Tag: Peter Obele Abue

FAVOUR
Somewhere in the Bible, it says, “…God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34). Mary was humble, upright, and did what was acceptable in the sight of God. Hence, she was favoured by God through the angel, Gabriel (Luke 1:26-28). Through this divine favour to Mary came the incarnation or Christmas as we know it today and since then the world has not been the same again.

David was another recipient of God’s favour; but because he failed to live a humble and upright life, God did not want David to build a house for him. Rather, God sent the Prophet, Nathan, to tell David that his son Solomon would be the one to build the temple and that his posterity will reign forever (2 Sam 7:1-16). The book of Chronicles gives the reason for the change in plans: You have shed much blood and you have waged great wars; you may not build a house in my honour, because you have shed too much blood upon the earth in my sight” (1 Chr. 22:8-10). Eventually, Nathan’s prophecy was fulfilled and a descendant of David who would reign forever; Jesus, the son of Mary, was born.

The lesson here is that God uses upright and peaceful people to bless the world. Although David was favoured, he let himself be misused by men and so he lost his favoured position.
God’s word is irrevocable. Sometimes, we wrongly think that we can buy favour from God or misuse God’s favour; we think that things will always remain the same. God’s favour is earned not negotiated. The greater lesson here is that God blesses human beings abundantly and can use us for divine things, but sometimes we mess up big time. Don’t be deceived by the way men run around you, to think you are favoured, so anything goes. No. Indeed, it’s not so. At the end of the day, the verdict of human beings may not necessarily be that of God.

Mary earned God’s favour through her cooperation with the grace of God, which she fought to preserve. David, on the other hand, abused this favour through over-indulgence in his humanity. If you want to win God’s favour, do not depend too much on human approval, but always seek to know and do God’s will. Through you, God might choose to bless your family, your community, or the larger world like he did through Mary at the first Christmas. Remember, nothing is impossible with God, so gear yourself up and be ready for God’s favour this coming year. “Do not be afraid…You have found favour with God” (Luke 1:30).

Rev. Fr. Dr. Peter Obele Abue

Is the Vicar General of the Of the Catholic Diocese of Ogoja, and Parish Priest of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Igoli.

By Admin

As the demand by the Nigerian youth to end all forms of harassment, intimidation and brutality against the citizenry through the instrumentality of the Special Anti Robbery Squad SARS, by the government that whose role is to protect lives and properties, a revered teacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Vicar General of the Catholic Diocese of Ogoja and Parish Priest of St. Thomas Aquinas parish, Igoli-Ogoja, Cross River State Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Peter Obele Abue has stated that the #EndSARS protest is not just an indictment on the Nigerian Police Force, but a call for a change in national polity.

Fr. Obele took to his verified Facebook account to share his thought tagged: “GIVE BACK”

“Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God (Matt. 22:21). A lot of interpretations have been given to this statement of Jesus and sometimes, without reference to the source. Politicians have used it to say that Christians should not meddle with Politics. Christians have used it to argue that the state should not interfere in religious concerns. The actual words that Jesus Himself used were “give back” and although He was speaking in a particular context of the society in which he lived, His words are still relevant to us today. His words were an answer to the basic economic, political, and religious questions that bothered the people of his day against the backdrop of the oppression of the Romans authority over the Jewish people. And Jesus replies to them using the phrasal verb, “give back.”

“The ordinary man on the street of Nigeria is using Jesus words to argue that they must be given what they hav a right to and that brings us to the ugly situation prevalent in our country today. The youth of Nigeria are demanding that what has been taken away from them be given back. The question is: what has been taken away from the youth and citizens of this country? Nigerians are saying that their freedoms, their right to live and move about in peace has been trampled upon by the Nigerian police under the auspices of the so called Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and so calling for its abrogation #EndSARS.

“#EndSARS in Nigeria is not just an indictment on the Nigerian Police Force, it is a call for change in our national polity. As the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) have said today “The Nigerian government must realize that what the youths on behalf of Nigerians clamour for under the code name #EndSARS is a total reform of the entire Police Force and not a change of name. They call for a reform of our government institutions and a reform of our entire nation. They are asking for a system that will be hard on crimes and criminals in the society within the ambience of the law. While at the same time treating every human being, citizens and visitors alike with respect and dignity”.

“For us in Nigeria today, the first lesson is clear; it was Caesar’s image on the coin, so “give back to Caesar” implies a moral and civic duty first for the State to give back to its citizens what belongs to them. The state does not give back by sustaining a delapidated system; failing to care for its law enforcement department, encouraging the brutalization of citizens and denying them their rights. Citizens also give back to Ceaser (the State) by looking out for the common good, paying taxes (the same coin) and contributing their best as civic workers. Citizens do not give back by breaking the civil system and arguing all the time that the system is corrupt.

“More importantly still, Jesus says Give back to God what belongs to God. This means nobody has the right to dominate or oppress others, for we are all created in God’s image. The brutalization of human beings by the police including exploitation of youth, women and children, are ways of stealing the human person from God. We must give back to God what belongs to him by treating others with dignity. Its time we begin to review our ways as a nation, making amends and ending all forms of inhumanity especially that pepertrated by the State on innocent citizens. Just as the coin must be returned to its owner, the emperor, because it bears its image, so we must return to God the creature that bears its image (read Gen. 1:27). #EndSARS”.