Tag: #Peter Obel Abue

THE KEYS

In ancient times, keys were very heavy and had to be carried on the shoulder. When a prime minister, for example, was to be crowned, the king would take the mantle and belt and put on him and then would place on his shoulder the key of his palace. To receive the keys meant to have full powers in the palace of the king and authority from him to administer his property, to decide who was to be received and who would be kept outside the palace. Such was the authority that was given to Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, as we read in Isaiah 22; 19-23.

Worthy to note here is verse 21, which described Eliakim the new appointee in these words: “He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the House of Judah”. These same words were applied to Peter in the gospel of Mathew 16: 13-20, especially verses 18 and 19 where Jesus hands over the keys to him saying: “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church…I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”.

The lesson(s) to be learnt here about leadership, power, and authority are very simple and instructive; to be in power is to possess keys from God. These keys are heavy; they are a burden, not a joy. You are burdened with other people’s problems, and so there is no reason for you as a leader to celebrate and call a party because you have been selected to a position. It is service, not an elevation, and you are appointed by a higher power (the king) to serve in his palace. It is not your palace. Whatever your position, IT IS NOT YOUR PALACE. It’s the kings palace.

Secondly, your position is to enable you to serve others, not lord it over them. You have become a father to those in your care, not a Lord. Yours is a privileged position to make life meaningful for others and not to cause them pain and separation.

At this stage in our history, we are looking for leaders at various levels; community leaders, church leaders, youth leaders, constituency leaders, ward leaders, etc. Recently, keys were handed to certain people. What would they make of their positions of authority? Whichever direction they may want to go, remember the words of Jesus to Peter: It is not flesh and blood that gave you that power, but my father in heaven” (Matt. 16: 17).

TWO PILLARS

Two people (Pillars) with totally different upbringing and character patterns. One a cradle Christian with official authority and power of the keys to bind and loose (Matt. 16:19). The other a convert and former persecutor of the church turned apostle of pagans (Acts 22: 3-16). Both died a martyr’s death and today are revered as the two main pillars of the church.

Why are they remembered together? Because both combined their efforts to lead the early church irrespective of their differences. No one put down the other. Both put aside any fear or suspicion of each other to champion the cause of leading the early church to maturity.

A lot of good can be achieved if leaders work together to build up community, the church and society in spite of their differences. The problem is often that we see differences more than similarities in one another and so don’t make much progress.

Today, whole communities have launched themselves into irrepressible blunders because of bad leadership that arose first and foremost from the inability of leaders to see themselves as brothers in the struggle.

Why do you castigate your colleague who can contribute to the system because in your mind he does not belong to the inner class, he does not possess the mandate like you do, he was not there from the beginning when you formed the party. You are afraid your colleague will wield so much power if you let him in and so you are ready to malign him so only you will appear relevant. You are very well misled because your own time will soon expire. If Peter and Paul feared each other that much they would not been the pillars we are celebrating today.

The greatest problem and most dominant emotion of leaders today is fear. Fear has a tendency to imprison us. Fear stops most people from doing something incredible with their lives than lack of ability, contacts, resources, or any other single variable. Fear paralyses the human spirit and because of fear, when talented leaders sometimes do emerge, we we make their paths almost impossible.

For the Christian, part of your witness is never to allow yourself be suppressed by another or feel inferior no matter the intimidation to the extent that you withhold your proclamation of truth. Be a pillar wherever you find yourself, remember that “it is not flesh and blood that has revealed this to you but Your heavenly father ” (Matt 16:17).

DO NOT FEAR

Some things in life instill fear in us: a bleak and unkown future, dwindling resources and increasing list of needs, those who are our backbone dissappearing and we feeling alone, everyone mocking us and friends deserting us, the list goes on. At times like this, we run helter skelter looking for protection, but what we really need is fortitude to carry on. Fortitude is not only needed when we loose a loved one, it is the strength of mind or character in times of adversity. It ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of virtue. In this odd world, we need to be strong and fearless or else we will lose it.

Jeremiah was one such character imbued with fortitude. He was not afraid and was able to conquer the glaring obstacles he faced. He spoke the truth and his adversaries were after his life. His truth got him in trouble with the leading army officers who wanted him dead at all cost. But would God allow his innocent servant suffer humiliation? No! God intervened and Jeremiah won at the end because he did not give up in the face of trials (Jer. 38: 4-10 also read Jer. 20:10-13). At the end he was able to exclaim: “The Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed.”

