Easter III

"Witness to Hope"

    If I remember correctly, I think Elspeth Strachan introduced her sermon last Sunday by saying, “it’s been quite a week.”  Well, I think it fair to say that it’s been another, ‘quite a week!’  We are living through ‘historic’ times.   

    We lived through the very public dying and death of Pope John Paul II.  We saw the spectacle of the millions of pilgrims who flocked to Rome to pay their last respects and to say farewell to, whatever your personal opinion of his views and policies, one of the most influential religious leaders in many hundreds of years.

    Then, also last week, we saw the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, travel to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen if she would dissolve Parliament and call for a General Election.  Now, of course, we have the prospect of looking forward to four weeks (or so) of what will probably be fairly hard-nosed political campaigning.  But before you start grumbling just think, for a moment, how much worse it could be.  In the United States , for instance, Presidential campaigning begins at least a year before the national elections – so I suppose that we should count ourselves lucky!

    What else happened last week?  We witnessed the postponed and somewhat controversial marriage of the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Camilla Parker-Bowles in Windsor. Again, whatever one might personally think about the merits of the marriage, you couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the couple, as the wedding, already surrounded by controversy had to be postponed by a day because of the late Pope’s funeral.  This is probably an event that everyone is happy to see behind them!

    Then we learnt of the death of Prince Rainier of Monaco – the longest reigning monarch in Europe - and perhaps, more famously, the late husband of Grace Kelly.  So ended a fairy tale that was never quite the ‘happily ever after’ we are brought up to believe in or at least hope for – despite all the wealth, position and privilege.

    And then there was an event that most of us have probably not heard about, but was/is, arguably, of even more significance that some of these other things I’ve been speaking of.  And what was this momentous but unsung happening?  It was the publication a few days ago of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 

    “This week, the first ever global inventory of natural resources was finally published.  It has cost $24 million and taken more than 1300 scientists in 95 countries to put together.”  The report was sponsored, among others, by the UN, the World Bank and the World Resources Institute.

    Kofi Annan, General Secretary of the UN called is, “An unprecedented contribution to our global mission for development, sustainability and peace.”

    Harold Mooney, an ecologist at Stanford University and one of the founders of the project said, “What’s important about it is that it’s not just one scientist’s view, it’s the view of thousands of scientists.”

     And the report’s overwhelming conclusion:-

    "We are living way beyond our means.  According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, approximately 60% of the planet’s “ecosystem services” – natural products and processes that support life, such as water purification – are being degraded or used unsustainably.  What is more, this degradation increases the risk of abrupt and drastic changes, such as climate shifts and the collapse of fisheries… the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment reports that human activity has changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively in the past 50 years than at any other time in human history.”

(from The New Scientist, 2^nd April, 2005 )

    These are historic times indeed.  And, of course, there are no shortage of pundits and commentators who are all too eager to tell us what all of this means – or should mean. 

    One of the things that has stood out for me, though, during these last days is a phrase that the late Pope used many times throughout his life.  When asked to sum up the essence of his ministry Pope John Paul would often say, “to be a witness to hope.”  Now I do realize (as I said earlier) that the late Pope was, and continues to be, a highly controversial figure.  Issues such as the role of women in the leadership of the Church, abortion, contraception, the ecumenical movement and the role of dialogue, discussion and consensus in the life of the Church naturally come to mind. 

    Without getting too much into specific issues, though, I can see how, over the years, he tried (in his own way) to live out his maxim – “to be a witness to hope.” 

• His uncompromising message of the dignity of every human being – from conception to death. 

• His fight against communism and un-fettered market capitalism – both of which he believed were forces of tyranny over the individual. 

• His work for peace with justice in so many of the war-torn parts of our world. 

• His public apologies to Jews and Muslims for the crimes and misdeeds of past encouraged and sometimes perpetrated by the Roman Catholic Church.

    In these, and other ways he has, I believe, tried to be a witness to hope.  But it will be history that will decide the ultimate legacy of Pope John Paul II…

    Having done a little reflecting on these events, especially in the context of these last few tumultuous days, I keep being drawn – as I said - back to that phrase, ‘a witness to hope’, I think that there is great wisdom here.  “To be a witness to hope,” is, perhaps, one of the most significant things we, as Christians, are called to do, and indeed to be. 

•     To witness to the hope of the Kingdom of God , which calls us to look to the future – where God will be all in all - but also invites us to engage in the realities of the present – especially through issues of justice, peace and sustainability.

•     To be a witness to the hope that faith can offer. 

•     To be a witness to the hope that the life and ministry of Jesus can bring into people’s lives.

•     To be a witness to the hope that love gives us; love which can heal, restore, forgive and overcome everything that the world can throw at it, even death itself.

    And what is a witness?  A witness is one who: Stands up and testifies to the reality of what they have seen or heard or experienced.

•     Gives evidence, confirmation or proof.

•     Attests to the truth.

•     (In this context) lives out a reality.

I believe that we are indeed, both as a Church and as individuals, called, invited and asked by our God to be witnesses.  To be witnesses to all of these things: 

•     To be a witness to hope.

•     To be a witness to God’s abiding presence with us, God’s beloved Creation. 

•     And to be a witness to love and faith and in so doing to be a blessing to those around us,  

•     To be a force and power for good, and to help change the world, one soul at a time.

Amen.
               Simon Justice,
                                  10th April 2005

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