Religion
GOD raised Jesus Christ from the dead and He will give life to our mortal bodies (Romans 6:10-11) Easter greetings to you dear brethren. I bring to you the message of the goodness of Lord and His wonderful works to the children of men. For He has raised Jesus to life and we are all witnesses (Acts 2:32-33). We rejoice in the Lord (Alleluia!) for His mercy on us and the victory over the world through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our creed as Alleluia people is therefore that Christ has opened for us the door to eternal life, and that Death can only be a transition to His eternal glory. Jesus’ resurrection is our hope of redemption.
The Easter celebration fills us with the testimony of the wonders of God by raising Jesus Christ from the dead. The scriptures relate to us the account of the life, crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as salvific acts that transcends the machinations of men. After the shame and sadness of Good Friday represented by the darkness that enveloped the world, God raised Jesus Christ from the dead as the light of the world on Easter Sunday. God’s love is renewed and we are strengthened by this salvific event that no matter the pain and suffering we encounter in our lives and country, we have a God who cares and loves us.
Surely, Christ has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted Him stricken, struck down by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that made us whole, and by His bruises we are healed. (Is. 53:4-5). Thanks be to Jesus Christ who redeemed us from the curse of the law by being cursed for our sake (Gal. 3:13-14). Let us sing and shout for joy because Jesus Christ is truly risen. For our sake, He endured the passion so that we might be truly redeemed and reconciled with the Father. Hence, the celebration of Christ’s resurrection should spur us to go out and proclaim God’s love for humanity. What other way can this be manifested in our world today other than the love we show to one another regardless of tribe and religion especially at this period that Nigeria is still in distress?
We must return to the core values of humanity in our relationship with one another. Our national pledge challenges us to embrace patriotism to our country. The virtues of faith, loyalty, honesty and service to humanity should be the guiding principles for us all particularly those that were recently elected into various political offices in our country. Let them reflect the true values of the resurrection as they begin to serve whether as Governors, Senators, Members of the National Assembly, Ministers etc. They should manifest the new life of the risen Christ who came not to be served but to serve and give His life as ransom for many (Mt. 20:28). Christ did not abuse his power and privileges, though He was in the form of God. He did not count equality with God but emptied himself, taking the form a servant and offered His life so that humanity can be saved (Phil. 2:6-8). As people of the new life of the resurrection, we urge political office holders to join in the project of a better Nigeria where leaders will commit themselves to serving the people as Christ did. We admonish them to be close to the members of their constituencies and feel their pain and desire for change by using their offices to provide basic amenities that will better the life of Nigerians.
Christ came to give us abundant life by setting us free from the shackles of sin and the devil. His salvific
death and resurrection have brought us freedom from our old ways of life to the new life in Christ. By dying with Christ, we renounce sin and the works of the devil, now is the time to show forth the life of Easter. Let us do away with sin and evil. The resurrection of Christ has brought us reconciliation and victory over sin, evil and death. Let us be reconciled with one another that we may live in peace and unity for a prosperous and renewed Nigeria. Our hope for a greater Nigeria can only be sustained when we commit ourselves to a new orientation and attitude in our socio-political life. The orientation of service to humanity as against exploitation; sacrifice rather than self-enrichment and love for others rather than self-aggrandizement. With such attitude we can achieve the dream a country of peace and unity where the love of the Christ reigns in our heart.
Similarly, Easter is a time of hope, new life and new beginning as it gives us the opportunity each year to renew our commitment to our creed. No matter how different Easter might be this year, the power of Jesus’ resurrection remains constant. For through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, all things are made new.
Therefore, we should be imitators of Christ and live in love, as Christ loved and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:2). So, we proclaim, “none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord, so whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living” (Rm. 14:7). Hence, we longer live for ourselves but for Christ who now lives in us and through us transforms the world day by day. To experience Easter, is to experience God’s new life which is the hope of a better tomorrow. We must learn to let go of the troubles of yesterday and focus on living the new life of today. We look beyond the struggles of life and look forward to the future with renewed faith and hope.
To us Nigerians, are we not tired of the situation of things in our country right now? Why are we so unkind, making one another sad rather than joyful? We take advantage of every situation to exploit one another and point accusing fingers at others. Infact, many of us complain about the situation of things in our country but do evil to one another on daily basis. Fellow Nigerians, the evil in the land today is as a result of our individual actions and inactions; vices seem to have become virtues. Let us cease to do evil, and learn to do good. If we love our country, we must all work to make it better. Nigeria does not belong to one tribe or religion; this country belongs to all of us and no one should be ostracized in the project of rebuilding our nation. The undeniable truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ should spur us to confront life with openness to others in words and deeds. Truth and justice must be the foundation of social contract. Let the truth of Christ’s resurrection inspire us to embrace the truth of God, one another and our country.
Finally, keep in mind that Jesus Christ has died for us and is risen from the dead. He is our saving Lord; He is joy for all ages. If we die with the Lord, we shall live with the Lord. If we endure with the Lord, we shall reign with the Lord. In Him is all our sorrow, in Him all our joy. In Him is the hope of glory, in Him our redemption. In Him is our salvation, in Him all our love and peace. Happy Easter and God bless you all.
Most Rev. Dr. Peter Odetoyinbo, Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Abeokuta.
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Tags: Rev. Dr. Peter Odetoyinbo
