CHAPLAIN'S MESSAGE FOR APRIL and MAY 2009.

APRIL 2009

Whenever it comes to Easter I usually get this niggling thought that ‘people don’t rise from the dead’!  As Richard Dawkins suggested – are we deluded about God and Jesus?   He isn’t the only one who thought this.  The intellectuals of Athens who spent their time discussing new ideas and philosophies, were fascinated by St Paul’s scintillating preaching about the Unknown God until he mentioned the resurrection of Jesus, which made most of them laugh in scorn and leave the Areopagus in disgust! 
And so I go into my inventory of arguments for the Christian faith to which we have been called.
            Were those early disciples deluded by what they had seen?  Was it possible that they had been brainwashed to believe that Jesus rose from the dead?  People can be made to believe all sorts of things, as we know from recent years concerning people who are willing to commit suicide for their religious faith in the belief that they will go straight to Paradise with all its associated benefits.
            But there was nobody to brainwash the disciples and first believers.  If we are to believe the Gospel writers, there was no expectation of resurrection for Jesus as far as they were concerned.  They were all bitterly disappointed that Jesus had died and they ran away in fear and shame and were convinced that their wonderful hope in this Messianic figure had evaporated and vanished like a puff of smoke in the wind.  None were more surprised and unbelieving about the resurrection to start with than some of the apostles, especially Thomas.
            What else could it have been but this outrageous, unthinkable, supernatural act of God that was able to turn these timid men around and make them willing to die for their faith in the risen Christ!  They had seen with their own eyes the risen Jesus, not once but for a period of weeks.  They had touched him, eaten with him, sat and listened to him, seen him pass through solid doors.  This was definitely Jesus whom they had known but much more! 
            It wasn’t that it was an incredulous age and that had they been more sophisticated and educated they would have known better.  No, people didn’t rise from the dead in those days either!  But this fact about Jesus was their constant message of hope to a lost world.
            Is it not strange that human beings bury their dead?  Different religions over the millennia have had differing ideas about life beyond the grave: they have made enormous monuments like the Temple of Inscriptions in Palenque which houses the tomb of one of their rulers with its enormous sarcophagus lid, decorated with a carving of Pacal ascending to the next world.  The Chinese buried some of their kings with armies and servants to be with them in life beyond the grave.  Human beings reach out for a hope beyond this world, and Jesus brings that hope in a way that no other faith has been able to.
            And St Paul implies that the resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith, as he said to the Christians in Corinth: “If Christ be not raised, our preaching is useless and so is our faith.”
            So as I remind myself of these things, the niggling thought goes away and is replaced with reassurance of “fact” – that the risen Jesus was seen by hundreds of people who were eye-witnesses to this most astounding event in history, and that it is the only logical conclusion to the remarkable turnaround of the disciples and to the fact that 2,000 years later we, and another nearly 2 billion people are still celebrating it today.
            “Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!”
            Happy Easter!
            Bob

MAY 2009

Back in March just before Easter I spent 3 days in Andorra.  With the controversy of MPs’ work “jollies” to places like New Zealand and the Caribbean in the limelight, I am tempted  to preface everything I say by the words “It’s work – what can I do about it?” and throw my hands up.
However, that wouldn’t be entirely honest, as I didn’t have to go – I could quite easily have said that I was too busy, or whatever other excuse people give when they don’t really want to do something.  The truth is I enjoy going there, just as Bill and Agnes enjoyed going there when they were here in Ibiza, and still do so today.  There are also others who enjoy the trip to Andorra to take their Sunday service and Bible Study and do the occasional home-Communion visits, help with any pastoral issues, and give a talk at an after-Church lunch with various other people from the community present.  Bill enjoys skiing, Clare and I enjoy walking, and there is usually time to do that between the official things.  So I don’t want in any way to cover up the pleasure of the visit.  But we do stay in a 2-star hotel, not 4 or 5-star as some politicians prefer, and always look for the cheapest way to travel!
However, we also see it, as does the Chaplaincy Council, as an opportunity to extend our ministry here in Ibiza.  It is a blessing to have a full-time chaplain, something which Andorra does not have.  They have Communion led by a priest once a month.  They are responsible themselves without any one specific person to turn to, for everything that happens – funerals, Bible Studies, Sunday services, Prayer meetings, courses (if they want to do them), and sorting out any problems that come their way, and there are always plenty of these when the Church is seeking to do its job of sharing the Good News in the world!  It’s like having a permanent inter-regnum! 
So the Chaplaincy here sees an annual visit of our Chaplain to Andorra as part of our wider ministry within the Diocese, supporting others where they have a need.  We have also the blessing of four experienced Lay Assistants who can lead our Sunday worship when the Chaplain is not here, and also people who have led Home Bible Study groups and Prayer meetings for years.
For me it has been a blessing – the stimulation of working with some different people; time to reflect and walk in the snow-capped mountains and have creative time; fellowship with other Christians; a close look at how another English-speaking church functions.  I have gained as much as I have given.
Last year, having spoken about the work we used to do in Mexico where Clare’s nother is still working with the Tzeltal people, they decided to adopt the Tzeltal work as one of their 2 Charities that they support for a period of 2 years.  This has resulted in some much needed financial assistance to the Tzeltal Centre.  For them it has been good to have a personal link with an overseas charity.
So I would like to say “thank you” for your support of this outside ministry once a year in Andorra, and encourage to pray for them, and also to go and visit the La Massana area which is so beautiful whether in summer or winter.
God bless you all,
Bob and Clare