Hillside Parishes Magazine
Hillside Parish MagazineApril 2009Easter Message from The Archbishop of York On Easter Saturday afternoon I will have the privilege of baptising people in an open-air baptistry in York city centre and in the evening I will conduct more baptisms and confirmation in the St. Paulinus Crypt in York Minster. These are always wonderful, joyful occasions, not least the perfect way to prepare for the following day’s celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ ! There are those who might wish that we were a little quieter in our celebrations or were a little less public in our joy. The problem with such a request is that it ignores the fact that in the resurrection of Christ, God is speaking to the world, and when God speaks you can't ignore Him. Our faith is one of prayer and parties, of justice and joy, of love and life. Thirty-six years ago I headed up the judiciary in the northern part of Uganda: a region that had suffered the worst of Idi Amin's brutalities. While I was there, a widow arrived at the court, carrying her new-born son in a rather tattered suitcase pierced with four breathing holes. She had walked 30 miles through the jungle the day after the birth, for she realised her son was dangerously ill. She had gone first to the church to ask the local priest to baptise her child. To her sadness, she discovered he had been brutally murdered two months before. A young woman who was my interpreter at the court told her: "The new head of the bench is a Christian, he may agree to baptise your son, even though he isn't a priest. Take him to the court – but don't say I told you to." So she arrived at court and asked to see me. Yes, the new baby boy was seriously ill. And being acquainted with the rules of the Church of Uganda, I agreed to baptise the little fellow, and got her to agree to take him to the hospital a few yards away. As the child was lowered over the basin of water a big black cat jumped through the window. "Heavens, what an unlucky child!" muttered my English court clerk. But the local people broke into cheers and clapping, for they know well such animals do not come where death is. The baby lived. And that, for me, is the Easter message. Easter is life: the eternal life of God freely offered; the reason why the disciples were transformed in the upper room from terrified, broken hearted and defeated individuals into a confident and joyful body of believers. We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song ! May Easter be a time of great joy and blessings for you all. Prayer Corner The focus of our prayer this month is the amazing drama of Holy Week and Easter. We travel with Jesus and the disciples from the triumph of Palm Sunday to the desolation of the Garden of Gethsemane, from the pain and the horror of Good Friday to the joy of Easter. As we read the familiar words of the scriptures we remember again these events which have transformed human history and also shaped our own lives. In our prayers, and particularly in the worship of the church, we may also come to experience these events for ourselves, as we hear our shouts of “Hosanna” turn to “Crucify him!”: as we try to stay awake and watch in the Garden on Maundy Thursday or experience the presence of the Risen Lord in the breaking of the bread on Easter Day. Walking the Way of the Cross in Holy Week can become an intense and a valuable experience as we begin making connections between Our Lord’s Passion, our own life and the life of the world. It can become a wonderful opportunity to become more aware the love and the generosity of God which surrounds us always.
The magazine of the parishes of Boltby, Borrowby, Cowesby, Felixkirk, Kepwick,
Kirby Knowle, Knayton, Leake & "The Siltons". Also circulated in
Upsall, Thirlby & Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe. |
| ©Thirsk.net |
|
©Thirsk.net |
