“If a man hasn’t found something he will die for then he isn’t fit to live”

Martin Luther King

There are different kinds of Martyrs. Martin Luther King campaigned tirelessly in the face of mortal danger for what he believed and eventually paid the ultimate price. Gandhi and Oscar Romero are two others who come to mind. Fortunately for humanity the list is long.

Then there are those who regularly put their lives at risk to serve others; in the emergency services and the armed forces for example. Right now in this pandemic we see doctors, nurses, carers and other front line workers regularly risking their lives. There are many who have given their lives as a result and because of their heroic service many have been saved.

Then there are those who stand up for what they believe in situations where death is inevitable. Again,  many such people. Maximilian Kolbe who took the place of a fellow prisoner in a starvation bunker in 1941 in Auschwitz is but one in recent times.

Then there was Thomas More patron of this blog, who was decapitated on 6^th July 1535 for refusing to sign the Oath of Supremacy which essentially meant that he refused to accept King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England.

For Christians the greatest sacrifice of all is Jesus’ death on the cross, the greatest symbol of love ever. Jesus of Nazareth Son of God paying the price for sin and reconciling humanity to the Father. Jesus paid a debt he didn’t owe because we had a debt we couldn’t pay. Now the way to God and to Salvation is open to all.   

Out of sacrifice comes new life. Civil rights in America and the recognition that all are born equal is due in large part to civil rights campaign and the leadership of Martin Luther King.

Many lives saved by the sacrifice doctors and nurses in the current pandemic.

And of unique and supreme importance the Resurrection of Jesus Christ opening the way to new life.

Thomas More’s last words were, “I die the Kings good servant but God’s first.”

Have you found something worth dying for?

Listen to, ‘Knowing you Jesus’ by Graham Kendrick on YouTube

What are your hopes during this time of lock down in this Coronavirus or COVID -19 pandemic? Are you looking forward to the end of solitude and getting back to normal living? Being with family and friends, those at work, neighbours? Are you looking forward to the resumption of sporting activities or other interests where you meet and mix in reality – not virtually? Perhaps you are already making plans to re schedule those cherished holidays which were so suddenly snatched away without warning.

If your situation is intolerable right now, hope is what can give the strength and perseverance for you to carry on. These hopes may even make you happy. As human beings we have the facility to look ahead, to imagine, to dream. Even to dream like the words of the song, “The impossible dream.” The words are powerful, “to fight the unbeatable foe, to bear the unbearable sorrow, to run where the brave dare not go.” Why not take a moment now and hear the song maybe sung by Frank Sinatra on YouTube.

What you hope for will come from your values, what you cherish and hold most dear. This reflects who you are, your identity, how you see yourself. Going deeper this in turn taps into your core beliefs and faith.

Do you believe that you, the world and life as you know it is an accident? That it came about millions of years ago when two atoms (where did they come from?) collided in space. When you consider the intricacies of your being body mind and spirit, when you consider the world and its eco systems, when you gaze at the stars, when you look with wonderment of a flower on a spring day, a waterfall, the grandeur of a mountain surely you might say, ‘there is a Creator God. I am a gift, the world is a gift, free will is a gift. I can choose good or ill.’ This is the greatest gift a Creator can give a child like the gift of freedom a loving parent gives to her child. That is, to go out and make something of himself and re create the world for the better.

The world is in your care – our care. Think of the challenges of climate change and it’s causes.

So in this lock down time let’s hope and maybe re examine what we hope for.

Peter the apostle writing to persecuted Christians of the day, reminds them of their inheritance as children of God. “This is a cause of great joy for you, even though you may for a short time have to bear being plagued by all sorts of trials…” (1 Peter 1:6 – read 3 – 9). And in verse 9, “and you are sure of the end to which your faith looks forward.”

Hope is a virtue of the Christian tradition. Hope is for something you want and expect to have. The virtue is hoping for union with God our Father and eternal happiness. 

A story to end. A little girl has finished reading all her books and asks her daddy to take her to the library. As they reach the bus stop holding hands the little girl looks sad and her dad asks her what’s wrong. She says she is looking forward to reading new books but worries that they may not get a seat on the bus and that the bus will jerk and she might fall over, to which her dad replies, “not if we hold hands tightly, just don’t let go.” She smiles but then looks sad again and says, “But daddy some people on the bus will be smelly and might argue and call each other names I hate that. Can’t you make them all be good?” Dad replies, I’m sorry I can’t make them be good but when we get to the library it will all be worthwhile I promise. With that the little girl held her dad’s hand even more tightly looked up and smiled just as the bus pulled up.

Quote from Thomas More one of the greatest Englishmen that ever lived. “Lord grant me a healthy body and the good humour to maintain it.”

Humour is key.

Each of us is a steward or caretaker of what we have come to know and understand and we are therefore responsible for sharing it with all those prepared to listen. “Your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works they may give praise to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5.16

The words attributed to Nelson Mandela but written by Marianne Williamson come to mind…

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world….We are all meant to shine as children do.”

The Good News of Jesus Christ is needed more than ever to transform our dysfunctional world by calling out injustice and evil and trumpeting the many good deeds of people of good will.

This blog is a sharing platform of a Christian man later in life, prompted by the enthusiasm for all that could be in the light of the Good News which is always fresh always new. In the words of George Bernard Shaw, quoted by Robert Kennedy in his book ‘To see a newer world,’  “Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.”

So this is an invitation to all readers to SEE and JUDGE all things in the light of the Good News and ACT in the light which this brings; but more than this, to come to ‘know, to love and serve’ God our Father who calls us in the here and now for all eternity. This, in the words of the ‘Penny Catechism’ of the Catholic Church is why we are here. It is the purpose of our lives.

Why am I launching this blog while we are in the throes of a pandemic? I suppose like so many in lockdown there is more time. We all have our thoughts and feelings about our present situation. There are many forwards buzzing about on WhatsApp. Some thought provoking, some moving and powerful, many spiritual, some funny and some irresponsible. This epitomises our re discovered interconnectedness and interdependence. Only time will tell if we learn the lessons and move forward in search of a new and better world. 

And at this Easter time 2020, Christians around the world again celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Son of God and by his rising from the dead we celebrate our own resurrection and life eternal.

This truth brings peace. Peace and fear cannot co-exist. We have nothing to fear but fear itself.

(1 Cor. 15.20 -26)