Guest
Lecture presented by Ichie
Ezechikwado Ik. Muo, Ph.D, FCIB. @ the launching of Catholic Men Organisation Trust Fund @ Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Catholic Church Okota, Lagos , Sunday, 31st March, 2019
Appetizers
And they will ask: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed
you or thirsty and give you something to drink.. a stranger and invite you in
or needing clothes and clothe you, sick or in prison and go to visit you? And he
answers whatsoever you did to the least of these brothers of mine, you did for
me!” (Mt.,25:37-39). Note that this is His last teaching before the
passion
"Do all the good you can,
by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can,
at all the times you can,
to all the people you can,
as long as you can!” John Wesley
by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can,
at all the times you can,
to all the people you can,
as long as you can!” John Wesley
“Man becomes great
exactly in the measure in which he works for the welfare of his fellow human
beings” Mahatma
Gandhi
1:What Is The Purpose Of this Life?
We
are nothing on this earth if we are not in the first instance, slaves to a
cause-Frantz
Fanon
People over the ages have
continuously agonized over the purpose of man’s existence on earth. Why are we
here? What should we be doing here? What is the essence of life and existence?
These questions have been asked jointly and severally over the ages. Some
people pondered on these questions formally and they have been collectively
referred to as philosophers. Others do so informally. Whether formal or
informal, it is normal for people to think about the essence of life. There is
an odd category of people who live by the day-they do what the day brings, eat
what the day brings and wait for another day! Luckily, they are in the
minority! An important aspect of thinking about the purpose of life is the
issue of what happens in the hereafter, when one bids irrevocable goodbye to
this world. In this regard, there is this natural desire to live legacies and
monuments as reminders to future generations that such persons passed through
this planet. In effect, we want to be
alive after we might have died!
Some people go about
acquiring wealth and they become fanatical about it that every
conceivable technique is applied in the process. Others move from wealth and go
on to acquire power so as to be able to consolidate their wealth,
control the life and destiny of others and play god in the affairs of men. In
Nigeria and other developing countries, there is no distinction between wealth
and power; power is the surest route to limitless wealth. Others want to live
the good life-whatever that means; others seek for knowledge and
do so to the point of confusion. There are yet those who wish to have highly
educated and empowered children. In pursuing these options, there is the
desire to be positively remembered after ones demise. But wealth can
vanish; the powerful do become powerless, ‘good life’ leads to doom even on
this earth; knowledge for its own sake serves no purpose and some well trained
and empowered children end up becoming riff-raffs. Some people are
forgotten even before they die while others are remembered in the negative
realm. And all this is on this earthly plane
The advent of Christianity
brought another dimension to this matter. The essence of life then becomes to
live a Christ-life like so as to be admitted into Gods eternal presence after
death. Life thus becomes a transit-camp, where people take the preparatory
steps to make heaven-by the grace of God. That is why the Catholic Church
teaches that God created us to know,
love and serve him as a precondition to living in eternity with him. Other
religions also preach a higher purpose to life. Even in the Igbo traditional
religion, people live in such ways as to be admitted into the fold of
ancestors, so that their offspring would proudly pour libations and celebrate
their names and deeds forever. People do not pour libations or make sacrifices
to those who were failures or evil-minded while they were alive. If you are in
doubt, recall how Okonkwo’s reaction to the advice by the ogba-afa to
offer sacrifice to Unoka (Things Fall Apart). The twin desires-to leave a worthwhile legacy and to win the ultimate
prize of heavenly abode-can be easily achieved through charity: giving our
time, knowledge and resources-in love and with love- to our neighbours.
2:Leaving Legacies Through Charity
One of the surest ways of
creating everlasting legacies is by extending good deeds to people who may, or may not be,
known to us. This fact is underscored by these two philosophical statements: What
is the use of living if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this
muddled world a better place to live after we have gone( Churchill); Most
of the world greatest achievers are not known for what they had, but for what
they did with what they had (Habu Dawaki). To this day, people talk of
Ford, Mother Theresa, Mahatma Ghandi, Murtala Mohammed, Mandela, Dora Akunyili,
Fawehinmi and Pope John Paul II. They are all remembered for the services they
rendered to their immediate communities or the world at large.
Some continue to be
relevant today through endowments. They are not remembered for houses, degrees,
beauty or children. The same holds for some who are still very much around-Rawlings
Utomi, Fr Kukah. They made or are making differences in their societies, for which they are honoured and applauded.
