Christ’s resurrection is a hope that we can get it right in Nigeria – Clergy
Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
Rev. Fr. Stephen Keghdwem, the assistant Parish Priest of Saint Justina’s Parish Mayodasa, Catholic Diocese of Jalingo on Sunday called on Nigerians to not despair but hope in God for a better country and a better life despite the enormous hardship been experienced in the country.
Keghdwem, who gave the message of hope in a Sermon at the Mass to mark this year’s Easter, said that if the tumultuous life of Christ, characterised by extreme pain, sorrow, humiliation, shame and death, could turn out to be a life of such blissful eternal glory, then the hardships of our times can only be a prelude to greater things to come.
He urged those who are suffering incarceration, injustice and all forms of restrictions unjustly to not lose hope as the light of Christ’s resurrection will shatter the chains holding them bound.
“Today we are gathered here as an Alleluia people to celebrate Christ’s triumph over evil and all the forces of darkness. We are gathered to celebrate the assurance of hope that no matter the situation, despair is not an option.
“When the leaders of the time conspired and sent Jesus to untimely and unjust death, they thought it was over and they were done with Him. Little did they realise that they were only watering the ministry to explode exponentially beyond their control.
“Today, some actions of some of our leaders are a clear indication that they would prefer to have us buried in the tomb of of perpetual deprivation and suffering. They have chosen to use religion and ethnicity to divide us and put us against one another so that we would lack the power to resist their evil perpetuations.
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“As we speak, their are thousands of people who are denied promotion from their places of work, who are denied their rights by virtue of their faith and or ethnicity. Their are people who are incarcerated unjustly and their is no one to speak for them.
“For some of us, we have our freedom and move about quite freely but we are mentally enslaved by unfulfilled dreams and lack of rewards from the works of our hands. It is a very depressing situation especially when we look at what is happening with our security situation and the economy. It will seem as though all hope is lost.
“The message of Easter is that hope is not lost. The message is that, no matter how dark the tomb may be, no matter how heavy the stone that covers it, the light of Christ will brighten it and the Angel of the Lord will be there to roll off the stone. In fact, at the point when despair and disillusionment begins to set in, it means our liberation is near at hand. It will defile human knowledge and understanding. That is what we celebrate today, the sure hope of our liberation for whatever circumstances the world has chosen to subject us to” he emphasized.
Fr. Keghdwem urged the people, “put off the old self and take on a new person in Christ and cling to the things of heaven as new creatures rather than anchoring your whole being on the things of this world”.
