• Let’s pray for our nation, wards, and families — Adegbite
• Reflect on life, do good to people around you — Onyemara
• Lent is a moment of God’s grace, a second chance for man to reconcile with God — Martins
• The significance of 40 days in the bible is that God allows us to go through challenges in order to grow spiritually — Nwaobia
• Repent from sin, use Val’s Day to truly show love to God, others — Ogunmuyiwa
As Nigerian Christians join their counterparts across the globe to observe the beginning of Lent, which kicks off with Ash Wednesday and coincides with Valentine’s Day, religious leaders urged Christians and Valentine lovers not to use the occasion to sin against God, by eschewing ungodly pleasures and draw closer to God in repentance.
The Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Lagos Chapter, Dr. Stephen Adegbite, who spoke on the significance of lent and Ash Wednesday, described the occasion as a sign of humility and a period that Christians are expected to humble themselves before God and also to cover themselves with ashes so that they can seek genuine repentance from the Lord.
He assured Christians that if they can do that that the Lord will hear their cry and deliver them from their troubles.
He said: “Ash Wednesday is the beginning of lent and the significance of Ash Wednesday is that it is a sign of humility. It is a time to humble ourselves before God because we must know that in the Old Testament, the children of Israel humbled and covered themselves with ashes so that they can seek genuine repentance from the Lord and when that was done the Lord hearkened to their cry and delivered them. And for us as church, we believe that Ash Wednesday begins with the season of Lent and Lent is for 40 days and coincidental for us or by providence we are starting this year’s Lent on February 14, which is Valentine’s Day.
“Valentine has its own history about love, but for us what we are taking from Valentine’s Day is love. Love is what you express; it is affection, but the kind of love we are talking about from the Christian perspective is the undiluted or unpolluted love. It is the unique love that God has for His people that made Him to send His only Begotten Son, which was established in John 3:16, saying: “For God so loved the world that He gave His own begotten son and whosoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”
According to him, what Christians should emphasis on is true love, which is the agape love. He said Lent is for 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, excluding Sundays and it starts from 12mid night to 6p.m.
“Really you start from 12 midnight and end by 6.00pm the following day and when we fast, you are not expected to let people know that you are fasting. It is between you and God, because it is a spiritual period of giving. It is not a period when you pile up food that you have not eaten from morning till evening only to consume everything in the night when you break your fast that is the season you give to other people.
It is a season to show love to other people and be kind to others too. And so, as we prepare for Lent this year, let us not oppress people and take care of other people’s needs. We must do a genuine fasting and repentance and your faith must lead you to repentance, so, as you journey in this Lenten season remember to pray for our nation. We need prayers for our wards and families, as we do this, the grace of God will be sufficient for us and our labour will not be vain.”
Onyemara
For the General Secretary of Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), The Very Rev’d Evans Onyemara, Lenten season is a time of sober reflection about life and all it offers. He reminded Christians that Jesus Christ fasted and prayed for 40 days in preparation for the great task of saving humanity.
Urging Christians to use the occasion to demonstrate their commitment and seriousness to God, Onyemara said: “The number 40 is equally significant because it shows seriousness and a point of departure from one season to another. Moses spent 40 days and nights to receive the 10 Commandants from God. The Israelites spent 40 years to enter into the Promised Land. Then Christ fasted for 40 days and nights to redeem us. So, in all, through the journey, you will see something new emanating after marking the ‘40.’”
When Christians observe Lent, according to Onyemara, they identify with Christ in that mission of salvation and also reflect on life’s vanity that they should do good to everyone around them.
“When we reflect upon our lives and its vanity, we are reminded to do good to everyone. We remember that from dust we came and to dust shall we return. We remember and appreciate that life is vanity. Only our works upon the earth shall survive and for them we are remembered whether good or bad,” he said.
He stressed that Lent and Valentine’s Day is not a time for waywardness and immorality, but a time for Christians to resolve to live better and please God.
He said: “This year’s Lent is very significant because it coincides with Valentine’s Day. It, therefore, calls again for sober reflection concerning the meaning and purpose of Valentine’s Day. We are, therefore, challenged to be the best we can be for God.
It is a time for married couples to seek the face of God in prayer together in fulfilling their marital vows. It is a time for couples to review the purpose of marriage, love and relationship. It is a time to review the progress made so far in our journey together and resolve to live better life that would please Jesus Christ.
It is equally a time to review one’s commitment to the other. It is a time to review our connectedness as a nation, especially as Nigeria is going through serious economic challenges. We must give up self-centeredness, greed and immoral lifestyle, and resolve to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers in order to have a nation where all are happy.”
