The Easter season is replete with Gospel accounts of communities grappling with the fact that Jesus is no longer physically among them and yet they are aware of his presence.  At the centre of this Sunday’s passage (John 14:15-21) we read ‘in a short time the world will no longer see me; but you will see me.’   That line is just as relevant for us today as when it was written some two thousand years ago.  We certainly do not see Jesus in the same way that we see each other walking around and we do not hear Jesus in the same way that we hear each when we sit down and engage in conversation.  Yet we do see and hear Jesus.  And we do experience his presence among us.

The Gospel of John again tells us: ‘you will see me because I live and you will live’.  For those with eyes to see, for people of faith, this is true.  We see Jesus live each time we witness an act of forgiveness.  We see Jesus live each time we see works of compassion and solidarity with the poor or the oppressed.  We see Jesus live each time we experience the fullness of joy in life and love.  We see Jesus live when we witness those who speak out in protest against violence and death: no to homophobia, no to xenophobia, no to indoctrination.  We see Jesus live when the sick and dying are comforted and at peace.  We see Jesus live when we witness the sacrifice parents make for their children, when we see someone walk that extra mile, and when we see new life break through what appeared to be a hopeless moment.  In all of these moments and more we see Christ alive and we live too!

The Easter season is a time for us to continue to open our eyes to the presence of Christ alive.  It is the time for us to draw life from those events and grow in faith.

That is why each year we gather members of our community to reflect on the communal life of our parish.  We have the second of such meetings coming up this week.  On Wednesday, 17 May we will gather at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, 10 Whitehorse Road, Deepdene at 7.30 pm.   Young parishioners (18 to 35 years old) are invited to come and join us and our Parish Council in order to look at our parish life now and into the future.  Our first meeting, earlier in May, proved to be very fruitful, with many people reflecting on Christ alive in our midst and discerning where our community might direct its energies into the future.

Christ is alive today as much as he was in the New Testament.  Let’s take the time to open our eyes to his presence among us.

By Fr Brendan Reed