Today marks the third day of Holy Week. As many Bahamians are aware, Holy Week is observed on the Christian calendar every year commemorating and focusing on the travails as well as eventual death of Jesus Christ. It marks the culmination of the Lenten season which, according to custom, lasts for 40 days. This pivotal week on the Christian calendar commences on Palm Sunday and encompasses holy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Friday, as in times past, will be observed as Good Friday to mark the death of Jesus Christ.
In this article we seek to draw inspiration from the activities of the Holy Week. The preamble to our Constitution An excerpt from The Bahamian constitution reads: "And whereas the people of this Family of Islands recognizing that the preservation of their freedom will be guaranteed by a national commitment to self-discipline, industry, loyalty, unity and an abiding respect for Christian values and the rule of law." The Constitution goes further to recognize the supremacy of God and provide for creation under God of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
The intention of our founding fathers The references to God and Christian values in our Constitution leave no doubt as to the intentions of our ancestors in relation to the embedding of spirituality and religion into the fabric of our nation. It is therefore not surprising that The Bahamas is a religious nation with more than 90 percent of the population practising Christianity across various denominations. It is also true that the highest attendance by Bahamians at churches is recorded during days that are marked on the Christian calendar, with Easter and Christmas drawing the crowds into churches.
The crafters of our Constitution must have been cognizant that The Bahamas needs God to prosper and were apparently aware of the significant role of spirituality in the building and sustenance of our Bahamaland. The church and the community The continuous growth in the number of churches throughout the archipelago of The Bahamas is visible for all to see. This phenomenon suggests adherence to the mandate of spreading the gospel of Christ. Indeed the divulging of the gospel of peace and hope should bring about positive social and economic changes.
The challenge we face, however, is that our present circumstances seem to be at odds with the expected results. The question asked by many on a daily basis is why in spite of the number of churches in our country and our population, we continue to experience an increase in the level of moral degradation, prevalence of social ills and level of decadence in our values as a people. Why is immorality so widespread in our communities despite the high saturation of religious bodies and presumably frequent attendance to worship by our people?
If we are supposed to care for the poor, why has poverty taken hold of so many? The church in us The focus on the church establishment, it appears, may have distracted us from the church that we all represent; the temple that our bodies are and the obligations that we have to God and one to another. The travails and death of Jesus Christ reminds us all that no man is exempt from hard times and that we are all bound to face challenges at some points during our existence. In the paraphrased words of Aristotle, nations consist of communities which are made up of people.
Hence, if people that form the building blocks of a nation suffer hard times, communities and nations will also be impacted. The challenges presented by tough times may give rise to feelings of hopelessness and despair with many not knowing which way to turn and many appearing to have nowhere or no one to turn to. Our leaders and those in authority are not exempt from these challenges and have to face questions as to whether they possess the solutions to combat the vexing issues that confront us as a nation.
The crime problem The issue of crime continues to plague our nation while we witness without fail violence perpetrated by and against our sons and daughters on a daily basis. Crime and the fear of crime have caused many to change their living patterns, arriving home before dark while many Bahamians and residents alike have put away their gold jewellery in favor of silver or costume jewellery for fear of attacks by hoodlums who snatch their wares to trade in for quick cash. No doubt this shift in our cultural norm has had an impact on members of the business community who struggle on a daily basis to maintain their operations in the midst of rising costs of living particularly as it relates to food and fuel.
If there were in fact good times in The Bahamas they seem light years away, as we have been engulfed in this depressed social and economic state against our wishes. Citizens have forgotten, for the most part, the good that successive administrations have done in the past because their minds are consumed by the present grim realities of today. The case for crucifixion It is interesting to note that when Jesus appeared before the authorities, no one seemed to recall all the good that He had done - how He performed many miracles that had never been performed before His time and tenure on earth.
In the moment, the general consensus was that He was blasphemous and should be done away with as the Jews chanted, "crucify Him, crucify Him". In recent times, the peoples of nations across the globe have demonstrated in unprecedented fashion the crucifixion of many governments as they seek the change and deliverance that will bring much needed relief to their broken lives. This, no doubt, is the cost of leadership. However, governments are continuous and current politicians and policymakers must face the challenges and realities left behind by their predecessors and the current global climate.
In this sense, there is no escape from persecution and ridicule as citizens demand "now results" and certainly there is no overnight fix to the problems and solutions that stare us in the face daily. The ray of hope The good news is that majority of Bahamians practice Christianity. By this token, many of us are led to believe by our faith that even after challenging and difficult times and crucifixion, there is hope and a resurrection. Moreover, there is life after death, but this reality can only be achieved with policymakers understanding the needs and concerns of Bahamians and effecting through their policies practical and viable solutions to bring about the desired relief.
Nevertheless, Bahamians are a resilient people, who exemplify great strength, fortitude and endurance. We have been through rough times several times before in our history and have emerged stronger and wiser. Over the last 40 years of our independence, we have governed ourselves politically and have afforded our people opportunities by way of an economic and fiscal model that is incomparable the world over. However, there is much work to be done, but we must cling to the hope that our resurrection day will come and is drawing near. o Arinthia S. Komolafe is an attorney-at-law. Comments can be directed at commentary@komolafelaw.com.
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