ABUAD CHAPEL SUNDAY SERVICE

HOPE

Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches the soul-
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”
(Hope is the thing with feathers; Emily Dickinson, 1951)

Hope is the fire burning inside of us
That cannot be quenched,
But does not bring us to ashes.

Hope is in the sacrifice of our ancestors,
Who set themselves up to set us free.
They fought for a future that we may have not gotten to. Yet.
Hope is the belief that we can get there.

Hope was the essence of a republic.
It drove the fight for Biafra.
Hope was the last thing the Igbo heroes saw before they died. Or maybe that was pain.
It was the reason H.E Buhari tried severally.
It was what Chief Ernest Shonekan had.
Hope.
Hope was in the voice of the journalist the day she announced Gen. Abacha’s death.

Hope is the reason we have a resemblance to Democracy.
Hope was what people thought they had when they voted in and out Presidents Yar’Adua and GEJ.
Hope was the belief that, that Chibok girl would come back.

While this is not a Government class,
I hope you know these names,
And understand that our hope is in the One with the government of the world upon His shoulders.
Nigeria is too big a nation to not be seen by Him.

Hope is the reason school children go to school,
And Tunde Onakoya encourages those kids to play chess under the bridge.
It is the reason our parents work dutifully,
And the corpers still serve.

Hope is what we had when we tried with our power three years ago,
Yet the flag was decorated with our blood.
Hope was probably the last thing Oke(RIP) saw.
It was the reason we called their names.

Hope drove me to hold one stand of the canopy while rain fell on February 25th, just to protect our votes.
Hope is the reason my father travels to vote every election.

Hope is the reason we still get to celebrate ‘In Dependence’.
Whether or not I wore white and green,
Hope made our Chaplain wear white/ green.
I was too sure of this, so I was hopeful enough to write it before time.

Hope is why I still pray for Nigeria.
Maybe you too.
Hope is why we just don’t trust in chariots or horses…or in the government.
But in the name of our God.

Hope is why we have not left Nigeria,
At least not yet.
Hope is in saying:
“Even if they sell a bag of rice for 50 thousand Naira,
And one litre of fuel for 700 Naira,
The children of God must survive.”

The truth is:
We are not just based on the systems of this world.
We are not limited by their agenda.
It may get scary each day,
But we are courageous enough to laugh and come out!

Hope is believing that Nigeria can survive;
Or maybe there’ll be a time when we’ll thrive.
“The wicked may have the righteous hamstrung and stand justice on its head,
Justice may be a joke now.”(Habakkuk 1:4 MSG)
Hope is in the fact that you’re studying Law.

Hope is what drove me to write this piece.
Hope is why I can stand here and minister.
Jericho’s walls may have fallen;
Babylon may be in ruins;
But Nigeria is not lost.
Nigeria is not “no man’s land”.
We’re God’s own land.
We’ll keep thriving.
We’ll be like the Olympian that never expected it:
“The final may be a deadly day.
It’s gonna be either, both of us are gonna die on the line.
But I’m ready to run into the land because I have a black man blood in me;
And African people, we’re born great.
I’m ready for it.”

We do not only have ‘black man blood’,
But we have Jesus’ blood.
Dripping from the cross for us.
Hence, my drip…but I digress.

Hope is not just the thing with feathers,
That perches the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
Hope is in the promise of the cross.
Hope is the reason God has kept us alive.
Hope is the fact that we’ll be here for Nigeria’s transformation.
Nigeria will not only survive.
But thrive.

Tese.


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