Archdeacon Andrew Manning -Parish of Umhlali, Diocese of Natal.
(Chaplain to the TSSF – Southern Region & KZN)
15 February 2023
In the Morning prayer reading this morning we were reminded that it is not only our generation that feels the strains of separation from God. We look upon the world around us and it is easy to feel that God has “hidden his face from us.” And so we cry out to him as Isaiah and the Psalmist and countless others have done “ do not be angry beyond measure oh Lord; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look on us we pray for we are you people.” (Isaiah 63:9)
Today I will be instituted as the Rector of the Parish of Umhlali. I and the Parish will recommit to the ministry of Christ in this place. In this act we acknowledge that God is faithful, and he will not fail us!
Today we are reminded that God calls us to Holy living in a broken and fallen world. We are the remnant on which God is building His church.
And so today I draw comfort from the fact that God knows the plans he has for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and that we must persevere in faith.
From experience I know that when I don’t understand what is going on in my life, when things don’t look like how I’d dreamed and planned they would be, that it is a season and that on the other side is what God saw all along, and that in time we will see the goodness of God with our own eyes.
And so, I say to you as you face the challenges of today! Be of good courage, fight the good fight of faith! That you may finish your course with joy.
“Holy and righteous God, You set before us life and death:
grant us grace in the face of many temptations to seek the mind of Christ and choose eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.”
