Anti-beer sermon angers mourners
Livingstonia Synod clerk Reverend Bannet Zimba last Friday stirred a hornet’s nest when he publicly denounced mourners’ preference for beer to the word of God.
The sermon attracted disapproval from a cross-section of people who had come to bury this reporter’s 78-year old mother, Lyness Saka, who hailed from Mateyu Village, Traditional Authority M’mbelwa in Mzimba.
In his sermon at the cemetery during Saka’s burial, Reverend Zimba rebuked people’s love for worldly things, including beer, instead of loving the word of God.
“Mwakhala kutali na ine chifukwa nkhumanya kuti nindize na velemuti ya kachasu [You’re sitting far away from me because you know I haven’t brought here a bottle of kachasu]. If I had brought a bottle of kachasu here, you could have, certainly, moved closer to partake of the liquor,” said Reverend Zimba.
But his accusation did not please some people who reacted angrily and advised the pastor to change the topic of his homily.
The aggrieved members further threatened to leave the graveyard if Zimba did not heed their advice.
“Sangani chinyakhe chakuti mupharazge; mowa cha! Pala mlutizgenge kuphalazga vya phere, timlekeninge kwene kuno sono nthe! [Find something to preach on; not beer! If you don’t change the topic, we’ll leave you even before finalising the funeral ceremony],” they warned.
But this did not shake the man of God who shot back at the protesters by rebuking them using relevant biblical verses.
The protesters, too, did not want to be outdone. Just like the Pharisees did to trap Jesus Christ, they also set a plan to prove the pastor was equally wanting in the eyes of God.
“While preaching, you’re standing on a tomb, which is against our cultural rites and values. You’ve violated our customs and, therefore, you must apologise immediately,” they demanded.
Before Reverend Zimba could respond, some church elders intervened by pleading with both parties to sheathe their daggers after noticing that tension was rising high between the two parties.
However, the sermon protesters felt short-changed and left.
