Therefore,
brothers and sisters
stand
firm and hold fast to
the
traditions that you were taught,
either
by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.
~2
Thessalonians 2: 15
The perpetual richness of the mystical body of
Christ or the Church is derived from her oral and scriptural traditions, passed
on to our generation from the Apostles who lived during the time of Jesus
Christ earthly sojourn and the early Christian fathers and mothers. And the
essence of the oral traditions which were handed over to us from generation to
generation were substantiated and consequent upon what Saint John the
Evangelist wrote in the concluding chapters of his Gospel according to John
which stated, “If these were to be described individually, I do not think the
whole world would contain the books that would be written.” Jesus Christ did
and taught us so many things that were they to be written down the whole world
will not contain them!
When I was growing up and with little or no knowledge of the Bible, my
parents were many compasses in addition to the catechist and other influential
members of my Christian community in Nigeria, and today I owe everything to
them through Jesus Christ for the love, care and vital instructions that helped
shaped my faith in God and led me to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior
today!
Oral
Tradition
Christmas Childhood Memories
It is with absolute nostalgia that I retrospect some of the Oral
Tradition of the Church that I so cherished and which have made me a better Christian
today.
The Christmas day celebration, whose date was not written down in the
Bible, but has come to signify one of the cornerstones of our Christian
festivity, is on my top list! As a child, I can vividly remember the
two-dimensional preparations; the spiritual has to do with the reception of the
sacraments through the participation and attendance in the required church
activities and the physical dimension that has to do with the much anticipated
new clothes and shoes, the sharing of Christmas meals with our neighbors and
gallivanting almost the entire neighborhood visiting families, eating, playing
and receiving money and plenty of gifts.
Christmas merriment growing up as a Catholic in a multi-cultural and
diverse community of varieties of religious, ethnic and social background was
very unique in many ways. For instance, Christmas meals, which are in most
cases very delicious menu of rice and stew, or jellof- rice, fried meat either
of beef, goat or chicken and turkey, in some places pounded yam served with
egusi (melon), Okoho or Ogbono soups that contains assorted varieties of meat,
such as dried stockfish, mackerel, game- such as grasscutter (a type of rodent)
in addition to the traditional beef, chicken and goat, are distributed among
neighbors far and wide without regard to religion or any of the differences I
have mentioned. Christians share their merriment with Muslim and people of
other religion, who wholehearted accepts them and reciprocate in some cases by
giving the bearer of the food gifts in cash and kind.
These tradition which the Church actively encourages have tremendous
positive impact in my community and resulted in the typical scenario of a child
is brought up by the village, as everyone is interested in your welfare. This
act of sharing in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ has become an iconic means
of sharing the gospel of Christ in our community and without doubt, love did
abound indeed.
Legion of Mary, Mother of God
There is a unique pride in being identified as a Legionary in those
days when I was a youngster in Otukpo, Nigeria. The members of the Legion of
Mary at St. Mary’s Catholic Church are required to help the elderly people in
our community with task such as fetching water, firewoods, running the errands
and washing their clothes among other things that they may need.
I recall two siblings that were over 90 years old each in those days.
The man had slight hearing impediment; nevertheless, he always vividly respond
to our presence with joy and communicate eloquently. We fetch water for them,
help set up their fire for cooking, wash their clothes, however when it is time
to eat, we will remind them that as legionaries we are not allowed to accept
gifts, since our actions are to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary and offer our service
through her to her son, Jesus Christ!
Then comes the arguing back and forth, with them insisting we must at
least take a bite otherwise they will not welcome our help in the future! As a
matter of fact we have no choice but to take a piece of their meal and thank
them for their generosity. When it is time to depart, these elderly folks will
ask us to kneel so they can bless us! These blessings have remained with me to
this day and I cannot thank God enough for the simplicity, love and complete
gratitude always on display whenever we visit these siblings in Otukpo.
Adoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints
As a Catholic, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Mother of God, and the
angels and Saints have a unique place in our Christian faith. The Holy Rosary
prayer is second to the “Our Father” or “The Lord’s Prayer” growing up in my
family. We honor the Blessed Virgin Mary and adore the angels and Saints,
because my parents believe in the communion of the saints. Even before I knew
how to read the Bible from the Christian perspective, I was knowledgeable in
saying the Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, the Apostle Creed, the Glory be to God,
the Holy Rosary prayers and many other prayers in the Church, including the
recitation of the Lord is my shepherd or Psalm 23!
My family favorite saint is Saint Jude Thaddeus and we have an altar
with his statue and those of the Cross of Jesus Christ and other relics in a
corner in our living room.
Today, I have many favorite saints and try my best to emulate them,
because like the Blessed Virgin Mary, they too try to emulate Jesus Christ, who
is both our moral and spiritual compasses in life. I also have a dedicated
altar with the crucifix of Jesus Christ and other relics in my home and I pray
through the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saints Peter and Paul, Anthony and Francis,
Martha and Veronica, Rita and Fustina, Pope John Paul II and Maxmillian Kobe,
Padre Pio and Joseph the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Augustine and
Blessed Cyprian and uncountable other men and women of God that have lived a
glorious lives here on earth.
Family Tradition in Faith
My parents used to tell us several stories, which in conclusion draw
on the Christian values of generosity, prudence, humility, patience,
perseverance and endurance, love, friendship, sharing and the need to be a
brother’s keeper. We are required to help anybody even if the person was a
stranger. I remember one incident in particular when we were coming from the
farm and we ran into an elderly farmer with a basket on her head. My dad
insisted one of us takes the basket and help her home!
He will always say God is visiting us through such folks and therefore
we must be ready to help, because we are helping Jesus Christ, who instructed
we should love our neighbor as ourselves! And there are so many other
traditional values that have been woven into our Christian consciousness and
they have become part and parcel of our lives.
Scriptural
Traditions
Catechism and Sunday school Teaching
When my parents enrolled us into the Catechism class, were we to
prepare for our first Holy Communion, which is one of the seven Sacraments of
the Church, the others being Baptism, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Matrimony,
Holy Order and Anointing of the Sick!
I was baptized as a child because my parents exercising their free
will and their faith in God deemed it necessary that as their Child I ought to
be born again into the Church of God or the mystical body of Christ. However my
real encounter with Jesus Christ began when I was in the catechism class with
the Catechist quoting the scriptures about the authenticity of the Body and
Blood of Jesus Christ appearing under the bread and wine at the Eucharistic
celebration or the Holy Mass.
For sure there were millions of questions;
however by faith in the words of Jesus Christ, I believe that he is present in
the Holy Communion after the consecration prayer by the Priest.
It was also in the Catechism class that the Ten Commandments of God
was thoroughly explained to me, and how it forms the basis of Christian
practices in our daily life. The Bible traced the origin of man’s creation and
the salvation that was granted to mankind after the fall of Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden.
I learned about Abraham faith, Esau and Jacob (Israel), then
Moses all the way to King David, John the Baptist and finally Jesus Christ.
Then we were taught to make sure that all our actions were motivated
by two major Commandments; love of God and love of neighbor and that if we ever
entertain any doubt regarding the compatibility of our actions and these laws,
then we must reject those actions that bring about doubt within us.
The Ten Commandments
Jesus Christ summarized the Ten Commandments into two namely:
1.
The Lord says: “You
shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart.” And
2.
The Lord says: “Love
one another as I have loved you.”
3.
In
order to love God, I must set my heart on the things of God, so that I can
really love him above all things and be faithful to his commandments, as a
child love his father and obey his order. Through the scripture, I am taught
how to love God; obeying the teachings of the mystical body of Christ, the
Church, profess my faith without fear or favor, pray to my God day and night
and always, offer my difficulties, my joys and my sorrows to God. I must never
use the name of God in vain; do not swear or lie in the name of God and never
disrespect the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints.
