Dear African Christian brothers and sisters in Christ
I bring Easter greetings to you in the name of the risen Lord Jesus Christ , the one and only messiah and savior of the world.
When Jesus Christ resurrected from the grave on this said Easter Sunday, he overcame the forces of evil and darkness that took a huge toll on God 's people. Every people in their context must understand the power of the resurrection and to apply that in their own circumstance without any distortions of the divine truth. Burying the son of God was like burying the ultimate divine truth, which shoke the foundation of falsehood upon ,which rested the ideosycracies, discrepancies, prejudices and stereotypes of humanity in order to resurrect and re-awaken our consciousness to the realization of a new beginning under the canopy of the saving messiah, Jesus Christ.
It is clear that people who take the message of Jesus Christ at this moment seriously will learn to not take for granted the fact that they have believed in more of the same bad theology of the church for too long! May be it is never too late because the resurrection power must be a powerful spiritual enlightenment that will open everyone's spiritual eyes to see ,perceive and discern the true and correct meaning of the sweet fragrance of the whole new experience of resurrection traditionally marked by excitement and joy! The resurrection is not for people who hide behind Jesus Christ or seek refuge under christianity or find temporary shelter on Sundays under big mansions! You have to think again about where you are in all these divine drama. After all life is like a drama and here God is at work not to condone mediocrity but to give us new life and meaning through Jesus Christ. To experience the power of the resurrection means we have developed and deepen our relationship iwht Jesus Christ so that He is at the center of our lives. In fact he takes us back to the sermon on the mount and most importantly about fulfilling the law of love.
The missionary Church to Africa at one point always told us that they did not come to talk about the problems of the people but only to guide them to believe and accept Jesus Christ for the sole purpose of salvation without stress or labor. There was hardly any correct and accurate biblical interpretation that resonated with the state of affairs in Africa to the extent which , whatever was going wrong with the political systems, missionaries and the Christians did not think that it was their responsibility to address those problems.
In this light, Africa was still in the tomb of darkness and ignorance because Africa refused to resurrect with Jesus Christ to a new life. What happens when we are stuck inside the tomb of our follies? What happen when we are not even aware of the fact that Jesus Christ has already resurrected and that he is not here anymore with oppression, injustice, civil rights abuses , human rights abuses and embezzlement, domestic violence, lies, slander, blackmail, corruption , torture and murder of innocent people?
There are people who were taught since the days missionaries came to Africa that their salvation was guaranteed through Jesus Christ so long as they confessed and professed him as their personal lord and savior. They argued that the human race was saved by the grace of God and justified by their faith in Jesus Christ ALONE without ,which good deeds would not lead them to eternal life! For sure, all it meant was, whatever people were doing in this life and world was of no relevance to the presence of the living God through Jesus Christ.
So long as African people were and are oppressors and dictators but accepted Jesus Christ in their lives, they could kill , steal , embezzle and oppress all the way to their graves while believing in Jesus Christ in John 3:16, they would still rise to eternal life! Some even quoted the thief who repented on the cross with Jesus Christ and was saved as an example of the fortune in being forgiven in late repentance! Therefore, some people intentionally delayed their repentance and waiting for the last 24 hrs of their demise to confess their sins or cry out to Jesus Christ at the last hour with the hope that a clean slate will accompany them to eternal life.
It is time for us to think ! What will the resurrection of Jesus Christ mean to people who are oppressed, suffering both human and civil rights violations, exploited, arbitrarily arrested, tortured and illegally imprisoned? What will be the impact of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on our struggle to build a virtuous and free Cameroon? Do you think Jesus Christ cares about civil rights, human rights, human dignity? Do you think Jesus Christ cares about democracy and free electoral commission? How does the resurrection power of Jesus Christ speak to us as we grapple with serious questions about injustice, bondage, slavery, marginalization?
In fact , this is the 42 Easter of my life time and by all indication based on my faith in Jesus Christ as a God-fearing human being, I know for a fact that Jesus Christ is my life and resurrection. Therefore, I get to identify with the whole season of lent leading up to his passion for life as well as God's practical plan for humanity through him.
The first time in my life when I began to think theologically was when I was in the second year in the school of theology. I felt that something was not right in the way christians in Cameroon celebrated the Christian holy days like christmas, Easter and thanksgiving etc.
I immediately, saw a lot of hypocrites who were either thieves or murderers ,liars, abusers, oppressors, exploiters, bullies, dictators, tyrants and what have you flog to c hurch on Easter pretending to be sinners! Yes, sin was used here as a common weakness denominator that chained the legs of every human being from one generation to the other.
Even those who were not abusing their position of power and influence were also treated as sinners who can be condemned to hell fire, too like every other person for their sins as victims of those who oppress them. As I search through scriptures and endeavored to explore profound theological answers to such disturbing teachings of missionaries and the religious institutions ,which they founded, I knew right away that there was something actually called bad theology and good theology. At some point we have to think about what it means to be part of lent and most importantly get immersed into this experience of Easter resurrection and to ask ourselves honest questions about our faith in the resurrection as well as our commitment to the relevance and impact of this resurrection to govern.When we ask these questions and think about the right answers, we will be moving away from bad theology to good theology.
I was thinking that it would be just a quick message on Easter Sunday to enable us tap into the resurrection power of Jesus Christ in search of our dreams and aspirations. The truth is Easter is about fulfilling the most compelling promises of life without shying away from our responsibilities because if it was otherwise, then there would be no point to have an experience of resurrection of Jesus Christ since he would not have a power to influence the way we lead our lives in this moment in anticipation of the future.
Today as christians followers of Jesus Christ celebrate Easter Sunday to mark the third day when Jesus Christ predicted he would rise from the grave, it is not unusual to hear some people claim that they are withdrawing from politics to respect and honor Easter Holiday! I have heard this a lot over the years and it was particularly funny this time around because I thought the resurrection was about life today and life hereafter?
I call that a pious withdrawal from unholy politics ,which is by the way a paradox!
It takes a rocket thinker to get to the core essence of the meaning of resurrection because it is never ever going to be separated from what you think and do 24 hrs 7 days of your life. In fact, Jesus Christ did not state anywhere during his life time that politicians should stop cursing out at each other, publishing negative ads against each other, blowing their ideas out of proportion and observe his crucifixion, death and resurrection and afterwards return to the same mediocrity that he came to transfigure.
Jesus Christ did not encourage people to spend a great deal of valuable time fund-raising million of dollars to squander on tearing each other apart whereas children lack basic educational and recreational needs in their communities. If you have began to reason with me theologically, you will begin to realize that the fact that Jesus Christ never rot in the tomb and apparently resurrected under the power of God, we ,Christains are also called upon to seek God's power and blessing to overcome the tomb of oppression, corrupt tyranny and dictatorship in Africa because the smell of genocide and civil wars, poverty, injustice, embezzlement, stealing and murder of innocent people, arbitrary arrest and illegal imprisonment through human rights violations are all anti-ethical to the whole meaning of the resurrection power and life of Jesus Christ on Easter.
We, must begin to experience the resurrection power of Jesus Christ and as a people, this is our own time to rise up and shine
Thank you and pass it on
Jonathan Awasom
The voice for Cameroon, Africa and the world in the 21st century
The Rally-cry for freedom, justice, peace ,democracy and prosperity for all
Empowering humanity to build a virtuous and free world for the beloved global village
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