John’s Notes: Parish Magazine editorials
April 2019
This is in praise of all Resurrection People, in celebration of those who never say die. When I say ‘Resurrection People’ I’m thinking of those who have a zest for life: like George, an ex-parishioner of mine who once abseiled 100ft off a local viaduct to raise money for a hospice. He was then aged 91 and had had a triple heart bypass. To avoid any irksome health and safety niggles, on the abseil application form he’d put his age down as ‘Twenty-plus’. Resurrection People are indefatigable.
They are people who don’t give up easily: like my friend Adrian, a vicar in rural North Wales, who on the morning of a winter wedding opened his front door to find that the snow outside was waist deep. To ensure the wedding went ahead he coordinated a magnificent community effort. Over 30 people of all ages turned out to clear the road and remove two feet of snow from the church path; a local councillor borrowed a snowplough; the organist heroically arrived by thumbing two lifts, one of which was on a fire engine. The bride later said, 'There were people with shovels that I didn't even know!’ Yes, Resurrection People are unstoppable.
I’m thinking of those who have a terminal illness but who give their time and energy to supporting and counselling others who are ill themselves; or those who turn their losses into opportunities - like being made redundant later in life who pick themselves up and start a new kind of work altogether. I’m thinking of those who give their lives as medical professionals or as peace-keepers, negotiators, healers and reconcilers in conflicted parts of our country and the world. Educators who refuse to see anyone as a no-hoper, and open up opportunities their students never imagined they’d have. Resurrection People turn dead-endings into fresh starts.
Whether you regard the resurrection of Jesus as an event in history or a myth, it’s undeniable that it has released into the world a power surge of life, a power force for life which makes for the sort of never-say-die attitudes which are the impetus to make new beginnings possible. I think this power flows through us all, it’s the innate Jesus gene we’ve all inherited. Not all Resurrection People are believers - though all followers of Christ will be Resurrection People.
The times we’re living through call for us to never say die. Where powerful forces combine to undercut the institutions which for generations have brought health, welfare, education and cohesion to our villages and towns, where the end of things is in the air: this is the time to activate the greater power latent in us to stand for life; to use all the gifts and character we have been given to create opportunities to make new beginnings possible. This is our Easter time.
Recent Comments