I heard a quote recently, on a television show, from a “famous” American novelist and essayist, called James Baldwin.
It said “children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them. They must, they have no other models”.
James died in 1987, so you could say it is almost a modern thought but centuries in the making.
I have since shared this quote and been challenged much on it.
In defence can I simply say this: have you ever said something and then thought ‘Oh my goodness, I sound just like my mother?’.
For the Christian person, Easter is so much about naming the values we uphold and seek to live.
For us, it can never be just a wonderful long weekend.
Easter marks a pivotal point in the Christian life as we gather to celebrate in our homes and churches.
Our Lenten journey, which leads into Easter, plays a big part.
Lent is 40 days of giving up bad habits and, in their place, taking on acts of charity and kindness.
The churches that mark Lent talk in terms of tempering those things that either give life or stripping away that which prevents it.
What we witness throughout Lent and Easter is the Son (Jesus) modelling the Father’s love and sharing that love with those called to discipleship.
The ultimate act, the pivotal moment will see that Son nailed to a cross for all of us.
On Good Friday, he will be laid in a tomb with all our brokenness and on the third day, Easter Sunday, rise to offer the new life and love only God, the Father, can give.
Parenting has graces but is also full of pressures not least of which includes being a role model.
Kids don’t do what we say, they tend to do what we do.
They always know what we really value. Is that called “walking the talk”?
Those values, Christian or other, might identify as helping build a better community or world.
They could also include compassion, empathy, mercy, kindness, generosity, charity, and an awareness of other.
We could well add forgiveness and reconciliation. So many in our community crave reconciliation and many more need forgiveness.
I have spent a lot of time this Lent, and will again over Easter, praying for the people of Ukraine and their plight.
We all need peace.
Christian churches, again joined by the millions of good people of other faiths, pray for peace and work hard to achieve it.
I believe it is a key value of our communities, through which the best versions of ourselves can be grown.
I don’t know how I can bring peace in Ukraine.
My heart breaks for them. I wonder whether like me, you feel powerless in the face of the humanitarian crisis unfolding there?
It is hard to make sense of the awfulness that war is and the pain and suffering it brings.
Somehow, I can only make sense of it because Jesus died.
For many that is a concept hard to grasp, but for the Christian person it allows us to feel Jesus right beside us as we face life’s traumas and tragedies.
If I want peace, compassion, mercy, or even forgiveness and I want it to be part of the world, I must live it.
Peace is found most in forgiveness.
It finds its heart in the unconditional acts of love found in charity, mercy and compassion. It is generous and acts with justice and integrity.
If I want peace, I must be peace in my world.
That’s the very heart of Easter.
It changes the world one heart at a time, starting with my own.
Happy Easter and may the blessings of this Easter grace you and your loved ones throughout the year.
- Father Greg Barker
Diocesan administrator for the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle
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