Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu has announced that he will be retiring from public life as he celebrates his 79th birthday. I greet this news with joy, because he gets to spend a well-earned retirement with his family, and with a tinge of sadness, as he has always been a prophetic and hopeful voice in a world of violence, lies and despair. Archbishop Tutu has always believed in humanity’s goodness and the immense power of God’s love and redemptive work. Where others have seen nothing but evil and death he has seen the possibility of resurrection and transfiguration – and he’s usually been the one that is right.
He has consistently reminded us that God is good and just and requires goodness and justice from us. He has been a witness to the power of forgiveness and the potential of reconciliation even after humanity’s greatest sins. His witness to the way of peace and nonviolent social change has inspired millions. Archbishop Tutu has reminded us, with his eloquent exposition of Ubuntu and Christian theology, that we are a community and cannot exist alone – just like the Trinitarian God whose image we are created in.
Throughout his life Archbishop Tutu has combined the most important insights of orthodox Christianity, the Anglican tradition, liberation theology, monastic spirituality and African traditional wisdom to create a potently powerful articulation of the shape and mission of God’s Kingdom. Since his pivotal role in the disestablishment of apartheid and the creation of South Africa’s democratic government, Archbishop Tutu has worked tirelessly at ending racial injustice, fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic, slowing climate change and advocating for the power of forgiveness in public life. The world would be a worse place if it were not for his life.
For all of this, I say thank you Desmond. I am a better Christian because of your witness. This world is a better place for the next generation of children because of your work. I have devoted a significant portion of my academic career to learning from and continuing your legacy. Yours is a story that is worth being told. I pray God’s blessings on this next stage in your life, and I hope that it is filled with laughing children and loving family. As you rest from your labors we will try our best to pick up where you have left off and partner with God in all that he is doing in the world today. Grace and peace to you my elder brother in Christ.
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Recently, the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis launched a new online news journal dealing with issues of religion and politics. It is, appropriately, titled Religion & Politics. I’ve known about the journal for a while because a former colleague of mine works as the managing editor, and I have a feeling it will join Religion and Ethics Newsweekly as one of my go-to places for popular news and analysis on the intersection of religion and politics. Please, go check it out!
