Greetings to God and Caesar
Today is the last day of the year. Perhaps the most noteworthy issue of the day will be the many church services tonight to see in the new year, dubbed variously as ‘Crossover’, ‘Leap Over’, ‘Jump Over’ all the way to ‘Fly Over’ and beyond. Interestingly,
I have yet to come across ‘Crawl Over’, perhaps because everyone is in a hurry to enter the new year and tap into God’s blessings.
Over the past few weeks, public posters and media advertisements have been screaming for public attention, seeking a sizeable share of the lucrative New Year market of fervent worship, promising a wonderful night of casting off the trials and tribulations of 2024 and welcoming in 2025 with praise, hope and expectation under the direction of Bishop this, Prophet that or Archbishop Dr so-and-so.
Thanks to dark threats by IGP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare and his crew, prophecies over who will die in the following year are in short supply these days.
Of course, anxious and hopeful worshipers will, in the process, plant their seed in the house of God with, among others, 2 Corinthians 9:6 in mind (‘whosoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully’).
I gather that some well-heeled Christians sow their seed in US dollars, which must bring unbridled joy to their pastors.
Indeed, ‘31st Night’ is a busy ‘cocoa season’ in the house of God, both spiritually and financially.
God in Western society
Midnight church services are not on the New Year menu in Western countries and my first few Christmases in the UK in the early 1990s when I relocated there was quite an eye-opening culture shock.
Out there, the Christmas season has nothing to do with Christ, Christianity or spirituality, and everything to do with families getting together and people partying and making merry.
Basically they have decided to ignore the biblical order in Mark 12:17 to ‘render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s’, and rather render everything to Caesar (if earthly pleasures qualify to be thus classed), thus freezing God out of the picture.
In many major western cities, the highlight of ‘31st Night’ is gigantic, colourful, splendid fireworks to usher in the new year, with thousands gathering for the spectacle, and on the few occasions I went out to see the London fireworks with friends many years ago, it was a splendid affair. Traditionally, as the first major city to cross over into the new year, Sydney usually sets off the pace.
Indeed, religion is increasingly becoming a distant, foggy notion in Western countries. According to abcnews.com, today, just 45 per cent of Americans say they belong to a church, synagogue, mosque or temple, compared to nearly 80 per cent in the late 1940s. According to the poll, only 32 per cent of Americans say they worship God in a house of prayer once a week.
I suspect that the majority of this 32 per cent are African Americans, whose communities still hold on dearly to Christianity.
Africans and Caribbeans who have migrated to Western countries also tend to export their Christian streak there. I would not be surprised if in a stunning role reversal, black Africans are seen in the near future stomping the streets of Europe to preach to the heathen natives to convert them to Christianity.
The flock of old are perhaps set to be the shepherds of tomorrow.
Between God and Caesar
What I find most remarkable about the Ghanaian version of ‘31st Night’ is that notwithstanding the churches and other open spaces full to capacity and bursting at the seams as midnight beckons, we tend to give full expression to the biblical command cited earlier in reference to God and Caesar.
For many, it is inconceivable that midnight on 31st December would find them anywhere else than in church, thanking God for the year and seeking His face ahead of the new year, even if they have played truant all year round and struggle to follow the service ritual or the hymns.
‘As for 31st night, I have to be in church at midnight’, they would intone gravely. Annoyingly, these truants tend to occupy prime space in the crowded churches that night, leaving the regulars standing. But God is merciful.
Soon after the service ends, the bars and the clubs begin to fill up, not with migrants from outer space, but in a direct osmosis process from church.
Once their conscience is salved by giving unto God what is due Him (praise, thanksgiving and worship), they ardently believe it is the turn of Caesar, straddling several hedonistic activities in the process.
Annoyingly, these truants tend to occupy prime space in the crowded churches that night, leaving the regulars standing. But God is merciful.
New year wishes
For most of us, it has been a mixed bag of small triumphs and various setbacks this year.
On a personal basis, perhaps the two top highlights of my year were a trip to beautiful Cape Town, South Africa and the selection of my former boss Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh as the NPP’s running mate for the election.
The bitter election defeat recently and a health scare a few months ago marked the lowest points of my year.
As for my pocket, it has taken all-year-round multiple hits, so nothing new there.
Dear reader, to the extent that you are reading this piece, you are alive. That is what matters most, regardless of whatever challenges life may have thrown at you in the last 12 months.
As the year fades out tonight, whether you will render exclusively to God, exclusively to Caesar or do a hybrid as many Ghanaians deftly do, may your new year be full of bountiful blessings and bring peace to you and your families.
Afehyia pa!!