COEXISTING AS SHARERS OF PEACE AND BENEVOLENCE

By Rev. Fr. Anthony Okelue

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA: It is praiseworthy of the Kaduna State Government under the leadership of His Excellency Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to approve the initiative by the Bureau of Interfaith of the Governor’s office, this maiden edition of the Bible Quiz competition and Easter cantata among the Christian denominations in Kaduna State. I thank the Director General and the Deputy Director Barrister Tahir Umar Tahir and Rev Fr. Anthony Shawuya respectively for inviting me to this event as one of the special guests and to share my thoughts with you on “coexisting as Sharers of peace and benevolence” anchored on the Acts of Apostles 2:44-47 which reads thus, “And all who shared the faith owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and distributed the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed. Each day, with one heart, they regularly went to the Temple but met in their houses for the breaking of bread; they shared their food gladly and generously; they praised God and were looked up to by everyone. Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved.”
The timing of this event is apt given that we are still in the euphoria of the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I pray that this good work begun by the State Government will be permanent and bear fruit in perpetuity through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
The core message of our theme or topic of consideration today is living out the gifts of peace and benevolence of God. The scriptural passage for our consideration this morning is one in which we see the beauty of human coexistence and power to recreate our world for the common good of all when we eschew selfishness and give of our ourselves and possessions generously. The early Christian community simply did this and everyone was happy. In this passage, we feel most strongly the reality of contributive and distributive justice which works for any society or group both governmental and non-governmental alike. In this state of coexistence, there is adequate care for the strong and weak alike of the society and there is necessarily peace because there is very evident, the practice of justice and equity. This is reminiscent of the experience of the people of Israel on their journey from Egypt to the promised land (Exodus 16:18). No one had less and no one had surplus.

THE WORD OF GOD AS FOUNDATION FOR COEXISTING AS SHARERS OF PEACE AND BENEVOLENCE
2 Tim 3:16 says, “ All Scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting error, for guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be upright.”
To live in peace and share it with one another is to live in righteousness. Peace itself is divine benevolence. Encyclopedia Britannica Vol. 17 says thus, “since the beginning of history, peace has been regarded as a blessing and its opposite, war, as a scourge. Yet it is only since the end of the middle ages that philosophers and statesmen have reflected systematically on the problems of peace. Attempts to establish worldwide international peace securely, through deliberate political action, had to wait until the beginning of the 19th century.” Pg. 494
Indeed, peace is therefore, first and foremost, divine blessing and kindness to mankind including residents of Kaduna State irrespective of tribe, tongue and religion. It is good to quickly say that peace was the special gift of the risen Christ to his Apostles and followers shortly before His death and crucifixion for Christ Jesus in Jn 14:27 say, “Peace I bequeath with you, my own peace I give you, a peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid,” and immediately after His resurrection in Jn 20:19 it happened that “On the evening of the same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, “Peace be with you.”
The competitors in this maiden Bible quiz competition are all winners because having immersed themselves in reading the Holy Scriptures in preparation for this event, would have encountered anew Christ Jesus the king of peace and thus are direct beneficiaries of divine benevolence and peace. We who have come to listen to them and participate in this event are equally ambassadors of peace.
EASTER CANTATA AND THE CALL FOR PEACE
The new Encyclopedia Britannica Vol. 2 defines cantata thus (from Italian cantare, “to sing”), originally, a musical composition intended to be sung, as opposed to a sonata, a composition play instrumentally; now, loosely, any work for voices and instruments.” Pg. 813.
We have gathered here today for this Easter cantata which entails rendition of songs in praise to God and good news to mankind of the triumph of Jesus Christ over sin and death by His death and resurrection. It is a great story we share about what no man has ever done. Bearing in mind that music is food for the soul, the songs we render here should bring peace and benevolence to the hearts of our hearers emanating from our own hearts in the first instance. Our lives as believers in God should be a symphony of peace, a cantata of benevolence to God, our fellow human beings and nature, the only Bible that other people be privileged to read in their lifetime. This was the desire and lifestyle of St. Francis of Assisi who was famous for the following prayer;
“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
This prayer says it all about the theme for this event.
The heart of man, your heart, my heart is the seat of peace and benevolence, as well as, violence. Christ, the risen Lord makes us to know that it is from “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh,” Mk 12:34 and truly, “the good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.” Lk 6:45.
This spiritual exercise we are gathered here for today, calls all of us to conversion and repentance of heart. Do we want security, progress, prosperity, stability of families in Kaduna? If yes, then let us live in peace and be kind to one another. We have received the gifts of peace and benevolence from God our maker, we are bound in appreciation to him to share same with everyone we come in contact. If the early Christian community could do it, we can equally do it in our time. May God bless our country Nigeria and Kaduna State with peace. May we all be sharers of benevolence and peace.