Nigeria’s present adversities not redemptive, Cleric bemoans

PATRICK WEMAMBU

Chaplain, St. Paul’s Chaplaincy, Delta State University (DELSU) Abraka, Delta State, Rev. Fr. (Dr.) James Urien has lamented that the current tribulations encountered by the majority of Nigerians have no healing qualities. Unlike in Christianity where we are invited to unite our trials with the passion of Christ – for the reparation of sins and salvation of souls, he rued that sufferings in the most populated African country have no redemptive powers.

Said he; “The current hardship and inflation in Nigeria is not redemptive. It is not a purposeful suffering for which the end result will be for the good of the people. These sufferings could have been avoided if there was a clear vision of where we were headed and the leaders were selfless. We wasted and shared our resources in the days of boom. We neglected our green fertile lands for white collar jobs. We abandoned our institutions to build that of other nations.”

The clergyman expressed his discontent while delivering the homily in his parish Sunday.

Denouncing the government for weaponising hunger to control the masses, Fr. Urien maintained that Nigerians deserve better. If only we knew who we are and our capabilities, he stated, we would stand tall among nations.

Underscoring kinds of faith whether authentic or hypocritical – the homilist upheld that faith must be practical and concrete. Why should Christians deny themselves and follow Christ? The church administrator rhetorically asked, replying that whoever wishes to be a disciple of Jesus must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Him.

“We are called to victimhood and martyrdom for the faith. You can only win your life when you lose it in God. Faith is total obedience to the will of God even if it entails suffering and hardship. The will of God places certain demands on our lives. Take up your cross and follow Jesus without complaining or making excuses,” the priest stressed.

He added; “We need to have a personalized experience of the faith. To choose an act of higher purpose will entail some suffering initially but would lead to greatness. The faith requires sacrifices.”

How can you tell a hungry brother/sister it is well without providing any assistance to him/her? It is one thing to have faith and another to practice it, the cleric explained. Just as it is one thing to be present in the church and another to have the church present in you, he argued that it is one thing to show off good deeds before men and another to be sincere.

True faith must be manifested in action which is not cosmetic in nature, the congregants learnt. They were further informed there should be evidence of the faith in action – practical Christianity – because Jesus did not only declare His love for the world but demonstrated it by dying on the cross to save all.

On why Jesus was worried about the perception of others about Him, Fr Urien emphasized that; “He was misunderstood. There was a need to correct the false impressions. Jesus would not assume the identity of another person. Some of us are willing to hide under the identity of others. Jesus needed the apostles to understand the kind of messiah he is. He was not a political messiah but a suffering and redemptive messiah.”

Self-knowledge aids purposefulness and behaviour. The opinion of others is not the definition of who a person is but what God says, the homilist assured. He insisted that it is possible for people to have a wrong impression of you which you can change by your attitude. This is because self-identification as a child of God can be a source of strength in adversity.

For a better society

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