because we do not want to be compromised, then I want to say that will be a movement of Grace.
Idolatry
When people are not moved by grace, they easily become idolaters. The status quo becomes their god. They become myopic and anything that feeds their stomachs becomes their god. You must have noticed this in your study of the scriptures that God can easily be coined out of anything and be worshipped as god. This happens because rather than allowing the creative movement of grace, they compromise to satisfy their demi-god.
It is possible for people to idolise even the church to such an extent that they worship the structures of the church rather than the almighty God. In his history lectures at FEDSEM Gqubule used to mention cardinal Thomas Wolsey who was so close to the king of England that he almost forgot that he was basically a priest. Gqubule described Wolsey as a “resplendent symbol of papalism.” Towards the end of his life Wolsey remarked “I have served my king more than I have served my God.” This is a lesson for us never to idolise anything- not even our presidents, presiding bishops or structures of the church. It is idolatry to do that.
I am appealing to you that you better be dislocated or you dislocate yourself than worshipping Ceasar. That kind of dislocation, if you have been following my thinking, will be creative dislocation. It will be a movement of grace.
