The Archbishop of Sydney asks and answers three key questions about Easter:
- What is the Gospel?
- Can we believe it?
- Does it matter
And the words that made me think big-time...
"If you really believe in the resurrection, it frees you to take risks now. You do not have to have every experience, every pay rise and career promotion and squeeze everything into this one life. There is another life and you can live vulnerably, sacrificially for others." Tim Costello
But for a long time the 'do not have to have's' are things I've sought after. And I've not lived, correction am not living sacrificially for others. Yet I do believe Christ rose from the dead on that first Easter morning.
The answer I think lies in words that Charlene used to a troubled Peter (The Cornish Vicar's Daughter - Chapter 17, page 360 )...
"I think Janet has helped you understand God's promises. And you believe them. But now what you have to do is trust those beliefs. Nobody can do that for you. The only way is to start trusting God and then find out he doesn't let you down."
So perhaps I need answer truthfully the challenges the Archbishop made just after Tim Costello's words. "Have I turned from self-rule, self-promotion, self-obsession?" I think I've got some work to do here!