By Dr Asangba Tzudir
The recently held two-day repentance prayer programme at Mokokchung is not simply a religious gathering and there is much more to it. Is is a moral and spiritual moment that invites Christian Nagas to pause, reflect, and re-examine the direction of both personal faith and collective life. In a society where Christianity has shaped identity, culture, and public consciousness for over hundred and fifty years, the call to repentance is not merely a ritual but a call to honesty, commitment and transformation of the community.
Theologically, repentance is not confined to sorrow for individual sins but signifies a turning of the heart and mind, a defining shift away from complacency, hypocrisy, and self-righteousness towards humility, obedience, and renewal. Now when a community gathers publicly to repent, it acknowledges that spiritual decline is not only personal but structurally woven into social attitudes, leadership failures, and collective silence and which has become so normalised today.
For Christian Nagas, the significance of such a programme lies in its timing and context. Nagaland, though described as a 'Christian state,' the everyday realities expose its underlying contradictions. Corruption persists, tribalism fractures unity, violence and substance abuse endanger the youths, truth finds frequently sacrificed at the altar of convenience, and faith is sometimes reduced to empty slogans rather than lived discipleship.
The Mokokchung prayer programme implicitly confronts this gap between theory and practice. Yes, the two day touched on almost all points that calls for repentance, but in considerations of being a christian as doers of the Word, repentance, therefore becomes not simply an act but an act of courage. We pray for old bygone days, past misdeeds and mistakes but what is more important is whether the living repents and commits to do and act according to the Word and the will of God. This tilts the lens inwards for self-reflection. True repentance begins with self-examination. For Christian Nagas, this means asking difficult questions about church leadership, moral compromise, misuse of power, and the ways in which Christianity has been tailored like a fashion.
At a deeper level, the prayer programme also reflects a collective stress and energy drain. It reflects a sense and which has been urgently felt that something essential has been lost. Despite numerical growth of churches and denominations, spiritual depth appears shallow. Public prayer events like this express a longing for reconciliation and healing not only between individuals, but among tribes, institutions, and generations and with God. As such, this repentance programme is not about revisiting the past that triggers guilt, but one that looks forward with hope.
However, the true test of such programmes lies beyond the pulpit and the amplifiers. Repentance without really acknowledging the ethical consequence only risks becoming performative. If tears are shed in prayer but injustice continues unchallenged, then repentance loses its credibility. For Christian Nagas, this means translating prayer into action in ways that reflects honest administration, responsible citizenship, peacebuilding, and protection of the vulnerable and the needy.
The Mokokchung programme also carries an intergenerational message. Younger Nagas are watching closely. Many are disillusioned not with Christianity itself, but with its inconsistent and contradictory engagements. A public act of repentance, if followed by genuine reform, can restore faith not just in God, but in the moral integrity of the Church and community elders. Conversely, if repentance becomes episodic rather than transformative, distrust will only deepen and draw youths away.
Importantly, Christian repentance should be rooted in grace and which should open the transforming path thereby inspiring ethical living. Ultimately, the two-day repentance prayer programme at Mokokchung is a mirror that reflects Christian Naga society. It raises questions for everyone to ponder upon – Will faith remain symbolic or become sacrificial? Will prayer remain loud or become honest and sincere? Will Christianity be an identity marker or a moral force?
If embraced sincerely with brokenness, this moment can mark not just a spiritual event, but the beginning of moral renewal that will restore credibility to faith which has for so long plagued Nagaland.
(Dr. Asangba Tzudir contributes a weekly guest editorial for The Morung Express. Comments can be emailed to asangtz@gmail.com).
