10.03.2024
Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Lent by Archbishop Michael Jackson
Archbishop Michael Jackson is sharing a reflection for each Sunday in Lent in connection with our Shine a Light appeal for Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, run by our partners in the Diocese of Jerusalem. Each short reflection takes the Gospel of the Sunday and links it to a range of international humanitarian needs, most especially in the context of the sufferings in Gaza and Israel and in the wider region encompassed by the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem. Details of how you can support our Lent 2024 appeal are below.
The Fourth Sunday in Lent March 10
St John 19.27: Jesus said to his mother, Woman, here is your son. Then he said to the disciple, Here is your mother …
The final words of anyone are precious to those who hear them. We hear these words of Jesus approaching his death as they echo time after time down the corridors of history always to the same drum beat: We vow that this will never happen again. And it always does happen again.
Jesus had already prepared anyone with ears to hear that the family structure of his Father’s House was to be radically different from any experience of earthly family. Frequently you only begin to understand when it is happening to you. We live in a time when young people attending a festival are gunned down; when parents are writing the names of their children on their legs in the hope of their return to them once they are found dead. We live in a time when families are splintered and cease to exist.
Let us pray for those who now are nobody’s mother and nobody’s child.
You can learn more about our Lent 2024 appeal here.
You can donate to our GoFundMe appeal here: https://gofund.me/408e9f59
You can continue to transfer funds by EFT to: Diocesan Funds of Dublin and Glendalough No 1 A/C Current Account, Bank of Ireland, 2 COLLEGE GREEN DUBLIN 2 IBAN: IE50 BOFI 9000 1769 3548 78, BIC: BOFIIE2D. Cheques may be sent to Diocesan Offices of Dublin and Glendalough, Church of Ireland House, Church Avenue, Rathmines, Dublin 6, D06 CF67.