Dear Brothers and Sisters,
“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn, that he may heal us; he has stricken, and he will bind us up, after two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him” (Hos 6:1). This message of Lent is on the one hand, a human song of joy, an exhortation to endurance, a cry of jubilation, an assurance, a message of hope and a promise of triumph. “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up.” The third day is the day of triumph; it is a jubilee to the Lord. On the other hand, this message is a call to repentance, a rebuke for complacence, and a challenge to embrace a paradigm shift in favour of the interiorization of religion as opposed to shear religiosity. “Your love is like a morning cloud; like the dew it goes away early” (Hos 6).
My brothers and sisters, every Jubilee that is worth the name celebrates on the one hand the triumph of God’s salvific work in the lives of his people and on the other hand, the people’s assured pilgrimage towards full restoration culminating in irreversible emancipation and fulfilment. This, therefore, contextualizes our celebration of today: celebrating the Golden Jubilee of IMBISA within the scope of the Jubilee Year 2025 which proclaims and captures its message in the words: “Spes non Confundit” (Hope does not disappoint) in the Bull of Indiction by Pope Francis to all pilgrims of hope.
We celebrate this Golden Jubilee within the context of the spirit of the Synod on Synodality which calls us to journey together as brothers and sisters. Coincidentally, ironically or providentially, IMBISA was founded during the Jubilee Year of 1975 which proclaimed a powerful message of restoration in the Bull of Indiction of Pope Paul VI: “Apostolorum Limina” (The tombs of the Apostles). We celebrate its 50 years of existence just few months after the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality and the day IMBISA was founded was also just some months after the conclusion of the Universal Synod of Bishops of 1974.
These two Jubilees, that of 1975 and the current one of 2025 and the two Universal Synods, that of 1974 and the recent one whose formal process ended in 2024, which sought to consolidate the vision of the Second Vatican Council and whose vision and mission IMBISA embodies carry one message, the message of God’s triumphal entry into our situations of strife, fear, despair, slavery to sin, uncertainty, insecurity, apathy, self-distraction, self-centeredness, discrimination; in short the situation which makes people, in a pharisaic way to take their position and pray to themselves and not to God as we heard in today’s Gospel passage the Pharisee praying thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity….[bla, bla, bla],”(cf. Lk 18:11) and started to enumerate self-presumed virtues which reveal disregard of God and neighbour and thus sinning against the greatest commandment, the commandment of love which we heard in the Gospel passage of yesterday according Mark.
The intention of this message is to prompt God’s people to abandon hypocrisy and pharisaic attitude and march as genuine pilgrims of hope towards beating their chests like the Tax-collector and say, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner” (18:13) in order for them to go back home justified. It is a message of repentance. This message always prompts the spirit of genuine brotherhood, of family-hood, of collegiality, of Synodality.
This is the spirit of collaboration and co-operation where no one thinks themselves to be better than others before God. This actually is the spirit of the early Church. This is the Pre-Vatican II spirit; this is the vision of the Second Vatican Council. The early Church, the Pre-Vatican II spirit of collaboration among Bishops across national boundaries and the prophetic vision of the Second Vatican Council either remotely or immediately, but surely directly, prompted the establishment of collegial bodies like the one whose Golden Jubilee we are celebrating today: IMBISA. IMBISA came from both prompting inspiration and a compelling necessity.
From a Prompting Inspiration
- The spirit of the Early Church where the leaders of the Church co-operated in a collegial spirit, (remember the Council of Jerusalem) and the members of the Church were of one mind and heart (remember that they had everything in common), remotely in term of time, but directly in terms of the spirit prompted and inspired the establishment of IMBISA.
- The Pre- Vatican II spirit of co-operation among Bishops going even beyond national boundaries as exemplified in the in the establishment of the Episcopal Conference of Southern Africa at Marianhill in South Africa in 1947 and the establishment of the Association of Members of the Conference of East Africa (AMCEA) in in 1961, prompted and inspired the establishment of IMBISA.
- The Prophetic Vision of the Second Vatican Council, which emphasized collegiality among Bodies of different Episcopal Conferences as articulated in the Decree of the Second Vatican Council Christus Dominus” focusing on the Pastoral Munus of the Bishops prompted and inspired the establishment of IMBISA.
There were many more sources of inspiration which prompted the establishment of IMBISA, but these will suffice for now. IMBISA was also established due to compelling necessity.
