Archbishop Peter Akinola’s Christmas message
The Christmas festivity is here with us again with all the feverish preparations for travel, holiday, exchange of gifts, caroling and all manner of celebration. However, it must be realized and understood that we need to make it a period of reflective evaluation of our lives as individuals, our nation and the society at large.
When we x-ray our country today and ourselves as individuals we find striking prevalence of selfishness, greed, avarice, brigandage, pomposity and extravagance. There is also a mad rush to join the bandwagon as no one wants to be left behind. All attempts at sanitizing the situation and curtailing the ravenous appetite for self-aggrandizement continue to be futile.
This Christmas, the focus must be on the reason for the season – Jesus Christ our Saviour the standard.
Jesus Christ left His heavenly glory, majesty and splendour, emptied Himself of all and came down as man in lowliness. Born in a manger for a life of service, in humility to save mankind from eternal destruction and to give a model by which man can be right with God living an acceptable life for the common good of all.
The central lesson for this year’s Christmas therefore is Divine Condescension (God coming down to our level) the greatest symbol of humility. All Nigerians must learn from Christ and be determined to imbibe the lesson of divine condescension.
Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans enjoins the Roman Christians and now us in Romans 12:3 “For I say through the grace given unto me, to everyman that is among you not to think of himself more highly that he ought to think; but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
In this context we must think of what is best for the nation, society and our neighbours instead of slavish preoccupation with what we think is best for us as individuals. We must never forget that if Christ had been so inclined, he would not have come and there will be no Christmas to celebrate.
We call on all leaders, in particular, which includes everyone who holds a position of responsibility or who have position of privilege, to voluntarily and willingly let go instead of holding tight to the power, trappings and grandeur of office and let God use them for the emancipation of the downtrodden and under privileged masses amongst us.
Divine Condescension teaches us that we need not hold on tenaciously to power, influence and position in a mindless, sadistic and desperate manner, but we must exhibit humane and zealous commitment to the liberation of the under privileged. This is time to work relentlessly for the struggling masses for their emergence and growth. We must consciously work for the growth of others, as that is what Christ came to do for humanity.
Companies, corporations and government lavish a lot of money in buying cards and making Hampers, which are given out at this season. That is fine! But we must go further to work assiduously for a more permanent solution to the needs and aspirations of the down trodden and their development because what Christ came to do for us is permanent and eternal. Whichever way we celebrate Christmas without imbibing the full lesson of Divine Condescension and practicing the same amounts to an insult to Christ – the essence of the season.
I challenge ALL Nigerians this Christmas to identify someone or some group or some community in this country who are in NEED and decide to make a difference in their situation.
We all must make this a new emerging and continuing habit.
May the Lord who has come down leaving everything to save us dwell in our hearts richly.
The Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola, CON., DD.,
Primate of All Nigeria and the National President of
the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)
