FROM THE ARCHIVES: VS THE UNATTRACTIVE OPERA:

Easter is about life. That's why we make so much noise (John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, 4/08/07, Sunday Telegraph)

In Christ we see the ultimate expression of a love turned outwards, facing the whole of humanity in a self-giving act made real on the cross. The challenge is in our response to this act: whether to also turn our love outwards to the world or to turn love in on itself, to become self-obsessed. The aria of "Me! Me!" and "I! I!" has become the most unattractive opera of our time.

It is a sad paradox born of the "me" generation that those who turn their love in on themselves are often also the unhappiest. Coerced by the culture around them, our young people in particular are at risk of becoming spiritually empty vessels, transfixed by a drug-induced narcissism. The beauty industry that turns our teenagers into anorexics, where a perversion of physical perfection is more important than health; our celebrity-obsessed media that elevates notoriety above worth, and the unending pursuit of wealth, while our children rank among the unhappiest in Europe: these are some of the symptoms of a society that needs to rediscover the beauty of the mystical and the joy of the spiritual.

But make no mistake. Inviting God into your life means being open to the possibility of renewal and change. Sometimes this can be costly. As the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Zimbabwe has recently reminded us, faith contains an imperative to challenge injustice and dictatorship. In the words of Archbishop Oscar Romero - gunned down whilst celebrating Mass - "Peace will flower when love and justice pervade our environment."

The cross and the Resurrection show us that the call, the invitation of God, powerfully present in Jesus Christ, cannot be silenced by anything. Easter is a call to accept God's invitation to become one of His friends.

So come and pray with me and party with me this Easter, come to the tomb where the stone has been rolled away, to where life is and where the Spirit moves.

[originally posted 4/08/07]

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