HOMILY OF THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INDEPENDENT DELEGATION OF THE CLARETIAN MISSIONARY WEST NIGERIA ON THE FEAST OF THE FATHER FOUNDER SAINT ANTHONY MARY CLARET 24TH OCTOBER 2017.
“The Community with a Story of Faithfulness – Celebrating a Congregational Anniversary” – Psalm 78
My reflection on this special day of this anniversary celebration is based on Psalm 78. The celebration includes a rehearsal of the story, a recollection and reminder of God’s guidance, expressions of thanks and praise, and a commitment to continue faithfully into the future.
From time to time congregations mark their anniversary. These can be times of celebration in the life of the congregation. Each congregation has its own story, and that story needs to be told to the next generation. Anniversaries are ideal times to do so. The story of each congregation is built around both the faithfulness of God and the faithfulness of the generations that preceded it. Therefore, the focus of an anniversary celebration could include a rehearsal of the story, a recollection and reminder of God’s guidance, expressions of thanks and praise, and a commitment to continue faithfully into the future.
Anniversaries are good times for remembering. Sit back and muse about the people who were present when your congregation was organized. What were they like? What motivated them? Do you think they could have anticipated all the changes that have taken place in the community, the congregation, or society?
Psalm 78 gives us a glimpse of a community with people, a history, experiences of joy and pain that all work together to make them who they are. This community also has a story of faithfulness. The faithfulness of human beings is part of it, but even more we find the faithfulness of God as key. God’s covenant faithfulness is displayed in the history of each Christian congregation, yet too often it is unrecognized.
The author of this psalm 78 points to five marks of a faithful community:
It has a clear identity given by God. He calls them “my people” (v.1). Their covenant relationship with him is more important than any factors of race, nationality or economic standing.
It is a community with the experience of grace. God does not remain distant but breaks into our lives as the supreme giver and performs glorious deeds and great wonders. (v.4)
It is an inclusive community. That is, all generations, the old and the young, are present and so in v.4-6 you are able to listen in on conversations and instructions that move from one generation to the next.
It is a community of careful teachers. The author expresses strong pleas as teacher that they will listen to him; but he also pleads that they be teachers who perpetuate the story of the community to others through its oral tradition (v.3-4).
It is a community with a fear of failure. In verse 8 their awareness of the failure of previous generations becomes clear. The remainder of the Psalm (note the pain of verses 11, 17, 32, 36 and 56, for example) rehearses their ancestors’ failures. The author probably wrote these words after the years of David and Solomon (the glory days in the kingdom) while witnessing great faithlessness and idolatry. This generation was keenly aware of dangers that must not be repeated.
Remembering a congregation’s history and examining it in the light of these five marks could be helpful, but it is insufficient to merely look back. An anniversary is a time to look forward and make renewed commitments for the new circumstances of the future. Regardless of how many changes are in store, the five characteristics this Psalm cites are timeless. The circumstances may change, yet the nature and task of the Christian community remains the same. We mark an anniversary through remembering God’s faithfulness, understanding our identity before God, and rededicating ourselves to his continuing work.
To the members and friends of the Claretian Missionary Congregation in general and the Independent Delegation, West Nigeria, greetings and grace in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we celebrate this first 10 years anniversary of the independent existence of the Congregation in the western part of Nigeria, we can truly say, we have come this far by faith”. The Lord had brought us a mighty long way and because He will not leave us nor forsake us, the future of the church is blessed.
We have not made it this far by ourselves, but there have been many who have gone on before that have paved the way for where we are in the year 2017. Paul says, in Ephesians 2:19-22, “Now therefore we are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together grow into a holy temple in the Lord: In whom we also are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.” The church has grown upon a firm foundation of faith, with Jesus Christ being the Chief Cornerstone. And as we reflect on the ministry of days gone by we can see the fruit of the labor of many through corporate and individual dedication to various responsibilities….
This anniversary is special; special because we are blessed to honor ourselves in one another as God has so jealously protected us to be a blessing to thousands of people.
As we look to the future, it is important to know what we do today will have a far-reaching impact of people who we do not even know. As we seek to serve the Lord the fruit of ministry will touch hundreds and thousands as we remain committed to Christ.
Today we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the independent delegation of the Claretian Missionaries in the Western part of Nigeria. As we look back, we all cannot help but wonder about the amazing story of how this foundation started from a single enthusiasm of a man who found a treasure in the field and hid it and went and sold all he had and came back to purchase it.The Very Rev Fr Christian Mary Ihedoro, CMF, the missionary par excellence was heartily motivated by the zeal of the gospel and propelled by the charism of Saint Anthony Mary Claret andgathered a handful number of young men within a garage as its first classroom. As years went by, this foundation grew through the dedication of her members, her associates, as well as through the generosity of its benefactors and sponsors. The beginning and development of the branch of the Claretians in the western part of Nigeria, reminds us all of the same amazing story of how a tiny seed grows into a huge tree, with proper attention and care.
Let me use the image of how trees grow to help us all appreciate the meaning of our celebration today. One day, a father and his child were walking through a thickly forested area near their home, when the child asked his dad where trees come from -the father picked up a little seed on the ground and showed it to the child. The father said, “Well, first, God makes seeds like this. This is where trees come from.” The child was quiet for a while, and then said, “but “Dad, how can God make one big, big tree fit into this tiny,tiny seed?”
