My dearly beloved in Christ Jesus the Risen Lord, we are gathered here this Friday morning for the Episcopal Ordination of the Very Reverend Monsignor Samuel NKUAH-BOATENG. All the roads of our dear country Ghana and all eyes of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, thanks to the social media, are focused on this Park at Datano in Sefwi-Wiawso today.
To God be the glory! He has done great things for this Catholic Diocese of Wiawso since its creation in December 1999 and the ordination of the first Bishop of Wiawso in the person of Most Rev. Joseph Francis Kweku ESSIEN, on Saturday, March 25, 2000!
Beloved in Christ, after 23 years of episcopal administration of Wiawso Diocese, Pope Francis has graciously accepted the resignation of Bishop Essien who attained the canonical age of retirement for bishops, and with great solicitude, the Holy Father has elected the Very Reverend Monsignor Samuel Nkuah-Boateng as his successor, the Second Bishop of Wiawso.
A short while ago, the Papal Bull, (aka the official Church document) of nomination and appointment of Mons. Nkuah-Boateng to the high office of Bishop of Wiawso was shown around from the Holy See, was duly read in Latin, English and in the local language, and its acceptance was expressed by acclamation, drumming, singing and dancing. To God be the glory!
It is now my pleasant duty to offer reflection on the readings chosen for of today, something on the person of a bishop and on his role in the Diocese as as Shepherd, Teacher and High Priest, and what should be your commitment to your new bishop, namely also what God expects from you the holy People of God, the Clergy and Religious and Consecrated Persons in this local Church of Wiawso and beyond.
2 Coincidentally, my dearly beloved, on Saturday, March 25, 2000, about 23 years ago, I was privileged to be the homilist at the ordination of the now Emeritus Bishop of Wiawso! Ene nso bio? Hmmm!
My dear People of God, today’s readings, chosen by the Bishop-elect reflect what has been going on in his soul, literally put, what our God who is calling him to this grave responsibility of a bishop, is communicating with him. I take for my theme: SPEAK LORD, FOR YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING!
In the First Reading from the First Book of Samuel, we are invited to reflect with our Bishop-elect on the call of the boy Samuel. As soon as his mother had weaned him, she and his father Elkanah presented the boy Samuel to Eli the Priest of the temple in fulfilment of a vow Hannah his mother, who was then barren and looking for a son, had made to the Lord God at Shiloh a couple of years earlier.
The boy Samuel was training under Eli the Priest of Shiloh, and as he was wont, Samuel slept in the sanctuary in the presence of the Ark of the Lord, and, we are told, the lamp was still burning in the night. The Lord God called Samuel, once and twice. Each time, the boy got up and went to Eli the priest in answer to the call, only to be told, “I did not call you; go back to sleep”.
He went back to sleep. It was only upon the third call that the old man Eli understood what was happening; God was calling the boy. Eli then taught Samuel what to answer: “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening!” This, Samuel did.
In short, Samuel needed some training to come to know the voice of the Lord God and to recognize God’s call in his future responsibility as Prophet of the Lord God to the People of Israel. My dearly beloved, I believe that our Bishop-elect intends humbly to continue his future service as Bishop and Bishop of Wiaswo, with his ears open and his heart especially attentive to the voice of the Lord our God.
Yes, one of the indispensable duties of a bishop is listening in order to discern the will of God for his people particularly for their salvation and to help them respond to the Lord God who saves them. 3 My dear Mons. Samuel, I pray, may you always find time to be in the presence of the Lord your God like Samuel your namesake who was sleeping in the sanctuary with the lamp of the Lord still burning.
Furthermore, may you grow to be attentive to and hear God speaking to you even and also through the voices of the people entrusted to your care as well as of your priests and religious with whom you will be caring for the people of God in this Diocese.
May you be a listening bishop in this day and age of journeying in a synodal Church! 2.2: From our second reading of today, St. Paul writing the First Letter to Timothy, the young bishop of the Church in Ephesus teaches us about the tradition of ordination or as he expresses it: “…the gift you have, which was given you by prophetic utterance when the council of elders laid their hands upon you”.
My dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, yes, very soon, the Principal Consecrator and all the Consecrating Bishops (today’s Council of Elders) through the laying on of their hands and the Prayer of Consecration (as handed down throughout the history of the Church in Apostolic Succession), will call down on our Bishop-elect the gift of the Holy Spirit investing him with the fulness of the Priesthood of Christ as Bishop, and Member of the College of Bishops, and as Successor to the Apostles.
Again, from St. Paul’s Letter of today, we learn of some responsibilities of the early bishops in the Apostolic times; namely “…(to) attend to the (public) reading (of the Scriptures), (the) exhortation and teaching… (to) be diligent…be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to everyone.” St. Paul further exhorts Timothy saying: “Attend to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in both tasks, for by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you”.
So, principally, a bishop is to be the image of Christ the Teacher. He is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ, to teach the Word of God “…whether in season or out of season…” (2 Tim. 4:1-2), to exhort to virtue and denounce vice and evil, injustice and immorality, etc. By his very life, St. Paul exhorts Timothy to be a virtuous and holy man, one above reproach. “Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity”.
Now, to you, our Bishop-elect, you are called to be the true image of Christ Jesus the High Priest and holy one to all who come into contact with you. So, what is holiness of life? What can we learn from the Gospel of John 10:11-16 chosen for today? 2.3: Beloved, in this Gospel teaching of St. John, Jesus outlines what are his expectations of his apostles who are to function in his stead; and so he emphatically proclaims: “I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep…I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I will lay down my life for the sheep”. In other words, like Christ the Good Shepherd, a bishop is to have great solicitude for the flock entrusted to his care. He must make every effort to know the sheep and their needs. He must be very caring of the sheep entrusted to him; he must be selfless even to the point of self-sacrificing for them.
“I know my sheep and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I will lay down my life for the sheep”. Now, just as the task of Christ Jesus is not limited to the particular sheepfold, so also the Good Shepherd bishop should follow Jesus who affirms: “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
My dearly beloved, from the Gospel of today, we cannot overlook the call to priestly holiness in the understanding of the readiness for self-sacrifice by Christ the Good Shepherd for the salvation of the sheep: “I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep…”
So, the Good Shepherd bishop must have concern for the sheep and be ready to defend them from any attack from any quarter and to die for the sheep. This is only possible if the shepherd lives in holiness of life like Christ Jesus, the Eternal High Priest.
My dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, let me conclude my reflection by calling to mind the times we are in. Bishop Essien now emeritus, was ordained bishop in the year of the Great Jubilee of 2000. He was dubbed the Millennium Bishop! At present, in the Holy Roman Catholic Church under the power of the Holy Spirit and the leadership of Pope Francis, we are “journeying in a synodal Church: (in) Communion, Participation and Mission.”
My dear Lord Bishop-to-be, you are to keep this synodal journey on the pastoral radar. As bishop, you are eminently the Church’s symbol of Communion, vertical communion with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit; and horizontal communion with your Priests, Religious and Lay faithful for whom you are also an indispensable symbol of unity.
You are not only to symbolize this but also to foster it with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. You are to labour for this Communion to prevail in the Church. As a shepherd, you are to know your sheep and let your sheep know you; but not only that, you are to listen to them because they matter, and have a share in the Body of Christ to bring on board for the evangelization work of the Church to involve every one of her members.
You are to nurture and foster Participation; yes, each one has something to offer God who created them in his own image and likeness and to offer Christ Jesus in whose blood they have been washed clean and promised salvation. This is Mission; the evangelization mission Christ has entrusted to the Church and to each one who has been called and baptized, and consequently sent to work for the salvation of humanity.
In simple terms, may you be truly one leading this journey of the synodal Church in your Catholic Diocese of Wiawso in Communion, Participation and Mission. Finally, as you yourself have chosen for your motto: Nolite timere, let me say first, Noli timere (you singular, do not be afraid!) May you lead the People of this Wiawso Diocese without any fear.
When the going gets tough, go and lie down in the temple like Samuel, your namesake, and say: “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening!” 6 May Mother Mary, Our Lady of the Annunciation and Patroness of the Cathedral Church of Wiawso Diocese and St. Joseph continue to intercede for you!
Delivered by Most Rev. Charles G. PALMER-BUCKLE, Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast.
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