27 September, Sunday — God supports those who confess His power and glory

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Eze 18:25-28
Phil 2:1-11
Mt 21:28-32

…and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Confession is a reliever, a prudent surge moderator and could be personified. This is when it becomes a guide to reconciliation. And like forgiveness, confession takes us through the path of reason, understanding and sense of empowerment in our drive to reach deepening acceptance that attracts the influence of godliness. With that, there is a meaningful degree of self-confidence that comes with relief when one feels less helpless and less hopeless. This is the underlying texture of the Christian hope, an overwhelming reliability on the power of confession.

Growing up in my village, a tucked-in place in a community called Okwelle, in the heartland of the tribal Igboland of Eastern Nigeria, it was at the wake of 1970 and twilight of the surrender and end of the Nigerian civil war. The soldiers who moved in to take the leaves of loyalty from our elders were surprised that in the face of war, surrender and adversity, the people still proclaimed confession and strong faith in Christianity and Catholicism. Our elders surrendered the quest for sovereignty but not the freedom of their tongues that confessed that our “Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father” and had granted us survival. That confession was high-spirited and energized by the backup of overwhelming revolution of Catholicism brought by the early missionaries to Igboland in Eastern Nigeria. Among the early missionaries was Reverend Father Lutz from France, who came to the ancient city of Onitisha, in Eastern Nigeria, in 1885 to set the fire of conversion and confession blazing. He was followed by other missionaries like Bishop Joseph Heery and Bishop Joseph Shanahan, who established Bishop Shanahan College, Orlu, in Imo State Nigeria in 1945, where I schooled.

Confession to the power of God brings one into agreement with God’s spirit; it enhances growth and spread of His gospel. This is what accounts for the rich embedment of Catholicism among the tribal Igbos that come from Eastern Nigeria, to the extent that more than 60% of Catholic Churches spread across Nigeria today are predominantly populated and supported by Igbos of Eastern Nigeria.

Indeed God supports those who confess His power and glory; this is what we are witnessing among the people.

(Today’s Oxygen by Julius Otusorochukwu Dike, JP)

Prayer: Lord, please help us to pursue and rely on the confession of your power and might that brings your spirit to guide us in life. We believe that trusting in you attracts your grace in our lives. Help us Lord, Amen.

Thanksgiving:  Dear Lord and Father, we thank you for lifting up our spirits of confession in your power and glory; we are relieved staying in your care. Thank you for your blessings Lord, Amen.