From a Compelling Necessity
- The Church in the Southern African Region was ministering to war torn countries due to the liberation struggles which in some countries were followed by civil wars. In Southern Africa people were scattered and dispersed across the region as refugees. Suffering and strife was the order of the day and due to this unpredictable situation, the Bishops in Southern Africa saw the need for more co-operation among Church leaders across national boundaries and this prompted and necessitated the establishment of IMBISA.
- When the Bishops of Southern Africa went to Rome in 1974 for a Universal Synod, they were coming from situations of social strife and political upheavals for many of their countries were going through the liberation struggles and the informal meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa on the sidelines of that Synod in Rome where they shared their experiences and tears became a decisive moment for Bishops to embrace the spirit of more co-operation in the Region, hence, this prompted and necessitated the establishment the following year 1975 in Pretoria of IMBISA.
- Pastoral co-operation was one of the indispensable necessities where Episcopal Conferences could exchange ideas due to cultural and social closeness of their flocks and this too prompted and necessitated the establishment of IMBISA.
Brothers and Sisters, all these were in great anticipation of and a genuine preparation for great things that were to follow. All this, was driven by the spirit that sees the Church in Africa as the Family of God. This only became very clear 20 years after the establishment of IMBISA in 1994 at the African Synod of Bishops where clearly emphasized was the model of the Church in Africa as the Family of God as articulated in the Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “Ecclesia in Africa” of Pope John Paul II and leading also to the Second African Synod of Bishops of 2009 which showed that the Church in Africa which is the family of God is now ready to assume responsibility as a self-ministering, a self-propagating and a self-reliant Church on all matters affecting its life socially, economically, politically, pastorally and otherwise as articulated in “Africae Munus” the Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Church, the Mystical Body of Christ has seen herself, especially here in Africa as the Family God. This model of the Church was emphasized and consolidated in the spirit of the first African Synod of Bishops, a special Assembly which was opened in Rome in the Great Basilica of St. Peter’s in April 1994 when the sound of drums, clapping hands and dancing filled the Church where St. Peter lies buried. Africa had come to Rome. Africa was at home in Rome. The key words were: “Let us walk together as God’s Family”. This joy and excitement proclaimed a moment of restoration and emancipation for the African Church.
IMBISA outdates the first African Synod which celebrated its thirtieth Anniversary last year 2024 and yet IMBISA is celebrating its fiftieth year of existence, so where is the link? Why quote the first African Synod. The link is in this that, IMBISA is one of the shining stars which paved and pointed the way to the first African Synod which was itself rooted in the resolutions of the Second Vatican Council. IMBISA is also one of the key pillars on which the Second Synod of Africa of 2009 was rooted. These two Synods highlighted the spirit of communion, family, justice and compassion rooted in faith, hope and charity.
That is why I believe the theme of today’s celebration can be summed up as a true yearning for Synodality, collegiality, co-operation and in one word as a true yearning for family spirit. The Church in Africa as the Family of God believes that the family that prays together lives together.
The following are the four outstanding characteristics of the Family.
- The family is a place, a place of Generation: In the family we are born, and we grow, we flourish, we blossom.
- The family is a place, a place of Nurturing: In the family we are given faith, we are given values, we are taught principles, we learn to leave with others in harmony and hence we learn communion.
- The family is a place, a place of Belonging: In the family we are shown compassion, we experience warmth, we feel genuinely loved and we learn participation.
- The family is a place, a place of Reaching out: In the family we learn to be at the service of others, from the family we go out as missionaries, hence we learn and embrace mission.
Brothers and Sisters, I think the answer to the what and how, the why and the where of Synodality can be simply presented in six letters namely, F A M I L Y. Synodality means family. The Church of Christ has always been the instrument of true recreation, complete restoration, full emancipation and eternal fulfilment. The Church in History and to date, has always been punctual in response to the signs and the needs of the times.
We celebrate 50 Years of IMBISA with great joy knowing and witnessing that God, through his Church and through IMBISA has journeyed with his people for the past 50 years and has brought us this far where we meet today to celebrate that we are pilgrims of hope and hope does not disappoint for it has taken us across all trials and tribulations of the past decades and centuries here we stand with our heads held high for if God is for us, who can be against us.
Let IMBISA whose Golden Jubilee candle has just been lit, continue to be the torch bearer in the region and lead all of out of darkness into God’s wonderful light. Let IMBISA lead us towards those horizons which God continues to reveal to his Church. Let the spirit of IMBISA help us abide by God’s guidance as a Synodal Church which grows, blooms, flourishes and fructifies in faith, hope and charity.
Amen.