He Is Risen

We've now reached the pinnacle of our Christian calendar! Easter has arrived in all its splendour and fanfare. The Resurrection, Christ's bursting from the tomb; it is the core of our affirmation of faith, the heart of our Christian message of good news.

But does the celebration of life over death have a wider resonance? Does it point towards a common facet of the human spirit - the refusal to let death have the last word?

The funeral liturgy that we follow – that affirmation of life after death, is inexorably intertwined with the celebration of birth. It’s actually an Easter liturgy and rather than a liturgy of despair it is an affirmation of Christ’s promise to be with us ‘always, to the end of time.’ But why is it that we do not look at death with the same sense of celebration as we do a birth? Our natural life rhythms seem to be denied.

In Moldova, more and more children arrive in our homes, these are the lucky ones - those who either escaped the clutches of their traffickers, or were simply left abandoned or discarded as 'unsaleable.' Yet not even a ripple is made in the news from where they originated. These children were the detritus of society, and their life or death means little or nothing to anyone. And each day governments diligently work to obfuscate the truth of countless innocent women, children, babies, and elderly dying in Syria's civil war. Again, like a replay of Iraq, their numbers are being hidden in buffering euphemisms such as ‘collateral damage.’

And in hospitals, nursing facilities, and our private homes, people who have had long journeys, are breathing shallow breaths, still holding on to the essence of life, for just a few more minutes, before they begin their new journey.

Throughout our human story, death remains the enemy. It is never welcomed; it is always looked upon as a curse or an affront to life.

As Christians we draw upon our faith in life beyond the grave from the events of Easter. That life beyond, that renewal, powerfully draws us away from the grave and invites us to live our lives knowing that it will never end in destruction. Instead our lives have a resonance and meaning that our mortal death cannot touch.

The human spirit shares two powerful spiritual emotions. First it is the awareness of what is passing away. The other is the awareness of a new life that lies on the other side of pain and struggling.

And perhaps we’ve become a little wiser, recognising that resurrection, whether in this world or the next, is never a simple return to the lost innocence of Eden.The ingredients of the new life are a culmination of the painful and costly struggles in which we engage every day.

This is why, according to our Christian teachings, when Jesus rose from the dead there were still wounds in His hands and side. They’re reminders of what He gave for us, for our salvation, for our sins, so that we may live again.

Wherever you may be on our great and fragile planet, may you always walk with Christ within you.

Praise Christ Jesus!

Christ Jesus, help us never to forget that Your risen presence is forever with us.

That You are with us in every time of sorrow to comfort and to console;

That You are with us in every time of temptation to strengthen and to inspire;

That You are with us in every time of loneliness to cheer and to befriend;

That You are with us even in death to guide us through the shadows to new birth

Strengthen our faith that we may always know there is nothing in time or in eternity which can separate us from You,

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. Amen

How To Celebrate Easter Twice!

Thank You Sarah!

Írásos Bill atya gyűjteményéből. Imádkozunk az egészsége. LR

We Lift One Another

It was almost exactly one year ago when I had returned from a trip to Moldova. The trip had been particularly challenging. I had been stunned beyond words, when a prison officer opened a cell door for me, to find babies locked inside. Certainly, I’ve seen worse than this, but nevertheless, it stunned me and it made me feel so very helpless.

My ministry serves not only to raise corporate and personal awareness of the needs of communities and individuals, but to promote personal and corporate responsibility. It could easily be described as making ‘cold calls.’ You ‘knock’ on a lot of doors and you get an incredible amount of them shut in your face and an amazing amount of ‘suggestions’ as to who we should see, or where we might go for help. But you plod on and thankfully, occasionally; someone will take the time to listen and actually do something!

Each of us holds a personal responsibility, not only to ourselves but to our fellow man as well. Likewise, any public business holds a corporate responsibility: to its shareholders, its employees and to the community in which it is based. But I believe businesses, especially international ones, also hold a ‘social responsibility.’ Accordingly, I try to get businesses involved–to help them create projects that effectively change lives for the better.

Just as I am doing during this period of Lent, last year I was reflecting on what I had accomplished as well as failed to accomplish and the idea of sins had come to mind; sins against humanity, sins against the children, the sins of ignoring the plight of others, especially when the message is screaming so loudly at us.

And my thoughts had caused me to type the words ‘corporate sin’ into one of the search engines. I had never used the term before and I don’t think I ever would have thought of it, except for the gnawing feeling of sadness I had over what I had seen and felt. During that same month I had listened to an overabundance of ‘promises’ of what someone was going to do to help. But I instinctively knew that all the promises were nothing but bravado and attempts at self–affirmation.

God reaches out to us in ways we can never imagine. There it was, another priest in America had validated the very same thoughts and reflections I was being so pensive about–the very same things that Lent calls us to reflect upon:

Our sins, not just the sins we commit individually, but the sins we commit as members of groups, or societies, or institutions–here is where the term ‘corporate sin’ applies. It could be those sins where ‘the company’ disregards the good of the people, or disregards the needs of its community. This is why our confessions begin with the word ‘We.’ We confess…

Then there is the sin of omission. Those things which we ought to have done but have found a million excuses to justify our failure to do so. That is our sin of omission.

But what about the sin we commit when we have the power to do things and we simply choose not to? All the good we could do in this world, in our communities, in our businesses and homes simply isn’t done. And there is no reason. Why do we do this?

Lent serves as a time for us to examine ourselves and to ask ourselves:

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  Am I connected with God? What is my relationship with Him and with my spiritual community? And am I doing it humbly and not merely for show?
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  Am I investing in the world around me? Am I joyfully sharing what I have with others, especially strangers?
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  Am I able to easily forgive and turn the other cheek? And do I demonstrate this to others.
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  Am I finding ways to celebrate life, rather than condemning it?
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  Am I nurturing others–family, friends, my community and church?
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  Am I leading rather than following? I am I standing up for others, protecting those who need protecting and defending those who cannot defend themselves?
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  And finally, when our day is finished, am I able to look back and see that all has been good and give thanks to God for all we have.

So, just a note to a distant friend: it's a year on and I have not forgotten you, Canon Rechter. I wish you every success in your ministry. And in my prayers today, I give thanks to God for the words of comfort I found through another one of His children.

.Compassionate God, we acknowledge our sins, weaknesses, omissions, and failures. When our failures discourage us, may Your compassion embrace us and hope lead us through this season of repentance to the joy of Easter. We pray this, in Your name. Amen