South Africa Needs Easter Hope

GUEST EDITORIAL BY COLLEEN CONSTABLE – Easter hope springs eternal. The risen Christ appeared to Mary of Magdala and said: “Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ And Mary went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’, and what he told her” (John 20:17-18).

“And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe” (Matthew 16:11).

The Resurrection of Christ represents new beginnings, new life and true transformation: a declaration of love, faith, truth and hope. But the encounter between Mary of Magdala and the companions of Jesus suggests denialism. They denied the truth of the risen Christ as presented by the first witness of the Resurrection, a “newly appointed prophet of the New Testament”—a woman.

The patriarchal attitudes at the time contaminated their thinking and feelings. Their inclination towards prejudice allowed the voice of reason to escape. They failed to recognise “his voice” transmitted in the clearly articulated message they received. They failed to listen to the words of affirmation.

Today in contemporary South Africa, this attitude of denialism has also emerged in various spheres of our societal life. We celebrate Easter in the midst of challenges: governance issues, nation-building and social cohesion, drought, violence and unemployment, to name but a few.

Our biggest governance challenge is the credibility of the presidential office and the economic growth of our country. Denialism underpins the ruling party’s endorsement of a sitting president who has outraged the nation multiple times. Denialism informs the reluctance to recall him from public office. Denialism allows our beloved country to be sacrificed for the sake of one person.

In an environment of denial, “hope” becomes a survival strategy: a technique to hold despondency and despair at bay. We cannot live without hope.

We hold our breath as we await the next international rating agencies’ outcomes on the financial sustainability of the country.

We sigh with relief that the first 2016 voter registration weekend exceeded all expectations: a record-breaking 3 million voters registered, with 78% of new registrations youths.

Voter maturity may facilitate transformation. Voters have learned that effective policy implementation and sustainable policy outcomes matter. And political parties have now learned that the growing discontent among the poor should no longer be ignored.

As voters our heartbeats increase in the struggle to free ourselves from denial—unlike Mary’s denialist friends—by embracing hard facts and truths, knowing that we hold the true power: we hold the Easter candle in our hands.

We recognise the urgency to upscale nation-building efforts and welcome Human Rights Day having been celebrated as a “national day against racism”.

Churches should be more progressive in ending racism: it cannot be left to government alone.

We hope that the drought is classified as a national disaster. We need sound policy approaches and sustainable financial support for the agricultural sector.

We hope that the current wave of violence at universities ends. Although universities have been slow in institutional transformation for more than 20 years, violence as a tool to facilitate change can never be condoned.

Youth unemployment is high: job creation is an utmost priority. Inequality produces poverty and violence. This vicious cycle needs sustainable interventions with measurable results.

Easter reminds us that we step out of the suffering of Christ into the light of his Resurrection. Our faith is a lived experience modelled on the Resurrection that guarantees ongoing transformation.

We need to think carefully how we react to the prodigal sons and daughters of the Church. It is usually the encounter at parish level that matters most and hurts most.

Christ excludes no one. God’s mercy is not an incentive to sin but a vehicle that leads to conversion and ultimately completes the transformation of who we are and how we live our lives.

We need to stand firm like Mary Magdalen in the midst of denial, lest we emulate the behaviour of her denialist friends. We must not let denying uncomfortable facts hold us back from orchestrating life-changing moments.

Colleen Constable is the founding CEO of the South African Institute for Violence Prevention and an institutional transformational consultant.