Also, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, His Grace, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, called on Christians to know that God is love and they should demonstrate love and live by it. He described lent as a second chance given to Christians to reconcile with God.
“The Scriptures tell us that ‘God is love and those who live in love live in God…’ Lent is a moment of grace that the love of God has given to us, a second chance for us to reconcile with Him. It is, therefore, providential that Valentine’s Day falls on Ash Wednesday. We must emulate God by never giving up on anyone, but rather always leaving room for forgiving and reconciling with those who offend us. Love does not keep a record of wrongs, but is always eager to forgive. Couples who are having conflicts must take advantage of Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day to imitate God’s love and offer each other a second chance,” he said.
The Archbishop noted that Lent is a time of prayer, penance and fasting, and that Christians should show sorrow for their sins by fasting and engaging in charity works.
“When we fast and approach God in prayers, we know that the Lord listens to a humble and contrite heart and so, we are assured that God has accepted our prayers. So, we must spend this moment in prayers for our country that is being threatened by insecurity, banditry, kidnapping, grinding poverty, and hunger. We must spend this time in prayer and supplication not only for our individual and families’ needs, but also for our country,” Martins added.
In same vein, Archbishop of Aba Ecclesiastical Province/Bishop, Diocese of Isiala Ngwa South Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Isaac Nwaobia, described lent as a Christian liturgical season that lasts for 40 days, excluding Sundays, and observed as a period of reflection, penance, fasting, and preparation leading up to Easter.
He said that Christians should use the period to engage in practices such as fasting, prayer, give alms and also deepen their connection with God as they reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.
He admonished lovers at all levels to show God’s kind of love, which is the agape love to one another, and keep the period holy.
Explaining the significance of 40 days, Nwaobia said: “The significance of 40 days in the Bible is that God allows us to go through challenges in order to grow spiritually. The 40-day period highlights the importance of strengthening our faith by relying on God’s help in challenging circumstances. Also, 40 days highlight God’s patience with us. The period also symbolises a period of spiritual growth in the Bible. 40 days of prayer is an event that invites believers to pray and study the Bible together.
These days are times of earnest intercession and believing in God to answer prayers. Some also participate in 40 days of prayer and fasting to help renew the spirit and focus wholly on God.
“The 40 days of prayer is inspired by Matthew 4:1-11, where Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and cited Scripture to resist the temptations of Satan. The 40 days period serve as a time of fasting and prayer to draw closer to God and strengthen your prayer life on daily basis as it brings great hope and encouragement.”
He urged Christians and Val’s lovers to give up ungodly pleasures that draw them away from God and concentrate on things that will develop their relationship with God.
The Archbishop of The African Church, Province of Abuja/North, Most Rev’d Peter Ogunmuyiwa is not surprised that this year’s Ash Wednesday coincides with Val’s Day. He said that Valentine defines God’s love towards mankind, while Ash Wednesday is the beginning of a Lenten season, whereby Christians fast and pray for 40 days. He noted ly means that God’s love towards that the two coming together simpmankind is exhibited through devotion and commitment to God by fasting and praying.
Calling on Christians to demonstrate their love for God during the season, Ogunmuyiwa said mankind could only show love to God when they devote their time for God and go to God in penitence and ask for God’s mercy.
He said: “That shows you love God and that means you are in the service of God and humanity and that is what Valentine originally means to demonstrate; sharing love and caring for one another. So, it is a good thing that this year’s Valentine coincides with the beginning of Ash Wednesday, a period of sober reflection. Any Christian who really loves God would be committed to the worship of God and would go to God in penitence and reconcile with his creator.
“Valentine’s love ordinarily is not for immorality because it is a period to demonstrate love between husband and wife, children and their parents and parents to their children. This is the essence of Valentine celebration.”
The Archbishop noted that God has ordained Val’s Day in such as way that His children would congregate before Him to show love and reconcile with Him, adding that those who are preparing to use the day in a sinful way God is calling on them to repent and telling them that the day is map out to show love to God our creator and to every man, woman, father and children and fellow brothers and sisters across the nation.”
Calling on Valentine’s lovers to change their orientation, the cleric said instead of doing it in a sinful way, they should come to God, show their love to Him through their service to Him and humanity.
The cleric also called on the government to use the Lent period to address the issues of killings and insecurity in the land and to reflect on what they have done right or wrong, adding that up till now workers have not received increment in their salaries, while prices of food items are on the increase. “My advise is that they should be sensitive to the plight of the common Nigerians and let this period be a period of turning point in the life of our nation,” he added.
