Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has no FAITH in a corruption-less distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine in South Africa.
His sermon, under the guise of a cleverly crafted display of prayer, was too telling. It was too personal.
I have, however, been told that prayer can take many forms. With hands wide open, head to the sky. In meditation. On knees, and forehead leaning on clenched hands or palm to palm.
It can be silent or a song. Loud or a gong. In a group, in a taxi.
I know more of prayers in taxis; those are hands on the seat in front of you, if not the dashboard, and shouting the clan names of your maker, begging him to take you – then thanking him for not.
But the most important thing I know about prayer, is that it is between you and the God in whom you believe.
It was from "The Ballot or the Bullet" public speech, by human rights activist Malcolm X, where I learnt and concur to this: If we were to discuss religion, we would have too many differences from the outset.
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng drew deep from his religious philosophy to rebuke “vaccines that are from the devil and are meant to infuse 666 in the lives of people, meant to corrupt their DNA”.
Here we are, faced with many differences.
Conspiracy theories aside, there is something rather peculiar about FAITH.
It is in how it shapes man.
It is nature's incline to whittle, sculpt, paint or carve man's mind.
How it binds to the backbone of belief. It is a building block in dogmas and creeds.
It is a narrow channel in a marsh.
It is violence in a peaceful march.
Faith is a creek. It is a river. It flows and it is vast. It is fulfilling.
Faith is rain. It says it will come, but we still prepare for the drought.
It is overabundant, we still anticipate the flood.
We still remember the dams and lakes that swallowed our young.
The sewage waters that did the same. The drains and the school swimming pools.
And the sinking taxis in flooded bridges. The same taxis from within we shouted the clan names of our maker, begging him to take us – but this time he did.
Faith is broad. It is energy. It is rising hours before the sun in the darkest of mornings.
It is a spark that ignites a fire when we boil water to bathe. To cook, make breakfast and get kids ready for school and leave before the sun starts peeking at the horizon. Faith is meeting other fires in the street to catch a taxi to town, and acknowledging that their flames aren't as gentle as yours.
FAITH isn't as kind as FATE.
If Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng was destined to cast himself as an anti-vaxxer, fate will forever prevail over faith.
He believes there could be corruption in the distribution, and or manufacturing of the Covid-19 vaccine in South Africa. Perhaps he was using religion to reiterate the culture of corruption in politics.
Whatever his reasoning, he forgot that his religion is his personal business. It governs his personal life and morals. And his religious philosophy is personal between himself and the God in whom he believes.