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By BARNABAS ZULU
LUSAKA Archbishop Dr Alick Banda has said Zambians should endeavour to confront the truth through personal encounters and lived experience at all times and move away from assumptions and instead seek to experience reality.
Delivering a homily yesterday just before walking to the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) where he was summoned for questioning, Archbishop Dr Banda said truth was not found in perceptions shaped by power or prejudice, but in openness, humility and lived experience.
“People must not create assumptions but experience reality by confronting the truth,” Archbishop Dr Banda said.
He explained that the message of Nazareth was not about dominance or authority, but about empowering others and embracing God’s presence in everyday life.
“Nazareth is not about how much power one yields, but about choosing to empower and support others,” he said. “The gift of Emmanuel – God with us – remains, regardless of the external accidents of life.”
Archbishop Banda encouraged the faithful to go beyond surface-level perceptions and seek deeper understanding through personal engagement.
“Brothers and sisters in Christ, to every perception there is always an invitation,” he said. “‘Come and see, come and learn, come and have a personal encounter’ to appreciate the truth and the reality at hand, not necessarily the perception we create.”
He said such an encounter called for movement and transformation, urging believers to abandon judgement and allow themselves to be changed.
“It is an indication to get up and move to a new reality, to leave behind our assumptions, to leave behind our judgment, and to see with the eyes of our hearts,” Archbishop Banda said. “We must allow ourselves to be surprised by God himself and be converted.”
Archbishop Banda prayed for personal transformation among the faithful, calling on them to embrace Emmanuel as the foundation of their lives.
“Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is my prayer for each one of you that as we celebrate this morning, it gives us an opportunity to experience a personal encounter of transformation,” he said.
“May we move from our blurry perceptions to true encounter, with Emmanuel – God with us – as the key of our lives?”
