Diocese On The Niger Marks Ash Wednesday, Calls For Sobriety, Reflections Among Nigerians

By Alex Uzoigwe

     Diocese on the Niger, Anglican Communion, Anambra State, expressed an unprecedented solemn disposition today, Wednesday, March 2, as she joined millions of fellow christian faithful all over the world to commemorate the Ash Wednesday.

   The Ash Wednesday, a holy day in the Christian Calendar, marks the beginning of the 40-day Lenten Season reminiscing the suffering of Jesus Christ before His arrest, trial and crucifixion.

   Virtually all churches in the Diocese on the Niger celebrated the day with various degrees of spiritual candour, suberity, and meditative solemnity.

    At the Calvary Chapel, Episcopal House, Onitsha, the Diocesan, the Rt Rev Dr Owen Nwokolo, had in the homily he delivered during the day's commemorative church service, explained that in time like the Lenten Season, Nigerians, especially, christians should live reflective life of commitment, contribution and cleansing.

 In the sermon he tagged, "Three power points for effective christian living in the Lenten Season", he described commitment, contrinction and cleansing as three powerful commands which he said were capable of causing harmony and holy christian living among christians should they, the precepts, be religiously applied.

   Quoting the Book of James 4: 7-10, from where he took his text, the bishop said,

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you.
” Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up”.

Expounding the text, he explained, “There are many commands in the Scriptures, but here we have concentrated commands, combined that should you put your heart to them, if you remark them, imbibe them and use them on daily basis, you will find effectiveness in living for the Lord in this Lenten Season.

“If you look at the passage, you will see many commands, but we have combined them and split them again into three, one part is talking about commitment, the second part is talking about cleansing and then, contrinction.

“These three commands from the Lord are power points, they are ingredients that help for harmony. Harmony is important in Christian living for you can’t afford to live a life of double standard as a christian. As a christian, you can’t live disjointed, haphazard life for God will always see you as a non serious person.

” God demands holiness and righteousness from us. He wants us to mean business with Him and the opportunity to do that is given to us in this Lenten Season for us to be fully committed by fully submitting everything about us to Him”, he emphasized, adding that God expects that His children should always surrender their lives and give everything to Him.

However, he said that for one to surrender successfully, the one has to consciously stand firm and resist the devil. “The devil is the greatest enemy to our christian living, but we have the power to resist him. To resist a devil is not just to open your mouth and tell the devil, ‘I don’t like you’.

“There’s something you will do: take a stand against the devil. Decide that there’s no opportunity for him in your life. Decide that you are not ready to cooperate and compromise, and he just avoid you.
“The devil is always ready to do something to disorganise your life. But refuse to cooperate with him, take a stand against him. Say no to him. This Lenten Season, the action points that will help you to succeed and live a harmonious, holy life is that you will be committed and assume a definite stand against the devil,” he advised.

The bishop later administered ash on the fore heads of members of the congregation.