Scientists provide us with an answer to that question. Seeds contain all the necessary nutrients and instructions for making a tiny plant complete with a stalk and with a first set of leaves, which later become the trunk, branches and leaves. Moreover, the seed has some kind of a built-in sensitivity that triggers it to start making a tiny plant once it spends time underground and comes into contact with moisture.
This is how this organism, “The Claretians of the West” punctuated with “Independence status” began. It began from a tiny seed. That tiny seed was the dream of congregational flexibility, oneness, and zeal to spread the Good News of God’s love in this part of the world. And it was not just to have a presence of the international character of the congregation of the Claretian Missionaries, but a dream, and it was not only big, it was a dream that had in it all the necessary things needed for the growth of a mission to proclaim God’s love: faith, hope and love. It is a dream that grew into a reality when it came into contact with persons who had the same passion for educating the new generation in Christian morals and values and for supporting such endeavors with their time, talent, and treasure.
Another thing that can help us appreciate the meaning of this anniversary is how a tree grows sturdy and healthy. It depends on a process which is not visible to the naked eye. It is the process through which the roots establish themselves underground. According to tree growing experts, it doesn’t really help make a tree sturdy if you always water its base when it is in its juvenile stage. That is because roots have some kind of an attraction to moisture that enables it to grow towards the source of moisture. If the roots of a young tree are always exposed to moisture on the surface, the tendency of the roots is to spread horizontally. But if it is regularly deprived of water, the roots tend to look for moisture downwards, hence the roots dig deep into the ground towards the water table where it can obtain water. The deeper the roots, the sturdier and firmer the tree becomes established.
There was once a huge mango tree that stood beside the parish church. By the size of its trunk I can guess it was more than half a century old. It was so massive and formidable in appearance. Until one day, a wind came and blew the tree down. The tree was instantly uprooted. It was later discovered that the base of the fallen treedid not develop its roots deep enough to hold such a massive tree upright.
This is what I think the biggest challenge of our independent delegation may prepareus to face in the coming years. The challenge of developing “deep roots”. That is what I think an anniversary of a Foundation Day should be all about. Ananniversary of a foundation day is not only remembering how we started as a people, group or individual persons of character, motivation and abilities of one kind or the other, but how we can better develop “deeper roots”. The delegation can develop deep roots when all the stakeholders orient their work of building and developing towards the source of faith, hope and love: God himself.
We have a good reason to rejoice and thank the Lord as we witness to the dynamic growth and progress in our missionary orientation. It is fitting to recall here that in 1990 the General Council of the Claretian Missionaries created the province in formation in Nigeria with its geographical boundaries to be Nigeria and parts of East and West Africa. This development has grown in strength within the last few decades so much that membership and physical structures and improvement are points of imagination.
Considering these favorable developments within the province of Nigeria, in 1999 the Third Provincial Chapter recommended that the Provincial Government takes necessary steps towards expansion by creating a delegation out of the province. As a starting point the Provincial Council in 2002 in a document: The Statutes of Claretian Western Region of Nigeria established a dependent region in collaboration in view of consolidating the notable realities in formation and pastoral projects. This stage of coordination was to allow each one of the communities within the territory of the delegation to participate in formation and enhance the missionary life of the Congregation in the zone, thus, enabling it to respond more readily to the needs of the local church, to offer better services of animation to the apostolate.
At the inception of the young dependent delegation in 2004, vibrant missionaries were appointed to make up a team to steam the ship of governance headed by one of our deeply committed missionaries in person of Very Rev Fr Michael Ekeh, CMF who zealously steered the ship positively and later handed over to my humble self (Very Rev Fr Luke Beba, CMF) to complete the process of moving the dependent status of the young delegation to an independent status.
Today, the Very Rev Fr Henry Omonisaye, CMF fantastically steered the ship of the delegation at the inception of its independent status in October 2007 and handed over to our amiable and zealous brother Very Rev Fr Daniel Onyeayana, CMF in 2015 under whose missionary charisma we are celebrating God’s blessings today.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, I would sincerely desire to recommend that, orienting ourselves to God means developing a deep personal relationship with God. A deep personal relationship with God is cultivated by prayer. When I say prayer, I do not refer to the recitation of ready-made prayers. By prayer, I mean prayer as defined by St. Teresa of Avila, “prayer is nothing but a lively conversation between two persons who are friends”. The saint goes on to say: prayer is spending time with God who loves us and enjoy his presence within and around us. Prayer consists of those regular “pauses” we take during the day, within the week, within the month, or within a year, when we set aside for a while what we plan to do and just spend time with God—enjoying his presence, telling him about our joys and fears, our dreams, and letting God talk to us about his dreams and plans for too. When we engage in this form of prayer, we take time to feel God’s compassion and concern for us when we are clueless, worried, anxious, or discouraged about the work we need to accomplish; or to feel God’s delight and joy in us when we are happy about the things we have achieved in his service.
Through a rich prayer life, pastors and missionaries are able to help people of faith discover and experience God as a loving God who cares for them, and not just a God up there who makes us accountable to all we have done and constantly watches our every move to catch us making mistakes, but a God when we are constantly in touch with Him, would actually help us radiate his love and care for His people.