06.04.2009
When Everything is Taken Away, God can Still Reach Out in Love - The Archbishop of Dublin's Easter Message
In his Easter Message released today, the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr John Neill says "Easter is God's Challenge to the hopelessness that so easily seizes hold of us." He continued, "lives built around faith in the risen Lord are a sign of God's power to bring hope where there is despair and a deep joy in places of sadness and sorrow. Such hope and joy are realised as they are exchanged, and people begin to encourage and affirm each other."
The Full Text of the Archbishop's Easter Message Follows Below
The Archbishop goes on to acknowledge that "life has changed for so many in recent months, redundancy, job loss, almost catastrophic income drop and such a downturn can all too easily isolate those who are suffering most acutely...Every group of people, every parish, every Christian community can only be effective in sharing a message of Joy and hope if it is a place where those suffering the most are not only welcomed, but encouraged and supported in the most practical ways possible."
The Archbishop concludes, "the hope and joy of Easter are built on the realisation that when everything is taken away, God can still reach out in Love and build a new life."
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The Most Revd Dr. John Neill
2009
Easter is God’s challenge to the hopelessness that so easily seizes hold of us. Easter witnesses to a remarkable event, the significance of which is seldom entirely grasped by any one person.
The stories of the first Easter tell of individual brief encounters with the Risen Christ, but also more often the realisation of the Resurrection was something experienced as the friends of Jesus gathered together in small or large numbers. The experience of the Resurrection drew people to one another and began to build a community that has grown now for two thousand years.
Lives built around faith in the Risen Lord are a sign of God’s power to bring hope where there is despair and a deep joy in places of sadness and sorrow. Such hope and joy are realised as they are exchanged, and people begin to encourage and affirm each other.
Life has changed for so many in recent months, redundancy, job loss, almost catastrophic income drop, and such a downturn can all too easily isolate those who are suffering most acutely. To bring hope and joy for one another, every effort must be made to keep people together.
Every group of people, every parish, every Christian community, can only be effective in sharing a message of joy and of hope, if it is a place where those suffering most are not only welcomed, but encouraged and supported in the most practical ways possible.
The Hope and Joy of Easter are built on the realisation that when everything is taken away, God can still reach out in love and bring new Life. The Lord is Risen, Alleluia!