We have all sinned, pardon each other

As we began the Lent season on Wednesday, I reflected on what I have passed through as an individual. The truth is, I convicted myself, especially where I know and remember that I sinned. 

At the same time,  I also remembered that I am human and, therefore, I created excuses for myself. When I was in Sunday school, I  was taught that  Lent season is a period of forgiving each other, repenting and returning to God’s ways. As Genuine Christians, we agree that we are bound to sin, however much we are taught to avoid sin, but sometimes, it happens without our control and we can do nothing about it.

The only remedy in such a situation is asking God to forgive you and the person you have wronged. If the option of forgiveness and repentance  wasn’t there, I think Christianity would lose meaning and value. Some of our religious leaders today could be former serial sinners, in one way or the other.  But because we believe in repentance and forgiveness, those former sinners are  now leaders in church and serving us on behalf of Christ. 

If we Christians now started pinning them on their past, I think we wouldn’t be having the Church. Forgiveness and repentance is part of the foundation that makes Christ’s church. It is very challenging that sometimes we seem to forget that forgiveness and repentance exists hence doing things our own human way.
When news of Archbishop Stanley Ntangali’s alleged involvement in extramarital relationship arose, many Ugandan received it with shock. The Church didn’t spare him either as some bishops made statements against him. Yet Jesus said of the woman accused of adultery: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7 KJV).

We read further that after Jesus made  that  statement, those who were accusing the woman left one by one.  I wondered whether the values of Christianity had been suspended. I didn’t not comment not because I wasn’t seeing them but because everyone had ganged up against the Archbishop and taken over the position of God which is judgement. They  made alot of conclusions and I’m told the house of Bishops sat and made a resolution against him - forcefully excommunicating him and  stoping him from conducting any clerical activity.

I still think that the decision against the former leader of the Anglican Church of Uganda  and the way the public handed the matter was too harsh and unnecessary. We behaved like the people we have read about in the Bible who made judgements and  punished by stoning those they accused of committing sins. In fact at one time Jesus Christ challenged them when they brought a woman who was accused of adultery. He said “

“He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7 KJV) We read further that after Jesus made  that  statement, those who were accusing the woman left one by one.  I think they got challenged and convicted themselves. Through doing that, Jesus was teaching us that we are sinners and we should not magnify other people’s sins to look bigger than ours. Actually the same Bible we read teaches us not to focus on the speck in your brother’s eye. The Bible describes as an act of hypocrisy (Mathew 7:5)

Just last week, I read a post on Facebook on the page of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was celebrating the LGBT and calling upon the people in the world  to recognize them and respect them. To him homosexuality is normal and should be permitted in society. No Ugandan Bishop or Archbishop has come up to condemn that evil act maybe because they’re not on Facebook or maybe they’re not minding about it. The Anglican Church of Uganda has it’s origin from the United Kingdom, therefore when it’s mother church commits such an embarrassing sin, I think they should come out to condemn it just like they were quick to crucify our former spiritual leader.

The former Archbishop of the church of Uganda did not sleep with a fellow man neither did he sleep with a teenager. The former Archbishop did not rape or lure school going girl into sex. He didn’t sleep with his relative just like most men do these days. In fact we are told the woman could have persuaded our former Archbishop into doing what he did. Why then should we be hard on our former spiritual leader like that? Why should we draw cartoons of him and say all sorts of disrespectful statements against him? Should we say we are being Godly by doing what we are doing against him? I think we are not. We should reconsider all the decisions that the Church made against him, the former Archbishop of the church of Uganda should be exonerated and everyone who made statements against him should apologize. We believe that the throne of judgement is not here on Earth, it is in heaven.

We believe that all of us including the religious leaders will face the judgement individually and privately. Why then roast our spiritual leader and torture him like that have turned ourselves into God?

I agree the church of Uganda  has laws that guide her. However those laws are not bigger than our wisdom. Those laws shouldn’t lead us into sin, also we should remember that those laws were made by human beings. We should also think about how Jesus handled situations where he was caught out of the law. Especially the day when Jesus worked on Sabath! What did he say when he was Questioned? Now if Jesus found ways of relaxing those laws why should we be rigid basing ourselves on the laws that we have made by ourselves.

I think that’s wrong. The lent season is here and being a season of forgiveness and repentance I think it’s the right time to reconsider the decisions made against the former Archbishop of Uganda, it’s time to seek guidance from God on how to handle some complicated matters without exciting the public and publicly sacrificing our servants. The Ntangali saga should teach us alot as Christians.

Sam Orikunda, [email protected]

The writer is the a Deputy RDC Kitagwenda District.