Dear Friends of Unum Omnes,
Another year has gone by as quickly as if it was only yesterday. And thank God, we have again been blessed to see another season of advent, a period in which we open our hearts and prepare to symbolically receive the Lord into our world at Christmas.
To begin with, I would like on behalf of the Bureau that you elected into office at the General Assembly in Rome last October, to thank you all for the opportunity you gave us to be of service to you for the next three years. Your trust shall not be in vain. On the other hand we trust that you have not only put us in office but you will commit to support us to grow and strengthen Unum Omnes for our mutual benefit.
The season of advent perhaps reminds us of the beginnings of the journey of the “three kings” to seek Jesus the infant King of the Jews. We know from the Bible account that led by a star, they first paid a courtesy call on Herod, who through his scholars told the kings about where it was written that the infant King and Messia
h would be born. The journey of the three kings in those days must have been difficult and hazardous but they persisted in their hope and desire to find this new born King of the Jews and they did – a feat that the church celebrates as the feast of Epiphany. When they found Him, they presented Him with gifts but went back home by another route in spite of their promise to Herod to come back to inform him of where the infant King had been born.
This brief but familiar account of the journey of the three kings to seek Jesus, points to a few issues upon which my message is anchored. The first is that the the journey of the kings can be likened to our own life journeys here on earth as we seek to find Jesus, know him and follow Him. Through our lives and certainly in 2018, we have professed Christianity yet we are not spared the difficult and challenging situations that confront many in the world. We struggle, physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually in the quest to seek and follow Jesus. We face misunderstanding of our motives; suffer unjustly in our homes, marriages, workplaces, in our communities and countries. The Church that we look up to for guidance and comfort has its own share of difficulties and challenges, struggling to maintain its credibility after the clerical sexual abuse crisis. But like the three kings, we continue to persist in our Christian lives, not throwing up our hands in despair but remain steadfast, encouraged by the hope we have that we shall find Him and share in the peace and joy He brings to our world.
Second, when the three kings found the infant King, they adored and paid Him homage in spite of His low circumstance of being born in a manger. As we go through the season of advent and prepare to share quality time with our families during the Christmas festivities, let us, even in our difficulties and challenges, extend our thoughts to those less fortunate and less privileged than we are in our neighbourhoods and communities and if we cannot do anything about their plight, bring them in prayers before the Lord.
Lastly, after finding the infant King, the three kings returned home via another route. Let this mean for us, that at any time in our lives that we encounter the Lord Jesus, whether during the Christmas festivities or outside it, we shall “change course” and not go back to our old ways of life that place question marks on our identity as followers of Christ.
May Christmas 2018 and the New year 2019 not only be Merry but filled with hope, joy, happiness, prosperity and peace of the Lord for you and your families.
EDDIE PRAH
(PRESIDENT, UNUM OMNES)