Like Jeremiah, Jesus pronounced the words “Do not fear” to his disciples several times in the scriptures to remind them that he cares for them and will defend them at every step of the way: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt.10:28). What Jesus means here is that we should not be scared of those who threaten our lives with demonic powers. You fear that if you go home your village people will end your life. You fear that if you terminate that occultic deal you got involved in, you will die. You fear that you must consult a soothsayer to fortify your life with charms for protection. Listen to this: no mortal being is capable of harming you who did not create you. What harms you is the fear in you. God assures you like he did to Jeremiah when he prayed “O Lord of hosts…, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause”

The good news as says the book of Hebrews is that: we are not alone in the struggle. “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses… and so we must persevere in running the race that lies before us, while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb 12: 1-4). Fear is not your portion. Any Christian who still lives in fear or doubt of God’s divine protection over witches and wizards should listen again to the words of the Psalmist: “Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.” May you be truly delivered from all your fears and anxieties

Holy Communion is the spiritual food recommended for us by God especially in times of adversity to keep us in close union with him. Its Holy because its food for our souls and Communion because it unites us as we all come together as one body to receive. Our forefathers in faith received Holy Communion as they prepared to leave Egypt the land of their captivity into the promised land (read Exodus 12ff). They needed to be sustained in the journey ahead. Down in the desert, their difficulties were huge and they were physically hungry, thirsty and beset by poisonous snakes. Again God gave them Holy Communion; this time “Manna” from heaven that they had never seen before to refresh and even heal them. (Deut. 8: 3ff).

Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour the day before he suffered, knowing fully well how much his disciples would need it, shared Holy Communion with his disciples and told them to always do this in his memory (Jn 6: 25ff, Matt. 26: 26ff). Later on in Corinth, the disciples of Jesus when they had a problem. When most of them were being converted from paganism, some still had relatives and friends who offered sacrifice to idols and this resulted to tensions. Paul used Holy Communion (also called the Eucharist) to convince them not only on how to respect others beliefs but also to unite themselves irrespective of their differences (1Cor 10: 16-17). “The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf” (v. 17).

Jesus meant every word of it when he said he gives us his body and blood to eat and drink as Holy Communion. He meant this to keep us in close together in union with him, irrespective of our differences. He also meant it to prevent us from branching off our own wayward ways; feeling we can detach ourselves from him at will. Our questioning of this doctrine does not change the fact. (read Jn. 6: 52). Our decision to participate or not, does not change the fact either. Truly God means to come down to our level. The food of angels has become the bread of life and the saving grace for sinners. What a marvel in our eyes!

What happens when we eat this bread? It is assimilated by our bodies and becomes part of us. Jesus says he is the bread of life and it His Body (Corpus Christi) we receive at Holy Communion. It is his person that we are eating and assimilating and it is his existence that must become ours. It’s all a matter of faith.

ADVOCATE

Advocate means one who stands beside the accused or somebody who is in difficulty. In the time of Jesus, if one is accused of a crime and is under judgment, it might happen that a well-to-do person would come forward and without saying a word, stand beside the accused. If that happens the prosecution would dare not go on with the case. This kind of person was called “Paraclete” in old English and “Advocate” in common parlance. To get the full gist think of a hit man or bouncer or something like that. In John 14:15ff, this name is given to the Spirit, the third person of the trinity to remind us that as Christians, only God is our advocate or defender, our protector when in difficulty.

At times, we Christians forget this and allow ourselves to be intimidated or feel defenseless, insecure and unprotected especially when in unpredictable conditions. Presently, most people in Nigeria feel that way because they do not trust even the Justice System to defend them and give them a fair hearing in tribunal cases. People who live under extreme conditions like enduring hurricanes, earthquakes or blizzards especially those who cannot do anything about it, feel that way too. People who suffer under the sledgehammer of authority or political power of their fellow human beings who make life difficult for them feel that way. Jesus says: Do not be afraid…rather wait and “I will ask the father and he will give you an Advocate or Paraclete, the spirit of truth to be with you always” (John 14: 15).

The problem is that we sometimes doubt these words of Jesus. We ask ourselves ‘what about victims of mass massacre, terrorism, kidnappings that end in murder, police brutality etc? My answer is ‘what about Jesus who was God’s beloved son but still suffered persecution in the hands of evil people even when he was innocent? You see, sometimes God allows evil to happen, not because he is powerless but to remind us that although he created the world, he still gives freedom to human beings to have full control of it. In the midst of all these, we must keep our hope alive. Even in the face of persecution, Peter exhorts Christians in his days not to give up hope because of the persecution which just started and was to last for about 250 years (read 1 Peter 3; 15-18)

In truth, as Jesus’ disciples we are sometimes threatened by persecutions or even our own sins or human frailty (Read Romans 8: 35-39). Those who believe in Jesus’ promise of the Paraclete know that they will not be defeated by any difficulty, however great it may be. Believe, wait and pray this week for the Paraclete, the promise of ages who comes to defend you, to teach you the truth even about that most unpredictable situation you are facing in your life right now. The Holy Spirit comes to fill your heart with courage, to enkindle in you the fire of his love. Stand ready! .