Let us stand on holy ground

On the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the Church reflects on the value of forgiveness as a condition for making progress in life. Some people attribute their challenges and poor performance to the mistakes either of their own past or the poor performance of others who have lived before them. Living in the past is to remain a perpetual prisoner hence Nelson Mandela when he regained his freedom said: “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison” (https://www.goodreads.com). The expression of progressive people is, “I must leave the past behind and move on.” God said through the Prophet Isaiah: “No need to recall the past, no need to think about what was done before. See, I am doing a new deed, even now it comes to light; can you not see it? Yes, I am making a road in the wilderness, paths in the wilds (Isaiah 43:18-19). Great men and women who have influenced the world do not look back. They are focused on their mission to their vision.

When God decided to save Lot and his family from the destruction that would befall Sodom and Gomorrah, they were warned not to look back but Lot’s wife looked back as she lingered behind him, and she became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). In the words of Saint Francis De Sales, yesterday is gone and never will return, tomorrow is God’s secret. Only today is mine. The people who remain in the past never make progress in life. We need to put our past behind us and move on. At the Stations of the Cross during Lent, the Catholics say, “No matter what my past must have been, I can always begin anew”. God of mercy and compassion looks at the struggle of the human person to do better hence the Psalmist says, “If you Oh Lord should mark our guilt, who will survive? With you is found forgiveness and for this, we revere you” (Psalm 130:3). If we focus on what to do now to better the future instead of crying over the past spilled milk, we would develop the capacity to make the future heaven instead of hell.

You can imagine how the world would look like if Christians were to live strictly with the Old Testament Scriptures with only a concentration on the passages and verses that give the narratives of war, polygamy, vendetta in the ancient context that do not make sense in the modern age. The coming of Jesus is the hope for salvation for Christians. Otherwise, the Christians would still believe that the hatred that existed between the Samaritans and the Jews is a way of life. The Gentile world would not have embraced Christianity if Jesus did not break through the traditions that kept Israel and other nations asunder. Without Christ, what exists is crisis. To follow the teachings and life of Jesus Christ is to promote the peace that can transform the hearts of humanity and make the world a paradise. Human beings are agents of God to transform the world. This transformation can only take place if all the Christian denominations and Islamic sects by way of dialogue within the denominations and sects can forget the past that separated them and be united in their diversity. The divisions within the Church and within the Mosque could be a scandal to unbelievers. This intra-religious forgiveness is a divine mandate for all God’s creatures. At the conversion of Cornelius and his household, Peter said “the truth that I have now come to realize, is that God does not have favorites, but anyone of any nationality who does what is right, is acceptable to God” (Acts 10:34). This means that God loves us as his own. Whether we can make heaven through a particular religion, denomination or sect should be left for God, the best judge.

In the judgement of God, there are no permanent red lights just as there should be no permanent red lights in dialogue. As partners in dialogue, we risk being misunderstood, misinterpreted and misrepresented hence we must not declare a denomination or sect as a “no go area” or a forbidden zone. This would contradict the concept of justice and the will of God who desire the salvation of every human being in their individual states. Jesus believed that even the outcast like prostitutes are not excluded from the agenda and mission of salvation. As religious leaders, we should be very slow and careful in declaring a person or institution a cast away or anathema akin to the Pharisees.  “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.  At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you.  Go and sin no more” (John 8:3-11).

With God, there is always a second chance. Paul was a persecutor of Christians. He thought that he was fighting for God. When he was converted from Saul to Paul, he discovered that God is so powerful that you cannot kill for him or kill in his name. He realized his present moment with God. He forgot the past and moved on. He wrote to the Philippians: “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ-yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8-14).

Today, the world needs to prepare the youths and women in a way and manner that their energy and capacity should focus positively on nation building. The elders must let the youths know that a greater future lies ahead. The youths when fully engaged can create positive impact with minimal resources. They should be given the capacity to become effective change-makers. The women too should be encouraged to contribute in peace building projects. They can tell their children to forget the past and move on to build the nation. This is the time to build trust especially between the different Christian denominations, Islamic sects and political parties to move the nation forward. If we can sacrifice our personal gains to giving the capabilities and opportunities to work at the different levels of Government, we would go a long way to influence local and national politics. May God give us the grace and capacity to forgive, forget and move on to the promise land where the national cake would be available for everybody. As we march forward, may peace flow like a river from us to others. May we turn our deserts to rivers of living water.

Rev. Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua is the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) ([email protected])