We are all God’s
people, called
to promote His
values in the
world. Everyone
is involved. The priest and religious
who answered the call to leave home,
leave friends and brothers to walk in
the Lord for the salvation of mankind
meet with difficulties in their calls.
The early Apostles met with the same
difficulties. Even the prophets of God
in early years met with the same diffi-
culties. Many were maltreated, killed
and burnt alive because their messag-
es were not milk and honey. People
like Jeremiah witnessed horrible and
untold miseries, and maltreatment
meted on him were unbearable.
Today many people are afraid to
speak about God in adult society
because of reprimands. But the
prophets of the old did not follow
these protocols and it is expected of
the 21st century prophets. Archbish-
op Oscar Ray Murray gave a voice to
what was happening in his country.
When the politics of that time was
very destructive he spoke and chal-
lenged the power. He was shot at the
altar when he was saying mass. He
was not neutral to what was happen-
ing which reminds us of what one of
the philosophers said “The hottest
place in hell is waiting for those who
in times of moral crises maintain
neutrality”
The firebrand prophet, John De
Baptist was imprisoned and his head
was cut off because of a woman who
preferred to live in sin than live in
God. He called a spade a spade.
The lives of the saints revealed their
spiritual life styles and what they
went through and how their spiritual
legacies inspire us to go ahead in the
midst of our own difficulties.
The twenty first century lay people
are called to marriage life. The sin-
cere ones also experience difficulties
in living the truth of the gospel. They
called them names, they heap insults
on them and cajoled them and make
them look like fools. Imagine the
fragile faith of the modern man. We
are witnessing the spiritual mess of
the modern man who indulges in
earthly things and politics of ethnic-
ity than live in God that created him.
He fights anybody who mentions
God before him because he has dis-
owned God and abandoned the val-
ues that should sustain him. Religion
has no meaning for him even though
at the social gathering he wears
sacramental as spiritual strappings
for recognition. Deep down he looks
down on his fellow Church men who
try to go to church every day and
spread the gospel in their environs.
The modern man might come to
church with other motives, he is
there as a spectator not as an active
participant in the celebration of the
Mass. He may not come out when
others are coming for offertory. For
him that is not his business. One
wonders why he comes to church.
This is a dilemma of the modern
Christians of today. Such a Christian
needs God seriously, but who can
help such a man? We have many of
such in our churches today that lack
meaning and purpose of life. What
the Legionaries experience during
their home visitations is terrible too.
Each time they visit the lukewarm
Christians they give them excuses
why they are not going to church.
Some say that the preaching of the
priests are too long and do not stim-
ulate them and always talk of money.
Some say they do not know what
the priests are doing with the money
they give each Sunday.
They leave their spiritual hang-ups
and crises of faith and engage the
Legionaries on matters that are irrel-
evant to avoid their inner insecurity
that disturbs them. They build up
hostility, emptiness of life that does
not give way for spiritual rebirth. The
Legionary who meet such people if
they do not have enough spiritual
strength may be converted by those
they are trying to convert. We need
strong faith to meet the vendors of
false values of this world. The world
is heading to pseudo philosophy of
life. Man is no longer looking for
spiritual satisfaction but pseudo sat-
isfaction, he looks for drugs to escape
the realities of life, he indulges in
alcohol, obscene magazines and rock
music that by-passes the conscience.
The ill treatment meted out to some
individuals given a task to mobilize
people for a church project some
years ago was a rude shock and an
eye opener. The Christians who sit
comfortably in the church to sing
and dance are different people when
they are at home. Many visited were
hostile to receive them. Some opened
their doors while some from their
upstairs dismissed them with a wave
of hand. Some said “you dare not
come here again”. Those sent were
wounded and shocked by what was
coming out from the mouth of their
fellow Christians. They would have
stayed in their comfort zones or be a’
la carte Christians and not to go out
to receive insults but that is the way
the people think they can help their
church. The prayers of the church are
with them. Jesus will surprise those
who fight for him in this tangled
world. The world is full of “oju
aye” (people who do eye service).
Those who work for Jesus should be
consoled with this statement “The
reproaches they make on me rest also
on you. How they treated me is how
those who lack faith will treat you”.
We need brave and truthful Chris-
tians today to confront the evils of
our time. Jesus is not coming again to
preach but the legacy he left behind
is enough for us. It is a pity that the
modern man gets his values from the
social media of today. Unless we are
moved by the compassionate Jesus
and work and live the truth of the
gospel we cannot get a space in the
kingdom of God where only the just
will inherit.
Lip service to God and insensitivity
to what is happening cannot help us
to earn a space in the kingdom of
justice.
Very Rev. Msgr Livinus Ukah
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