That was why Bill Gates,
the worlds richest man, (current worth $79.2bn) decided to relinquish his chairmanship of
Microsoft(2014) so as to devote more time to the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation. The foundation, which is worth about $90bn, has as at 2017, granted
more than $54b. Gates has already left a legacy through Microsoft; but it was a
commercial/scientific legacy. He now wants to leave a legacy of pure charity
for which he is not expecting any returns except that generations to come would
continue to remember the foundation and its founder. He has further resolved to
give away all his money to charity and to commit to doing so after death. In
their 2018 annual letter, he says giving away all his money is meaningful, fun and that ‘it is our life’. He
has wealth, but he wants something beyond wealth and he is seeking that through
giving and serving. Guess what?
Melinda attributes her philanthropic orientation to her Catholic upbringing,
where she learnt to value social justice. Perhaps, he is spurred by the
words of Albert Camus that “Real generosity to the future lies in giving
all to the present” or the admonition of Benjamin Franklin that
“ When
you are good to others, you are good to yourself”.
 |
| Bill & Melinda Gates |
But before Bill Gates,
there was Rockefeller, who though ruthless and buccaneering in his acquisition
of wealth, built a $500m Medical Research Institute and gave 1/6 of his wealth
to charity before he died in 1937. So also was Andrew Carnegie who progressed
from being a messenger to a steel magnet and our own Mobolaji Bank-Anthony
whose philosophy was: what God gives
you, give out of it to other people though he practiced anonymous philanthropy because the
BOOK has admonished us ‘do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing’( Mt. 6:1-4). We also have Alfred Nobel,(1833-1896), the Swedish chemist, inventor, entrepreneur and manufacturer of armaments. After reading a
pre-mature obituary condemning him for profiting from people deaths( a merchant
of blood and death), he had a change of heart and bequeathed his wealth to the
now famous Nobel Prizes…Peace, Literature et al
 |
| Alfred Nobel |
2:Seeking the Kingdom Of God Through Serving And Giving
The life and teachings of
Christ center on love.. For a start, his
manifesto centered on compassion for the marginalized:.. good
news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, free oppressed and proclaim the good news(
Lk,4:18-19). It is because of sacrificial love that Christ willingly submitted himself to an
agonizing, and humiliating death . Love is indeed, the center of Christianity
and that is why the two greatest commandments are love of God and neighbour (Mt,22:37). But the two commandments
are actually one because those who
have the capacity but fail to help their brethren cannot claim that they love
God (1 Jn,3:17) and it is
only a liar who can claim to love God whom he has not seen while hating his
brother (1. Jn, 4:20). And Christ explains concrete love as selfless service of
the first order as exhibited by the good Samaritan who rendered service without
counting the cost, time, colour, tribe and convenience (Lk, 10:25-37. When Oprah Winfrey,(worth about $4bn+) opened
a $40m 1st class school for the South Africa poor,(January, 2007)
she wanted to leave a legacy[she already had wealth and fame] and she proved
, that brethren are not only those from our
neighbourhood. And the clincher-Our love should not be just words and talk;
it must be true love which shows itself in action[1 Jn,3:18), or as our people would say , talk and do!.
Paul deepens and widens
this perspective by saying that love is more important than miracles, faith,
speaking in tongues and other signs of holiness and that, the greatest of them is love” (Ist.
Cor;13:1-13). Some versions of the Bible actually use the word charity , which
inter alia means that disposition of
heart which inclines men to think favourably of their fellow man and to do them
good”. Love is also related to service which is a sign of greatness:
The greatest among you must be your
servant (Mt, 23;11). We should also
not forget to do good and help
others because it pleases God ( Heb,13:16)
Taking it from another
angle, faith is the cornerstone of Christianity. The Bible tells us that “No
one can please God without faith
(Hebrews.11:6). But even that faith becomes insignificant in the
absence of good works. “what good is it for someone to say that he
has faith if his actions do not prove it?... if faith is alone and includes no actions,
it is useless” (James,
2:14-17). That may be why we pray to God in the Catena to
“Grant us a lively faith animated by
charity…and to see and serve you in our neighbour”
Faithfully
keeping the 10 commandments is necessary but not sufficient to secure a
confirmed ticket to heaven. That is why Christ advised the young rich him to get involved in
charity,(Mt, 19:21). He
keeps the whole commandments but lacks charity! This was also the message of
John the Baptist who told the penitents that the only way out was to share
their earthly possessions with the less fortunate (Luke,3:10-11). The rewards
for charity may even start on this earth as in the case of Dorcas/Tabitha of
Jopa who spent all her life doing good
and helping the poor and this
earned her some reprieve (Acts;9.36-41). And the Bible tells us that those who
ignore the cries of the helpless may not be helped when they are in need.
