TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
SOME religious leaders in Osun State have called on Nigerians to celebrate Easter with the hope that God who raised Jesus Christ from death would address the nation’s litany of woes.
Asking Christians not to celebrate in despair, some clerics in their separate Easter messages said Nigeria’s challenges were not insurmountable for God.
In his Easter message, entitled, “Hope lives because He lives,” the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Osogbo, Most Rev John Oyejola, charged Christians to be hopeful that Nigeria’s challenges would be things of the past.
He said, “As we celebrate the resurrection of Christ this year, some might ask if it is appropriate to celebrate at all at this time of great challenges and difficulties in our lives as individuals and in our country. We have yet to fully recover from the effects of COVID-19 pandemic and our dear country is bedeviled with security challenges, poverty, corruption, and a host of other problems.
“Many of us are living a life full of frustration, disappointment, grief and hopelessness. There is unbelievable pain in the land. What is there to celebrate in the midst all these? Where is the Easter joy we might ask? The truth however is that we come to this Easter in a similar way to the first disciples. Fear and anxiety overcame them after the death of Jesus.
“They were confused and felt hopeless. They didn’t know what the future held. They were so sad that their friend, mentor, teacher, provider and leader had been taken away from them that they didn’t know what to do or where to go.”
He added, “Many of us like the first disciples came to this Easter with some fear, some anxiety and less hope for the future. We may come to this Easter, not knowing where our country is headed, but Easter celebration is reminding us of the fact that God, in raising Jesus Christ from the dead can get us out of our difficult situation.
“The hope that the resurrection of Jesus brings is not just the hope for eternal life but also hope for our earthly life. As Saint John Paul II said, ‘Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are Easter people and Hallelujah is our song’.
“We should see the risen Christ in the current reality of our lives and never doubt his love for us. We should always remember that because he lives, our future is assured. Because of Christ’s resurrection, hope not despair carries the day. Death, frustration, fear and anxiety do not have the final word. Joy and hope do.”
The Bishop noted that the resurrection of Jesus gives Christians liberating hope.
“Hope in the here-and-now and hope in the hear-after. Jesus’ victory over death is a shared victory. His glory is our hope for glory. His message for us at this time is: peace be with you,” he said.
“Our Easter faith and joy should not just be an idea in the head but should be lived daily. As we celebrate life, self-giving love, and the life-giving strength of the presence of God, I invite you all to communicate the Easter message in ways that will transform our lives, our families, our communities and our country. Do your best to let the joy of Easter go around,” he added.
Leader of Sufficient Grace and Truth Ministry, Okinni, Osun State, Bishop Seun Adeoye, also asked Nigerians to put their trust in God, adding that agitations in Nigeria abound because there was no love.
“Nigerians should put their trust in God alone. Love binds and hatred divides. The absence of love as shared by God to humanity is the reason behind the call for self rule by some ethnic groups in Nigeria,” he said.
Speaking in the same vein, the Vicar of St Peter’s Anglican Church, Oke-Apata, Gbongan, Oke- Osun Diocese, Venerable M. O. Akinola, said the significance of Easter was to remind Christians about the ressurection of Christ.
“This Easter is a joyous occasion. The message is to remind us to move closer to God because Jesus Christ has come and died for our sins on the cross and doing that will fetch us forgiveness of our sins,” he said.
On what Christians should do in the midst of the challenges bedeviling the nation, the cleric charged Nigerian Christians to look unto God.
“Nigerian Christians are to look unto God because he is the creator of the whole universe. He is the creator of Nigeria itself, so we should call unto God to give us victory over these challenges,” he advised.
In his own admonition to Christians on Easter, Rev Abiodun Abudu of the Living Word Ministry, Alekuwodo, Osogbo, said there was a need for Nigerians to look unto God to revisit this country and take away its challenges.
“I want to call on Nigerians to pray more for God to revisit this country. We should get our garments ready and prepare for His second coming. We should keep calling unto God because the country we live in is not reliable.
“The country has not lived to its expectations. So, we need to look unto God who has made us and created us. The only panacea for the present predicaments we find ourselves is divine intervention,” the cleric said.
