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I am writing these
notes in what the mayor of London has described as the most memorable seven
days in the life of the city of London. No sooner had the exciting news of
the Olympic Games coming to London been celebrated by everyone when the
bombings occurred. This is why I have entitled this letter ‘From ecstasy to
agony’.
On
3rd July the Church celebrated one of the apostles St. Thomas. Thomas,
sometimes called doubting Thomas, was the first of the apostles to worship
Jesus as divine. Thomas, who had shown loyalty against all the odds, and
faith against all the odds, had concluded that all his most cherished hopes
had been dashed with the Crucifixion of Jesus.
So
when his colleagues, the other apostles, reported that the risen Lord had
been amongst them it was too good to be true Jesus, who knew Thomas
intimately, then appeared before him to reassure him that his deepest hopes
were not dashed but fulfilled through the resurrection of his Lord. To try
to imagine some of this expression of wonder and devotion when Thomas
exclaimed ‘my Lord and my God’ you only have to see Venus Williams on the
Centre Court
at Wimbledon when she won the Ladies' Singles final. It was almost too good
to be true.
A
similar experience occurred in Singapore when the Olympic Committee
announced that the Olympic Games were coming to London in 2012. It was
almost too good to be true. The ecstasy of the moment was then destroyed by
the callous and wanton destruction of human lives by the bombers on Thursday
July 7th.
In
the aftermath of this awful atrocity coinciding with the meeting of the G8
leaders in Gleneagles we have already witnessed some remarkable events. The
spirit of the Blitz has been reinvented. All the spiritual leaders of our
nation in a show of unity have condemned the bombers outright and appealed
for unity. The G8 summit of world leaders announced new help for
Africa,
new steps on trade arrangements with poorer countries and some cooperation
on climate change.
So
also it was for Thomas after the dramatic events surrounding the person
Jesus. Out of the life of the risen Jesus Thomas was empowered to spread
the good news of the gospel. He founded the Christian Church in India. It
is thought that he was martyred there for his faith.
As
the stories emerge relating to July 7th let us once again give
thanks to the Risen Lord for life itself, every new day, for human courage
and goodness which is stronger than evil. Perhaps we can allow ourselves
the doubts at times that beset us in the knowledge that the power of love is
even greater than the power of our doubts. It is fundamentally. ‘too good
to be true’ and yet it is true.
Tom
Leary
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