(Proverbs,21:13)
Our efforts so far have
been to prove that the two innermost desires of men-and women too- can be
achieved through serving and giving-in love and with love. These desires are to
leave legacies ( favourable remembrance after death) and to make heaven. We have
in effect addressed the issue of why we should undertake charity: to ensure
that we are alive even when we are dead through our legacies and to acquire our heavenly tenancy.
4:It Is Not Just Money, Structures And Individuals!
It is also imperative to stress
that charity does not have to be in millions; that it must not be only by
individuals, that one must not necessarily do it alone and that it must not be
physical structures One can give his or her ideas and talents though in this
era when we are fixated with cash, all else appear irrelevant. The matter was settled by Peter when he said ‘Silver
and Gold I do not have but what I have I give you’…( Acts,3:6) and we
all remember the contribution of the poor widow. But intangible donations are
also important. After all, late Fela and
Fawehinmi are remembered for
using their profession to fight against injustice and speak truth to
power. Furthermore, people can also give without building structures; by
rendering services. From this
perspective service refers to the pure act of sacrifice borne out of love,
which a person, group of persons or organization, renders to another without
expecting any direct indirect, short or long-term benefits. The perfect example
is the Good Samaritan in the Bible. It is voluntary and that is why Veronica
performed a service when she wiped the face of Jesus but the same may not be
said of Simeon who was conscripted by the soldiers to assist Jesus in bearing the
cross (so that he does not die before reaching Calvary!).
Luckily, this is happening during the Lenten period.
Charity is the virtue by which we love God above all things for his sake and
love others for God’s sake. Therefore all our religious devotions and charity
are directed to the love of God and then our light will rise in the darkness, and the Lord will guide us always,
satisfy our needs and we will be like a well-watered garden (Isaiah, 58:10-11). That
is why Bishop Menaparampil admonishes us to Have preferential love
for little attentions to the needy and simple service to the poor. Do not
hunger for recognition and rewards; develop an eye for man’s basic needs. Do
something concrete to help…
The only way to live a good life is to live a life of service to God and to man. Incidentally, since we cannot see and serve God directly; we can only see and serve Him through our neighbour. The only way to live a meaningful life is to serve and the only way to serve is to live a meaningful life. Through charity to fellow men-and women- we get the best of both worlds. We leave intimidating legacies on earth and secure an irrevocable ticket to heaven. Through charity we live, even after our death: on earth where people continue to remember us and in heaven where we have eternal fellowship with God. After all, to live in the hearts of those we love is not to die and the love of those we served selflessly is guaranteed! Even those who do not believe in God/heaven would wish to be remembered for their positive contributions to humanity and the surest route to this remembrance is service. That is why Panda defines immortality as living our lives doing good things and leaving marks behind.
It is therefore imperative
for us to live a life of charity. Charity is not all about money; we can give our
time, we can give our labour; we can give our knowledge and we can give our
connection. In whatever we do, wherever we are and whenever it is, we should live
lives of charity; make ourselves available as instruments for advancing the
common good. We should do whatever we do in the service of humanity and
remember that when we serve man, we serve God
When should one start this
life of serving and giving? The answer is simple-NOW! Today is the
appointed time!(1 Cor, 6,2) Do
not leave for tomorrow, what you can do today because tomorrow may never come;
procrastination is one of the greatest enemies of human progress. The
story of the rich fool teaches us that even at the height of life, we are in
the valley of the shadow of death!. We do not know the day or the hour while we
have been warned not to tell our neighbours to wait for tomorrow for what we
can do today (Proverbs, 3:28). You do not need to be 60 neither do you need to
be a Bill Gates. After all, the Kenyan
teacher, Brother Peter of the Keriko
Secondary School commits 80% of his salary to assist indigent students. The
good news is that he won the 2019 Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Award with a
prize of $1m!
