Why he did not believe...
14 Jun 2024 Just now I had a chat with the lady who regularly sews clothes for us. I had been waiting for a skirt for quite some time and dropped by to ask if she had finished it. Not yet...she had been away for the past week as her father had died unexpectedly.
I asked her if he was a Christian. No, he wasn't; like his father, her grandfather, he was a great 'Fetisheur'...and still very much into Voodoo animism. Yes, she and her siblings had talked to their parents about the Bible and the Gospel, but her father never became convinced. She explained to me why her father never got convinced. With regularity, 'preachers' came to her father. These preachers wanted their congregations to be impressed by 'miracles' and came to her father for magical power. This is a syncretism that gives you chills! As a result, he had contempt for the church and did not believe in the power of Jesus. The frustration with which she shared this touched me. It is true what the Bible says: The Way is narrow and few find it....but she knew: Jesus IS powerful and He can save us!
The funeral is not until the end of August. How will they organise it? I asked her. Will the whole family have to participate in all the ritual offerings and ancestor worship? No, was the relieved answer. These things would certainly take place but only prior to the funeral, behind closed doors. There would be nothing happening at the actual funeral, and perhaps someone from the Christian branch of the family would be allowed to say something…
Let us pray that the Gospel may resound at this funeral! And pray for the progress of the Gospel in Togo! That the 'pastors' who think that a fetishist can give strength to their ministry will discover and experience the All Changing Power of the Evanglie! First in their own lives and then that they may preach Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection!
