Special days

Last Sunday was Valentine’s Day; so Steve, the Lead Elder here in Jubilee was preaching on hell! This is part of our Right or Wrong series. Steve did point out that this wasn’t deliberately planned but the date was made clear to him after the series had been decided. The sermon was preceeded by some brief video interviews with students at Cape Town University. What did they think about hell? - the answers were frankly rather predictable. Asked the question what they felt about preaching on hell on Valentine’s Day one earnest student thought the Pastor ought definitely to postpone his message and another that possibly Valentine’s day was hell - indeed perhaps it is for some -  depending on expectations that might not be fulfilled! But then as I tell my wife, every day is Valentine’s Day with me - I won’t print her reply.

Valentine’s Day might be thought of as a special day, which allows me to observe that South Africa goes in for quite a number of special days which are public holidays alongside the regualar ones at Christmas and Easter. So we have Human Rights Day, Family Day, Freedom Day, Workers Day (when we don’t work), Youth Day, National Womens Day, Heritage Day, Day of Reconciliation, Day of Goodwill and I suppose there are also a few days when people actually have to go to work! But who’s complaining about all these public holidays?

Last week there was a very special day - though sadly not a public holiday - which celebrated the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison after 27 years. It’s amazing that he has lived on another 20 years after such a long and fairly brutal prison sentence. President Zuma gave a special speech in Parliament and Mandela, looking frail now at 91 was present and greeted with rapture by the MPs. I well remember the day of his release as we had returned only a few months earlier  from our first 4 month stay here in South Africa which was the first time we were involved with Jubilee Church and which I had led during that period. Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom, was, within a few years  really to bring about the rebirth of this nation with the first genuine democratic elections. So it was a day to celebrate and remember and when Mandela is gone I really wonder if they will turn the day into another public holiday.

But there is another special day this coming Saturday and that is Terry Virgo’s 70 birthday, and so the very warmest of congratulations to him. I suggested to Steve that as this was such a special day it ought to be properly marked by giving all the staff a day off to celebrate in the spirit and tradition of South Africa having so many public holidays. Steve said the staff could have the Saturday off as this is Terry’s actual birthday. But as the majority of the staff are off anyway on that day I felt it lacked a certain generosity of spirit! As for myself I will be teaching on Eternal Security on Saturday, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERRY VIRGO.

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