The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Lent

  • Lent begins

    Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40 days Christian Lenten season, which counts down to the Easter period.
    In commemoration of the day, Catholic faithful will receive Ashes on their forehead, being a reminder that they are dust and unto dust they shall return.
    Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of blessing ashes made from palm fronds blessed on the previous year’s Palm Sunday.

  • Fear and hate at the time of Lent

    SIR: The media helmsman of the Goodluck Jonathan\Sambo team, Femi Fani- Kayode has clearly defined his job in a way that will haunt our politics as well as the very concept of societal cohesion and indeed of social solidarity upon which as of necessity a republic should be constructed upon, for a very long time to come.

    The unhealthy template he has set bears a disconcerting, striking resemblance to the modus operandi of Hitler‘s propaganda minister the perfidious Franz Josef Goebells.Columnist Femi Aribisala has also joined in on the same band-wagon.

    We all know that electoral contests are by their very nature divisive. Nevertheless, an election should not be positioned in such a way as to destroy the very basis of democracy as well as by cynical manipulation whose end result will be to tear apart the fabric of society.  Elections ought to be conducted within the context of a preexisting national democratic arrangement.

    In the true manner of the template set by Goebells, all the fault lines are being ruthlessly exploited. Ethnicity, religion, regional differences, no holds are barred and there is obviously no intention to take prisoners. For a democracy though there is, has to be, a critical issue: What happens after the elections?

    Much of the big lie on offer is not just offensive to the sensibilities, it is meant to create a permanent rupture undermining the very sustainability of the democratic ethos and of constitutionalism. This way the republic is imperiled.

    The hate speeches coming during lent provides food for thought. The hate maestros do not just resemble Goebells which is bad enough, they also bear a sickening resemblance to the ultimate bogeyman Pontius Pilate. Through the ages, every Sunday school pupil has been taught to regard Pilate as a‘ bad man‘. Pilate was more than just your run of the mill ‘bad man‘, his place in eternal infamy was earned because of the way he abdicated his responsibility.

    Pilate was in actual fact a ‘chancer‘, his eyes firmly fixed on self-preservation. Fixated on his impending comfortable retirement and the prospect of a quick exit from a perennially problematic Roman colony\outpost in Judea he simply cut and run, washing his hands off the matter.

    His successors today demonstrate the same trait. Those who use hate speeches and divisive politics based on exploiting divisions based on religion and tribe follow in the footsteps of Pontius Pilate.

    As Bob Marley said ‘when the rain falls it won’t fall on one man`s house.`Like Pilate Femi Fani-Kayode obviously believes that his house will be exempted. This is not going to happen of course but the deluded always have this erroneous belief.

    Now that we are in lent, might we ask in all of this what is the light that surprises the Christian as he prays?It cannot be about enveloping the polity in the politics of hate.That is not withing the context, meaning as well as the interpretation of this seminal season.

    The light that should guide the Christian at this time is clearly foretold by St Francis of Assisi. The words of St Francis were recollected by Mrs Margret Thatcher on her first day in office as Prime Minister:

    ‘Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope‘.

    It is obvious that those jumping from pulpit to pulpit while at the same time promoting hate have never really thought about the import of St Francis‘ prayer. Quite honestly they should.

     

    • Ayo Badmus,

     Osogbo

  • Create atmosphere for dialogue, reconciliation- Mark tells Nigerians

    Create atmosphere for dialogue, reconciliation- Mark tells Nigerians

    The Senate President, Sen. David Mark, has emphasised the need for Nigerians to collectively create an atmosphere for dialogue, reconciliation and forgiveness to eliminate violent crimes in the society.

    Mark made the call in his message to Nigerians as they commence this year’s Lenten season at St. Mulumba’s Catholic Chaplaincy in Abuja on Tuesday.

    In a statement by Mr.Paul Mumeh, Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Mark urged the National Conference to make concrete recommendations to the government to provide lasting solutions to burning issues.

    “I will not relent in my call that violence must be stamped out of our society. I strongly condemn the senseless killings of our people, especially innocent children and women.

    “I find it extremely difficult to understand why these violent groups would invade schools and open fire on innocent and defenceless students.

    “This is unpardonable and clearly unacceptable,” he said.

    Mark reminded politicians, ahead of the 2015 election campaigns, to practice politics without bitterness, adding that decency was required in our polity.

    “Campaign rallies must not be turned into battle grounds but rather, opportunities to articulate our programmes.

    “We are to tell our people what we have done and what we intend to do for them. We should be sincere and honest about it,” Mark said.

    He prayed that Nigerians would use the period of lent to fast, pray and be generous with the less privileged in order to make the society a better place.

    He promised that legislation by the National Assembly would always be guided by the yearnings and aspirations of the citizenry, “our legislation would always be people oriented”.

    The statement said that the Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Morro, urged Nigerians to reflect on the significance of the Lenten Season and forgive one another.

    Moro also called on Nigerians to join hands with government to find solution to the lingering security challenges being fuelled by Boko Haram insurgents.

    In his sermon, the Priest of the St. Mulumba Catholic Chaplaincy, Rev. Fr. Innocent Jooji told the congregation that Lent was a period of hope and spiritual renewal.

    “The focus of lent is on the opportunities of deepening our relationship with God and our fellow human beings irrespective of creed, social, cultural, economic and political affiliation,” he said.

  • Lent, springtime for centenary renewal

    Just as the seasons manifest the changing course of the earth’s life of soul, the Christian festivals meant to honour the coming of Christ are to be celebrated, essentially to witness the Passion and appropriation of the Risen Christ. The cycle of Christian festivals begins at Advent and passes through Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Ascension. These spiritual rhythms of the year are experienced and observed in and with sacred practices, which have their places in human and national life. Out of a spiritual and natural understanding, Christians have not failed to weave the web of their redemptive life on the loom of the year’s rhythm of time and the Passion of our Risen Saviour, especially the Easter celebration.

