Sunday Reflection with Fr Robin Gibbons - 12 April 2015

Fr Robin Gibbons

April 12th 2015 - Second Sunday of Easter

As one of the unfortunates struck down by this present bout of 'flu, I've had an interesting time during this week of Easter joy, for a start I've been so out of it joy hasn't been on the horizon, I've felt too rotten to even care. I'm not alone there are plenty of others suffering as well, but I've also had the kindnesses of neighbours and relatives who brought me soup, checked up that I was ok and in bed and generally looked after my basic needs when I couldn't, much like those early Christians in Acts 4 where the community had a common heart and mind, looking out for each other! I think that on the whole we do turn up trumps when push comes to shove, when members of a community care about each other.

The problems come when we are so caught up in ourselves that the 'neighbour', the 'other', isn't seen as part of our little world at all. For the Christian, the resurrection changes that picture even more, we cannot ignore others, for in doing so we ignore Christ in them. Our faith makes a big difference to the way we deal with others!

We are called like those early faithful to proclaim the Resurrection with great power, a dynamism that is the gift of the life giving Spirit, a power based on the realization that a great victory has been won for ever.

As the scriptures tell us, this victory is OUR faith in Jesus the Son of God. I mused on that a lot this week, testing it when I felt feverish and ill, noting to myself that my faith had nothing whatsoever to do with how I felt, but all to do with hope, that Christ has already won the final victory of life over sin, death, illness fatigue, and yes all those problems of our world, even now!

This is the witness of the new Coptic martyrs, of Christians facing destruction and death today, it is the glimmer of hope for anybody alone and sick looking into the darkness of coming death.

It is those words of Jesus spoken to Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." This is the true and eternal power of the Resurrection of Christ from the dead. And at the heart of all is that peace and mercy which the world cannot give. 'Peace be with you' says Jesus to us!

Fr Robin Gibbons is an Eastern Rite Chaplain for the Melkite Greek Catholics in Great Britain.