In
regards to the commandment of love thy neighbor as thyself, for me to love my
neighbor as Jesus Christ have loved me, I must never used my neighbors for my
own ends or do to them what I do not want done to me. I must honor my parents
and mankind and give them help in their spiritual and material needs. I must be
generous, kind and compassionate to people, I must not discriminate or harbor
ill feeling towards another person. I must obey the legitimate authority and
give them their due respect. If I am in the position of authority, I must
dispense it with love and compassion of Jesus Christ, becoming the servant and
not the master of those under me. I must work for justice, avoid violence and
forgive those who hurt me and ask for forgiveness from those I might have hurt.
I must not kill or support any form of killing, and my love must not be
selfish, but truly self-sacrificing as Jesus Christ did!
Stand
Firm & Hold Fast!
We
are able to stand firm only if we constantly try to live in accordance to the
way that our God desire for us and not through any machinations of ours! In
such scenario, we will experience the gradual disappearance of our anxiety
about the future and become more hopeful because our blessed assurance comes
from a God that is steadfast and faithful in all his ways. And we can hold fast
if only we truly know God’s enduring faithfulness, steadfastness and truth! He
is the almighty Father!
What
are the circumstances that challenge us to stand firm and hold fast to our
faith whether it is through oral or scriptural and both traditions?
We
must stand firm for love, hope and faith! It is our responsibility as the instrument
of God to love humanity and offer mankind the hope and faith that God has
blessed us with.
We
must stand firm for justice for all mankind.
We
must stand firm and love every mankind irrespective of their religion, race or
locality and or socio-economic or political association and lifestyle
orientations.
We
must stand firm and pray for all mankind that God will have mercy on us all.
We
must stand firm against any form of discrimination that disparage humanity.
We
must stand firm for generosity, even if our society is full of greedy and
selfish doctrines.
We
must stand firm for the goodness of mankind and refuse the doctrine that
criminalizes mankind for political, social and economic gains.
We
must stand firm to the truth of God as taught to us by our faith.
We
must stand firm against killings of human beings from conception and even as
children or adult.
We
must stand firm against unjust wars.
Additionally,
we must hold fast to the teaching of our God in the Bible and through the
Church.
We
must hold fast to the examples of Jesus Christ and live it, so that we too can
become the light
We
must hold fast to the commandments of God, which are love
We
must hold fast to our faith and belief in eternal life through Jesus Christ.
We
must hold fast to the necessities of the Sacraments in our lives.
We
must hold fast to Christ tenet that we must love all mankind and hate no one.
Practical Challenges
It
is not enough to be a Christian by name and neither will it be enough to try
and live a truly Christian life through our own effort. That is why Jesus
Christ admonished us to come to him all those who labor and are burn and he
will give us rest.
Therefore
if we want to stand firm and hold fast to the teachings of Jesus Christ as
handed over to us through the Bible (scripture) and oral testimonies of the
Saints of God, including and not limited to those recognized by the mystical
body of Christ, we must use the love of God as the basis for all our actions.
If we love God, we will be empowered to love our neighbor as the Holy Spirit
and God and ourselves and become the temple of the Lord and Jesus Christ will
come and offer him to us again and all our actions will be orchestrated through
divine providence.
Prayer
Dear
heavenly Father,
Here
am I again, before your throne of grace, as I go down on my knees and looking
up at my crucified Jesus Christ on the cross! I believe you want me to walk in
your peace.
Help
me to stand firm in the life you have given me and hold fast to your truth!
Let
my life bring glory to your holy name and that will be enough for me.
Thank
you O my Lord and God for always hearing my prayer.
In
Jesus Christ, I offer you my life today.
Amen
Ref:
2 Thessalonians 2, John 21, Matthew 23, and Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5,
Podeh2016
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