Courage, Patience, and the Glory to Come – Rev. Fr. Pius Odediran’s Sunday Charge to All Christians

In a stirring Sunday reflection that pulled no punches, Rev. Fr. Pius Odediran has charged all Christians to abandon timidity, embrace the discipline of communal waiting, and understand that obstacles in evangelisation are actually a share in the sufferings of Christ. Drawing from the day’s liturgy, the cleric warned that without the Holy Spirit’s preparation, no amount of human eloquence can effectively communicate God’s message to a weary and skeptical world.

Fr. Odediran began with the first reading, which paints the early disciples as models of holy courage. He noted that Jesus did not send them into the battlefield of the world immediately. Instead, He commanded them: “Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift I told you about…” (Acts 1:5). That command, the cleric explained, remains alive for Christians today. “The Church is our Jerusalem,” he said. “We wait in faith, obedience, prayers in unity, and patience.” He cautioned against the modern obsession with speed and results, stressing that it is not how long you wait that matters, but what you do while waiting.

Fr. Odediran took particular aim at the temptation to despise communal prayers, the family rosary, the Holy Mass, and devotional groups. “Communal prayers help us in our weakness to sin and faith, and in the weakness of the human flesh,” he said. “When your faith is weak, the prayer of another carries you.” He urged Christians not to isolate themselves spiritually, warning that a lone Christian is a vulnerable Christian.

Turning to the second reading, the cleric reminded the faithful that St. Peter never hid the reality of suffering in the mission of preaching the Good News. However, Fr. Odediran reinterpreted that suffering as a badge of honour. “Our fulfilment should be that we have some share in the sufferings of Christ,” he declared. “Do not see obstacles as punishments. See them as your own contribution to the message of salvation.” He encouraged believers to remain steadfast and to consciously participate in evangelisation, even when the response is mockery or rejection.

From the gospel, Fr. Odediran drew a powerful lesson on confidence and completion. Jesus, having finished the work the Father gave Him, boldly asked for glorification. The cleric noted that such confidence was not born of arrogance but of the quality of His work. “He communicated eternal life to His disciples,” Fr. Odediran said. “When we communicate Christ to the world, we too shall be bold enough to ask Christ to show His love over our lives. Then we shall be sure to see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.”

The cleric concluded with a call to glorify God in prayer and thanksgiving, not merely in times of need but as a constant posture. “God has already glorified us through His Son,” he said. “Let us pray that God renew that glory in us.” He left the congregation with a charge: do not run ahead of the Holy Spirit, do not suffer alone, and never mistake waiting for wasting time. Waiting in Jerusalem, he said, is active, prayerful, united, and obedient – and it always precedes power.

As Nigerians grapple with economic hardship, insecurity, and the erosion of moral values in public life, Fr. Odediran’s message lands like a spiritual tonic: be courageous, wait well, suffer with meaning, and let your work for God be your confidence before heaven.