Southwark: Archbishop urges Easter congregation to be 'microphones of hope'

Archbishop Wilson - Screenshot

Archbishop John Wilson concelebrated the Family Mass at Southwark's St George's Cathedral on Easter Sunday.

In his homily the Archbishop urged the congregation to bring hope to others and witness to the resurrection, by speaking the word of life.

"In our darkness and our sin, in our brokenness there is hope. Because Christ has conquered and the victory is His. And one day He will share that victory with us", the Archbishop said.

He then asked the attending congregation to share the joy of the Resurrection with the people around them who they do not know, by wishing each other a joyful happy Easter. This caused a stir of friendly voices to rise throughout the Cathedral as neighbours turned to greet each in the pews.

The Archbishop continued, relating the truths of the Gospel of John 20 : 1-9: "The first witnesses of the Resurrection did something incredible. They told other people. And it transformed their life. They shared the goodness of the hope that we have a Saviour. That sin is conquered. That death is overcome. Today know that you have a Saviour. A Lord who loves you. Who knows you who sees into your heart. Who is with you in the struggles. Whether it is in health or sickness. Or anxiety about the future. You have a Saviour who loves you and calls you to rise in hope. Not to despair. Not to give up. But to believe that there is life in the darkness. There is hope."

Turning round an old adage, Archbishop Wilson said that it is not the devil who is in the detail, but God. He promised that God is in the details of our every day lives, lovingly aware and attentive to these details as a Saviour who loves each one of us intimately and personally.

The truly universal congregation, made up of many people of diverse ages and nationalities, heard how "those first witnesses to the Resurrection told their story. They wrote it down. The details they recorded. They could have just told us that the Lord Jesus had risen but they told us the details of who ran to the tomb, who went in first. What they saw. All these details mattered because they wanted us to know and believe what they saw and believe so that we too could be witnesses of hope!"

Archbishop Wilson then quoted a late Archbishop closely connected with St Georges, saying: "Oscar Romero uses the phrase 'we must be microphones of hope'. We must amplify the truth of light in our world. In our homes, families, workplaces. You must be witnesses of the resurrection of the word of life. Because you have heard it."

Archbishop Wilson spoke of how God is in the details of our lives. The details of how we express our own love and service. God is "in the detail of your doing the washing up, in waiting for the bus, in the detail of cooking and cleaning, in the detail of loving especially the poorest or weakest whether in our family or if they are strangers. He is in the detail of raising our voices like a nightingale to speak the truth of the Gospel and the dignity of every person. There is no detail of your heart that the Lord Jesus is not part of."

"We are not numbers to the Lord. We are individuals and we are known. The details of our heart are known. And I hope that this Easter Sunday you can find the joy in your heart to raise your voice in praise to God in to showing love to our families and friends, to lift our voices like microphones to praise and witness to Christ.

"Today will we go out with an Alleluia on our lips. With praise for the risen Son of God, and you must take this message and you must sing it (not literally maybe but you can if you want to) and you must sing it with your life, so that people can catch from you as they caught it from those first witnesses, a hope, a joy a truth and a love. A love is constant and that says to you go! Go and announce the good news that I have Risen and I am with you for ever. Alleluia! Amen."

The beautiful Mass was made complete with an overflowing Eucharist and notes of choral harmony that sang out "Alleluia! Not as orphans are we left in sorrow now; Alleluia! He is near us, faith believes nor questions how; Though the cloud from sight received him… our hearts shall not forget his promise "I am with you ever more".

At the end of the Service, Archbishop Wilson greeted families exiting the Cathedral, and gave chocolate Easter eggs to the children.

LINKS

Southwark: www.rcsouthwark.co.uk/diocese/

St George's Cathedral: www.stgeorgescathedral.org.uk/