A REFLECTION ON HIS GRACE THE MOST REV. ARCHBISHOP IGNATIUS CHAMA’S HOMILY. We Come Here To Stay And Keep Watch! I have sat with these words since I heard them at the Solidarity Mass for Archbishop Alick Banda. I have prayed with them. And I must say, Zambia has been given a Bishop who is […]

A REFLECTION ON HIS GRACE THE MOST REV. ARCHBISHOP IGNATIUS CHAMA’S HOMILY.

We Come Here To Stay And Keep Watch!

I have sat with these words since I heard them at the Solidarity Mass for Archbishop Alick Banda. I have prayed with them. And I must say, Zambia has been given a Bishop who is also a prophet.

“The world and those who persecute others would like us to rise and fight, to rise and give them the chance to shed more blood, but instead we come here to stay and keep watch. We all know what is at stake with this unwarranted persecution of the leaders of the Catholic Church.”

• Archbishop Ignatius Chama, President of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB).

In one paragraph, His Grace has taught us what the Church is, and what the Church is not.

1. He Unmasked The Trap: “The world and those who persecute others would like us to rise and fight.”

Beloved, persecution always has a second plan. The first plan is to arrest one leader. The second plan is to provoke a thousand followers into violence, so that the arrest can be justified.

If the Church had left that Solidarity Mass and gone to burn tires, to insult the President, to throw stones at Chimbokaila, by morning the story would no longer be “Archbishop arrested over a Hilux.” It would be “Catholics cause chaos. State forced to respond.”

Archbishop Chama, in his wisdom, refused to give our persecutors the chaos they were waiting for.

He said, “We see the trap. We will not step into it.” This is not cowardice. This is the courage of Calvary. Jesus could have called legions of angels. He did not.

1. He Warned Us About Blood: “…to give them the chance to shed more blood.” Those are heavy words, Bishop. “More blood.” Archbishop Chama remembers our history. Zambia is a peaceful nation, but peace is not an accident. Peace is kept by men who refuse to shed blood when they have the chance to do so.

He is telling us: My brothers and sisters, this is bigger than K80,000 bail. This is bigger than a blue Toyota. If we mishandle this moment, mothers will cry. That is why we must not rise and fight in the flesh. We must rise and fight on our knees.

I honor him for that warning. It is a father’s warning.

1. He Gave Us Our Mission: To Stay And Keep Watch: “But instead we come here to stay and keep watch.”

What a beautiful mission!

To STAY: We are not a visiting Church. We are a Zambian Church. We were here before this government, and by God’s grace we will be here after it. We will not flee to embassies. We will not close our cathedrals. We will stay in Lusaka, in Ndola, in Chipata, in Mansa. We will stay with our people.

To KEEP WATCH: This is scripture. Jesus said in Gethsemane: “Watch and pray, so that you will not fall into temptation.” (Matthew 26:41).

Keeping watch means two things:

A. We will pray without ceasing for Archbishop Alick Banda, for justice, for truth.

B. And we will watch. We will watch the court process. We will watch how our Archbishop is treated. We will watch whether the law is being used, or abused. The ZCCB is now a watchman over Zambia’s conscience.

That is what a Conference of Bishops must be, not a political party, but a watchman.

1. He Told The Truth About What Is At Stake: “We all know what is at stake with this unwarranted persecution of the leaders of the Catholic Church.”

He used the word leaders, plural. He is saying: Today it is Lusaka. Tomorrow it could be Kasama. Today it is a Hilux. Tomorrow it could be your parish car.

What is at stake is whether an Archbishop in Zambia can still preach the truth without fear that tomorrow a charge will be found.

What is at stake is whether our Christian Nation identity is real, or just paint on a wall. What is at stake is the soul of Zambia.

My Honor To Archbishop Chama and ZCCB

I want to say this loudly, as a fellow minister of the Gospel who is not Catholic, but who is Zambian and who is Christian, Thank you, Archbishop Ignatius Chama. Thank you for not leading us into violence. Thank you for leading us into vigil.

Thank you to the entire Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops for standing as one. In that Solidarity Mass, you showed Zambia what unity looks like. You did not insult the State. You did not threaten anyone. You simply gathered, you prayed, and you kept watch.

That is episcopal courage. That is pastoral fatherhood. That is statesmanship. Zambia heard you. We, the rest of the Body of Christ, we have heard you. We will stay with you. And we will keep watch with you.

Let the law take its course. But let it take its course with humanity. And let the Church remain; staying, watching, praying.

May God bless Archbishop Ignatius Chama. May God bless the ZCCB.
May God bless Archbishop Alick Banda. May God bless Zambia.

Rev. Peter K. Nsama.
Lusaka, 29 September 2026.