Let’s Value, Focus on “the unity that Jesus sees in us”: Catholic Bishop in Nigeria

“If outsiders can notice the similarities between brothers, which they themselves don’t notice, don’t you think that the father or the mother don’t see the similarities between their children? Even when they look different, they see it,” Bishop Onah said.

In his message to the people of God experiencing division owing to various religious beliefs, he said, “We may not be as united as we would want to and that is an assignment for us, to keep removing these things that make us look different. Things that even divide us. But we should not lose hope about our unity.”

The Local Ordinary of Nsukka Diocese said that “outsiders” always see the unity among Christians, and explained, “That is why one Christian commits one fault in one part of the world and another Christian of another denomination is persecuted in another part of the world. For the persecutor, all Christians are one. If others see us as one, and if Jesus sees us as one, let us see one another as united.”

He called upon the people to emulate Stephen who prayed for the forgiveness of his persecutors, saying, “When Stephen was being killed, he prayed for those killing him because he recognized their common humanity with him. The faith in their common humanity in spite of their wickedness and ignorance made him pray for them and that prayer helped Saul who became Paul.”

“What was the color of the blood of Stephen? Red. The color of the blood of Saul? Red. The color of the blood of Jews? Red. The color of the blood of Christians? Red. The color of the blood of Muslims? Red. The color of the blood of those who don’t believe in anything? Red,” Bishop Onah said.

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He added, “That common redness of our common blood points to our common humanity and that points to the sacredness of each one of us in every life. Why don’t we value what unites us and share it?”

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.