PAUL MSIZA from the

President JESUS, the Door to Liberation

In my recent trip to the United States, I met a colleague and friend, Kenneth Ebong, superintendent of the Lott Carey Baptist Convention, Nigeria. In our conversation about many things, we ended up engaged in deep discussion on issues of traditional practices. As Africans, we share some similar cultures and practices. One of those traditional practices is marriage celebrations.

As pastors, we were talking about how wedding celebrations

can become very expensive financially, more so in the African context where we do not have a guest list, because everybody is welcome. Beside the issue of food for the many guests, there is also the exchange of presents by the in-laws. At times, the parents and relatives of the couple can put on so much pressure and demands. Some of these traditional practices can be very oppressive and inhuman, especially to women. One such practice is forced marriage. This is an old practice where the parents connive to get spouses for their children. It is an ancient practice but it is still allowed in some communities. In some places similar such practices are promoted in the name of religion. Even in countries where democracy has existed for decades, such practices are somehow allowed to continue. Young girls are forced to enter into marriage against their will.

These are some of the saddest stories that we do not want to talk about. A person is forced to spend the rest of her life with someone she does not love, but had to do so in the name of tradition or obeying certain laws in the community. In a neighboring country to South Africa, there is a similar kind of practice. There is an annual ceremony called “the reed dance” where young girls assemble and parade before the king or chief. The tradition permits the king or chief to choose a wife from among these young girls. It is not compulsory that the king choose a wife at a reed dance. The pain is that the one who is chosen has no right to decline. In recent years several young girls chosen during the reed dance to become a wife to the king or chief, objected and chose to flee the country. This is the reality that many females face. If the community

accepts such practices and politicians are part of the system, what hope do young girls have in such a community? There may be reasons why some politicians choose to be silent on such issues. Some of the reasons could be:

u fear of losing votes in a situation where such practices are prevalent in the society

u fear of opposing community leaders in cases where community leaders enforce such practices

u politicians become complacent because the church is quiet.

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It is a serious concern when govern- ments and politicians become passive or complacent because the church is silent. A few years ago in one of the provinces in South Africa, this practice was on the rise. Young girls were kidnapped and forced into marriage. This caused shockwaves throughout the country. Church leaders, joined by other civil organizations, spoke out in one voice to root out the practice. In 2015 a politician gave a report to parliament about the victory to rid the country of this unjust practice. This was a female politician. In her presentation to the members of parliament, she emphasized the important role played by the church and community in speaking out against injustice. At times we tend to underestimate the power of the prophetic word. The church stood as God’s prophet and condemned the evil practice and proclaimed the freedom we all have in Christ.

There are certain things that hide in the dark corners of our communities. Most times we are ashamed to name them because they make us look bad. But when we shine the light of Christ into these dark corners we find someone who has been waiting to be liberated. This is an encouragement to continue proclaiming the message of hope, “Christ, the Door to Liberty.” When the community and politicians fail the young girls, the only hope they have is CHRIST, THE DOOR TO LIBERTY. We are tasked with this message to be God’s prophets to proclaim liberty through Christ. May we declare it in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.