BISHOP
CHIKWE'S 2005 EASTER MESSAGE
LOOK
NOT FOR THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD (cf. Lk. 24:5)
My dear people of God,
For
forty days, the whole of Christendom marked with a unique
sense of solemnity, the period of lent, during which we
meditated on the passion of Christ and its implications
in our lives.
By obediently following the road to Calvary, He achieved
the eternal will of the Father; namely: to offer salvation
to the whole of mankind. In thanksgiving to God for the
new life that Easter brings we join the whole of humanity
in chorusing: Alleluia! For the Lord is risen Indeed!
With this great joy in our hearts, I wish to draw your
minds back to one issue which in my 17 years of pasturing
the flock of God in Ahiara diocese, I have always emphasized;
and that is: “the need to deepen the faith.”
I have developed this theme in various shades and forms
in all my pastoral letters and it has formed in the main,
the prime thrust of my pastoral drives in the diocese.
The exhortation of the Angels to the Apostles: "Look
not for the living among the dead, (cf Lk. 24:5 ) becomes
more relevant now, especially, given the latest moves
I have made in further deepening the faith in our land.
The crusade against all forms of obnoxious practices with
regard to 'Okwukwu' festival still goes on, so also is
the war we declared on fetish practices and the patronizing
of fetish shrines such as 'ala-ogbaga, etc. It is my earnest
hope that each person appropriates the noble message of
those directives so as to fully live and gain the new
life that Easter brings. Living and practicing those fetish
observances that were obtainable in the pre-Christian
era of the history of our people would translate to looking
for the living among the dead.
Again, in my most recent pastoral letter to the faithful
of our diocese, I addressed the issue of the struggle
for the Ezeship stool, which has torn many communities
to shreds and stalled development.
The resurrection of Christ reminds all of us that we should
make both our lives and communities living tabernacles
of the most high God. Such will guarantee peace, tranquility,
justice and development in our communities.
With the long history and the depth of the faith in our
land, it is unwholesome to hear talkless of seeing our
Christians make non-sense of the faith through undue struggle
for power and influence.
As we herald the resurrection of Christ from the dead,
let us also rise with Him to a newness of life full of
love for one another, peace among brothers and sisters,
common will in developing our land and above all, repudiation
of our past sinful lives.
I pray that the risen Lord fills our minds and hearts
with things that are noble and praise worthy and that
this joyful message of Easter will find a home in us.
HAPPY EASTER
Most
Rev. Dr. V. A. Chikwe
Bishop of Ahiara.
