Philosophical Reflections With

Matthew M. Umukoro

mattmukoro@gmail.com  (08034052655)

 

A Christian is, by definition, a self-confessed follower of Christ and an adherent to his teachings. But a pure humanist, on the other hand, makes the human being the focus of his attention, without necessarily being a confessed Christian. Humanism and Christianity, however, have points of convergence. Many of the moral teachings of Christ happily coincide with the social injunctions and moral persuasion of humanism, with or without Christian dogma. The earliest recorded use of the word ‘Christian’ can be found in Acts of the Apostles (11:25-26) when Barnabas brought the converted Saul to the Church at Antioch for Christian indoctrination for a full year. “And they were conversing there in the Church for an entire year. And they taught such a great multitude, that it was at Antioch that the disciples were first known by the name of Christian” (Acts 11:26). This was a crucial step towards the evangelistic role that Paul was to play in later life.

Becoming a follower of Christ in the true sense is a tough decision to make. One after the other, Christ called his disciples, and they instantly left everything they had and followed him without hesitation. The first four disciples to be called were Simon (renamed Peter), Andrew, James, and John (Mark 1:16-20). These men were actively preoccupied with their fishing profession which they instantly abandoned, along with their own families, when they received the call to become “fishers of men.” That is the first condition of the discipleship of Christ: instant response and total commitment. As Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “No one who puts his hand to the plough, and then looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.” When Jesus first encountered Simon, he took one good look at him and said: “You are Simon, son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (John 1:42). ‘Cephas’ means ‘stone’ (implying the rock) and it translates into the Greek “Petros”, and the English name “Peter”, by which Simon is more popularly known. 

Significantly, it was on Peter the Rock that Jesus Christ eventually founded the only one universal Church which has perpetuated the papal tradition. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus had asked his disciples exactly who he is, as against who men say he was, and it was Simon Peter who accurately responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). And Christ similarly remarked: “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father, who is in Heaven. And I say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound, even in heaven. And whatever you shall release on earth shall be released even in heaven” (Matthew 16:17-19). This sacred injunction has been passed down the line to all Popes in history, and it remains ever valid. It must be pointed out that, although Jesus charged his followers to “go forth to the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), he

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did not authorize anyone to found a Church separate from the Universal Church rooted in the papal tradition. Christ’s third appearance to his disciples after his resurrection, was by the seashore where they were fishing, and there, Christ had another encounter with Peter. Three consecutive times, Jesus asked Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”, and three times also, but with a bit of indignation on the third occasion, Peter reassured Christ that he loved him. And thrice Jesus told him: “Feed my lambs”, varying it with ‘sheep’ the third time (John 21:12-24). This was Jesus, formally commissioning Peter as the first Pope, to be the true shepherd to his flock. Jesus had to pronounce the mandate thrice because the same Peter had denied him thrice at the point of crucifixion. The true Church of Christ is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, and there is no basis for any argument over this. Every Catholic should know their received faith, and be able to defend it against the adulteration of false doctrines.

 Physical and psychological endurance is another major challenge of Christ’s discipleship. To the request of one of the scribes to follow Jesus wherever he went,

Jesus responded: “Foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head” (Matthew 8:19-20). Perhaps the reason why Jesus did not call any woman as his disciple at the onset of his earthly ministry was precisely because of the physical and mental ordeal he knew the disciples would be subjected to. But besides, there is always the torture and persecution which the followership of Christ invariably entails. All the original Apostles were persecuted, and virtually all of them, except John who was saved from untimely death, died as martyrs. Although not expressly stated in the Bible, it is generally believed that Simon Peter was crucified upside down in Rome, perhaps considering himself unworthy of dying exactly like Christ.

Finally, divisions and controversies trail the followers of Christ. As acknowledged by Christ himself, his personality is always shrouded in endless disputation. He proverbially claimed not to have brought peace and harmony into the world, but division.  “For I came to divide a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law…And the enemies of a man will be those of his own household” (Matthew 10:35-36). Any time, any day, Christ remains a controversial figure even between twins, and among closest colleagues. Whoever wants to be a disciple of Christ must simply take up his cross and follow him without question, wherever he leads, and at whatever cost.

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