Just go out NOW
and do something for the less-privileged.
Do not wait for tomorrow! JUST GO AHEAD AND DO IT! A life
of charity is the only way to be a real millionaire since “you are
not a millionaire by having a million Naira; you are a millionaire by
influencing a million people positively”-David Oyeyepo
The CMO Trust Fund we are launching today is born out of the desire of the CMO of this parish to have a robust framework through which the members of our community can be empowered and supported. The CMO does not necessarily intend to be in a donatus-mode, sharing money here and there. Skills acquisition; manpower development , venture capital and welfare issues will be addressed through this fund. And as such, a person with a fabricating workshop, who undertakes to train some interested parishioners is already donating to the programme. Furthermore, like other trust funds, the CMO-TF will not spend the seed-money we are raising today, on its activities. The seed-fund should be invested while the income therefrom is then used to pursue its objectives. That means that we have to raise enough money so that when invested, we shall have something meaningful to work on. Furthermore, it should not be a one-of thing; the most important thing is continuous addition to the seed-capital through continuous donations. Thus the person who donates N500,000 today can commit to further donating N50000 every year for life. This is a very big amount but N50,000pa is just N4000 monthly. Little drops of water make an ocean and when we join hands together, we will be able to make an invaluable impact.
Desserts
Since we started with some appetizers, it is also
appropriate to serve some desserts and here we are. Stephen Grellet made a very emotional statement when he
reminded all of us that:
We shall pass through this world but once.
If therefore there be any
kindness that we can show or any good that we can do,
let us do it now;
let us not defer it
or neglect it
for we shall not pass this
way again!
We make
a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give (Churchill)
while Camara Laye tells
us that On this earth, man does nothing for any one nor does he do
anything against anyone; he does everything for himself and anything against
himself.
5:Conclusion
The individual good is sometimes better preserved, better actualized
within the context of the common good…The individual good that we seek to have
is diminished when the common good is not advanced!(Pat Utomi) Chris Okotie tells us that Jesus
said love your neighbour as yourself so that the concept of self-preservation
is predicted on our ability to preserve others
The only way to
live a good life is to live a life of service to God and to man. Incidentally, we
cannot see and serve God directly; we can only see and serve Him through our
neighbour. This concept of neighbour has no geographical, ethnic, linguistic,
or racial coloration; our neighbour is every human being-even those whom we perceive
as enemies. Through charity, we get the best of both worlds. We
leave intimidating legacies on earth and secure an irrevocable ticket to heaven.
After
all, to live in the hearts of
those we love is not to die and the love
of those to whom we give selflessly is guaranteed! Even those who do not believe in God/heaven would
wish to be remembered for their positive contributions to humanity and the
surest route to this remembrance is charity. Let us always remember that when
we are kind to the poor, we are lending
to the Lord, who will reward us in due course( Proverbs, 19:17) and that
when we give, it will be given to us, a good measure, pressed down, shaken
together and running over… because the measure we used, will be measured to us( Lk,6: 38) . Christ
declared that Everyone who listens to these words of mine
and acts on them is like the sensible man who built on the rock(Mt,7:24). One of the things we should listen to is that ‘whatsoever you do’… an admonition he gave
just before his passion! We are all eager to seek, obey and love God, but without faith
it is impossible to please God,( Hebrews,11.6) However, faith without work is DEAD (James2: 14-25).
So lets concretise our faith by the works we do. Let’s support the CMO-TF! And remember, whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren…
WHATSOEVER YOU DO TO THE LEAST OF MY
BROTHERS (Hymn)
1. When I
was hungry, you gave me to eat;
When I was thirsty, you gave me to drink.
Now enter into the home of My Father.
When I was thirsty, you gave me to drink.
Now enter into the home of My Father.
Whatsoever you do to the least of my
brothers,
that you do unto me.
2. When I
was homeless, you opened your door;
When I was naked, you gave me your coat.
Now enter into the home of My Father.
When I was naked, you gave me your coat.
Now enter into the home of My Father.
Whatsoever you do to the least of my
brothers,
that you do unto me.
that you do unto me.
3. When I
was weary, you helped me find rest.
When I was anxious, you calmed all my fears.
Now enter into the home of My Father.
When I was anxious, you calmed all my fears.
Now enter into the home of My Father.
Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers,
that you do unto me."
that you do unto me."
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