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Archbishop Dr Thabo Makgoba says the Christmas story was rooted in political and social realities.
Gallo Images/Brenton Geach
- Archbishop Thabo Makgoba delivered his annual Christmas message at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town on Wednesday night.
- He warned that corruption and inequality are deepening despair in South Africa and worldwide.
- The archbishop called for justice, truth, and hope, urging South Africans to resist despair and work for change.
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has delivered a Christmas message, warning that corruption, inequality, and growing disillusionment with democracy are deepening despair in South Africa and across the world.
Speaking to worshippers at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, Makgoba reflected on the meaning of Christmas, reminding believers that God entered history “not to avoid it but to engage with it”, choosing to live among the vulnerable and marginalised.
“This most holy of nights” marked Makgoba’s 18th Christmas as archbishop, as he welcomed congregants worshipping in person and online, wishing them “a blessed, safe and happy Christmas”.
Reflecting on the biblical account of Jesus’ birth, he said the Christmas story was rooted in political and social realities.
“God enters the world as it is, and not as we would like it to be,” Makgoba added, quoting theologian John de Gruchy’s reminder that “the Christian faith is always lived within history and never above it”.
He said the Incarnation placed God among people living under systems of power, poverty, displacement and uncertainty, declaring that “Emmanuel - God with us - echoes across all humankind”.
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Makgoba stressed that Christ’s birth was not among the powerful but “among those made vulnerable by forces beyond their control”, including refugees, migrants, victims of gender-based violence and communities affected by climate change and economic exclusion.
The archbishop said South Africa’s colonial and apartheid history continued to shape present realities, compounded by corruption and poor governance.
The nepotism, the self-dealing, the corruption and the theft from the poor, which have now replaced apartheid in too many areas of governance, have extended the suffering of the past into the present.
Makgoba warned that this erosion of trust was threatening democracy itself.
Citing Afrobarometer surveys, he said seven out of 10 South Africans were dissatisfied with how democracy was working, with unemployment, crime, failing infrastructure and corruption cited as major concerns.
Makgoba added despair had become widespread, quoting academic Imraan Buccus’ observation that “despair now defines much of South African life”, with gambling becoming “a form of economic self-medication”.
He expressed alarm that online betting now accounted for 60% of South Africa’s gambling industry, trapping millions in cycles of addiction.
The archbishop said support for military rule was rising dangerously, with nearly half of South Africans now indicating support for an army takeover.
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He warned that history had shown that military coups were not a solution.
Makgoba stressed that the crisis of democracy was global, pointing to widening inequality, the rise of populism, xenophobia and what he described as “the stirrings of a new kind of fascism”.
He warned against the distortion of faith into “a narrow Christian nationalism which seeks to demonise ‘the other’.”
Against this backdrop, Makgoba said Christmas proclaimed hope born from the margins.
“Christmas is fundamentally the story of God’s fundamental option for the poor,” he added, invoking Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s belief in the power of “the little people” of history.
Makgoba said lasting change came from ordinary people working for justice, not from elites.
“To share the good news of Christmas, to offer hope in times of despair … simply depends on our availability to stand up for the truth, and to work relentlessly for justice.”
He concluded by urging South Africans to follow the example of Mary, embracing what theologian Denise Ackermann called “a spirituality of waiting that resists despair while refusing false security”.
“May we too go home this Christmas a different people because we too have stayed a moment at the manger,” Makgoba added.
