Lessons from Easter: Learning to forgive one another
We have just come out of the Easter festivities, which lasted from Friday, April 18 to Monday, April 20. Many of us engaged in or enjoyed different kinds of activities during the period, with many Ghanaians spending their time at conventions or other church activities.
Advertisement
As usual in Ghana, many rounded off the Easter period with picnics and visits to historical sites and beaches on Monday. Others also observed their closing activities with heavy drinking from one spot to another.
In some communities too, the festival days were observed as a reconciliation period, where families met to settle petty scores and brought togetherness to their members. Others also used the period to raise funds for community projects to uplift the social life of residents.
As a Christian, one of the key lessons for me was the exhibition of true love and the spirit of forgiveness by my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In the process of his arrest, one of his disciples, Simon Peter, drew his sword and cut off the right ear of Malchus, one of the soldiers sent by the High Priest to arrest Jesus.
Definitely, Peter was trying to defend Jesus, but the latter denounced violence by rebuking Peter and again restoring the man’s ear.
How many of us having the opportunity to attack those pursuing us would rather turn to the defence of our attackers?
Another big lesson for mankind during the Easter period is the kind of special reconciliation Jesus brings. Following the arrest of Jesus, he was tried by both Herod and Pilate. King Herod Antipas, the same man who had previously ordered John the Baptist to be killed, was the ruler of Jerusalem during the days of Jesus, while Pontius Pilate was a the ruler of the Roman province of Judea, who gave the final authorisation for the crucifixion of Jesus.
The important lesson here is that these two rulers – Herod and Pilate – were enemies. They both tried Jesus due to the prevailing circumstances, especially the origins of Jesus. However, when Jesus found himself between the two as part of his trial, these two men suddenly reconciled and became friends. Luke 23:11-12 confirms this: “Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him.
Other Trending Stories
Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends - before this they had been enemies” (NIV).
And on the cross, after all the mocking, the disgrace and the physical pain inflicted on Jesus, he asked God to forgive those who had maltreated him: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
The instant reconciliation of Herod and Pilate, the arch-enemies, because Jesus came between them, must be a lesson for us all to forgive the past and reconcile.
In Ghana, no one needs to tell anyone how deep-seated the enmity between political opponents is. Mention NDC, and NPP members are enraged; then, mention NPP, and NDC members wish them to vanish underneath the earth. Even within same political parties, the height of enmity is unimaginable.
Talk about our individual families, ethnic groups or communities, and the situation is no different from what we usually see between political opponents.
The NPP has just come out of a contest, which though was a ‘family’ encounter, the acrimony in which it was done has left wounds to be healed. If care is not taken, the party will have to use all its time-healing wounds because the acrimonious nature of the flagbearership contest, which is yet to come on, appears to be giving signals of real battle.
The yet to be held NDC chairmanship contest has already started boiling and only God knows how hot it will be by the time the party starts receiving nominations. Already, strong arsenals are being thrown by the various camps at each other.
Our nation’s economy is on the verge of collapse, calling for all to put their shoulders to the wheel. Regrettably, however, we don’t seem to see that we sail or sink together and for that reason we have allowed our parochial party and selfish interests to direct our actions. No national issues are these days discussed with national fervour. Rather, we see and discuss every issue with NDC, NPP, PPP or PNC lenses, hence the acrimony and mistrust go on to the detriment of the nation and posterity.
This attitude has enabled very pertinent issues, some of which border on corruption, to be pushed under the carpet, because by the time the NDC-NPP quarrels and insults are finished, the substantive issue is long forgotten.
We can find instances in the various dubious judgement debts, the ongoing GYEEDA, and SADA revelations and other very important issues, where no national lessons have been learnt because we are all seeing them with party lenses, and thus engaging in lies, propaganda, and spin.
Talking about lies, propaganda and spin brings me to the latest but yet another indication that President Mahama and his government still lack the men to handle their communication effectively and professionally. The Ministry of Information and Media Relations, with three good ministers paid and serviced by the tax payer, has not yet shown that it is up to the task of speaking coherently and sensibly for the government.
On the issue of engineers and planners engaging a US plane to Iran, and the controversy it has generated, one was hoping to see the Information Ministry acting professionally, but alas, the ministers are once again caught in the game of “who is in charge.” Mahama Ayariga, the substantive Minister, said there was a minister of state on the Iran trip, while one of his deputies, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, insisted there was no government official.
Advertisement
Who should Ghanaians believe as speaking the truth? How would the Iranians even see us, as two ministers of the main ministry tasked with speaking on behalf of the government and the state are publicly contradicting themselves over an issue which has serious international repercussions?
We all need to learn lessons from the past and promote truthfulness in all that we do. Above all, we need to promote reconciliation and forgiveness to enable us move Ghana forward. Let’s not forget that we all gain or lose, depending on how we make Ghana.
PS: Mr Inspector-General of Police, having openly accepted that the Police Service had done some wrong in recent past, would you please respond to the children and widow of Adjei Akpor, the 22-year-old man your men killed at Adenta on January 6, 2014, and give them justice? This is the 15th week since the man was killed.
The author is a Journalist and Political Scientist. He is the Head of the Department of Media and Communication Studies, Pentecost University College, Accra.
Writer's email: fasado@hotmail.com
Advertisement