    The authentic purpose of Lent starts with Christ as a season of fasting, self-denial, spiritual growth, conversion, and simplicity. Lent, which comes from the Teutonic (Germanic) word for ‘Springtime,’ can be viewed as a spiritual spring-cleaning: a time for taking our national inventory and then cleaning out those things which hinder our corporate and personal relationships and service to God and others. It is fitting that the season of Lent begins with personal/national repentance; a yearning to do what is true and an openness to change as Nigeria will be 100 by January 1, 2014. Nigeria’s Centenary celebration (double Jubilee) without national renewal may amount to windows of looting, corruption and jamboree.

    The 40 days in Lent is a symbolic number in the Hebrew scriptures which signifies an irreversible event, outside the daily/weekly, religious, and national routines. Lent is a season of spring, renewing, soaring and emerging, a most promising period of Nigeria after 100 years of the British amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates. Lent as the ‘Springtime’ for Nigeria is more than the ‘Autumn of Nations,’ the revolutions of 1989 that swept through Eastern Europe or the ‘Arab Spring’ revolutionary waves of demonstrations, protests, and wars that began on Dec 18, 2010 in the Arab world. The ‘Arab Spring’ was the aftermath of the unannounced United State of America’s shift in foreign policy to the states of the Arab world. However, the amalgamation challenges including our democratic policy and other economic and religious problems in Nigeria, go beyond civil resistance bearing in mind that ‘Arab Spring’ demonstrations have meet violent responses from authorities, including pro-government/ethnic militias and counter-demonstrations. Lent 2013, as the ‘Springtime’ for Nigeria Centenary renewal must not just be an annual liturgical traditional chore, but a time of personal/national soul cleaning, a renewed sense of order and purposeful lifestyle of leadership and followership. It is a time to lift our nations’ spirit, sweep out the bad corrupt habits and create a holy space in our lives for God regardless of the hypocrisy and lies of today’s and yesterday’s men. Nothing will change in the fortunes of Nigeria unless we are first transformed by the renewing work of the Holy Spirit who renews everything.

    Just as in other biblical prophecies, God has foretold Nigeria’s amalgamation, leadership, religious, and democratic crisis, ‘her princes (political, traditional, and religious leaders) in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortal, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, thus says the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken. The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy; yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully’ (Ezekiel 22: 27-29). The latest reports by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU’s) naming Nigeria as the worst place for a baby to be born in 2013 points to excessive leadership not different from the colonial masters.

    Using the first idea of the letter of the word LENT, Lent is about proclaiming liberty to the amalgamated captives of a distress nation. The majority of Nigerians are captives to the 00.1% of its ‘Extractive Elite Class’ leader/prophets. Nigerians are captives to legalized robbery including ‘GSM networks,’ petrol marketers, and spiritual consultants. Obiageli Ezekwesili, a former Nigerian Minister for Mineral Resources and Education aptly explained that ‘the poor in our land (Nigeria) have paid the highest possible price for being born into the world’s best example of a paradox.’ Nigerians are groaning under intergenerational poverty based on what economists call the ‘resource curse.’

    According to Ezekwesili our ‘economic evidence shows that the answer which we must all ponder deeply is that oil wealth entrenched corruption and mismanagement of resources in government and warped the incentive for value added work, creativity and innovation in our public, private sectors and wider society.’

    Lack of an incentive for value added work puts people into the captivity of corruption. Nigeria is not just under a ‘resource curse’ but most importantly, a ‘spiritual curse’ entrenched by the violent and corrupt political amalgamation coupled with the ‘cycles of disastrous and destructive choices promoted by older generations.’ The solution goes beyond ‘arms of flesh’ bearing in mind our leadership wreckage and superficiality of the followership undisciplined lives and religiosity.

    Lent 2013 calls for a national sober repentance and social responsibility ‘to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound’ … ‘to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke’ (Isaiah 61:1, 58:6). Lent is a time to proclaim deliverance upon Nigeria from visible and invisible symptoms of corruption and leadership prodigality, mediocrity, and delusion.

    The greatest obstacle to Lent, as the springtime for Nigeria’s Centenary renewal is the problem of corruption, inordinate love of self, power, and wealth. This inordinate love of self has the potential to obstruct the love of God and the people and eventually often destroys. The power of self-love is turning Nigeria into individualistic empires, killing our community, and its spiritual, and cultural bonding. Self-love in the form of different political, religious and societal honours, and the care of one’s ‘good’ name/dignity has increasingly introduced its own disorder into most of our national, cultural and denominational acts, even to the highest order when directed towards natural satisfaction instead of toward God and people. The Lenten season offers a sober opportunity for repentance and responsibility to overcome these diseases that are spreading and bleeding throughout the whole of our national, religious and interior life. Love of God urges a soul to generosity, inordinate love of self, power, gratification, and pleasure urges a soul to avoid all inconvenience, self-denial, effort and weariness. Self-love is the window to self-idolatry that is destroying our soul/nation, a love of God and our neighbor because of mortal sin which follows from it. Lent is a call to overcome the dangerous deceit of self-love and idols that can easily be concealed even among Christians through a pride of life, concupiscence (lust of the eyes and flesh), anger, disunity, greed, and materialism. Lent 2013 provides a platform for Nigeria’s Centenary renewal.

    • Very Rev Dr Okegbile, is of Methodist Theological Institute, Sagamu, Ogun State.