Social Action Office - Newsletter Archives

INFORM-A^CTION

Issue Number 37 - April 2001

Easter Reflection

In one of her writings, Joan Chittister suggests that the great miracle of Easter is not so much the resurrection itself, but what happened to those who encountered Jesus after the resurrection. They did not actually see him rising from the grave and neither have those of us living today. Only a small number of people actually experienced the risen Christ, others believed their stories. It was the belief in those stories that led to the great activity of those first Christians. They were alive with the 'Spirit of Jesus'. Those disciples, who had been frightened and locked themselves inside, now went about the countryside doing what Jesus had done. They became the Good News themselves!

The world of today needs Good News stories. So often the media bombard our senses with bad news stories. Events that cause death and destruction receive headlines. Occasionally, we are told stories of courage, of people who have overcome adversity, but these do not often make the headlines. ABC television often portrays stories of Good News people. Such people are not necessarily "religious" but they can be Good News for today because they give hope to a world that hears so many stories that give little hope.

Here are some examples taken from the ABC website from the program Australian Story:

38 year old Brett Nielsen, Australia's first victim of the anti-nausea drug thalidomide, was born with no arms. But his most defining feature is his refusal to be defined by his disability - working as a songwriter, musician, recording engineer, backhoe operator and public speaker.

Dorothy and Moya O'Brien are colourful and cheerful eccentric twins, now in their seventies. Twenty-one years ago they set up a centre in Brisbane that provides work and companionship for intellectually disabled people. They were successful in keeping their base for SWARA away from the bulldozers during the creation of the new Roma Street Gardens.

Sid Roy is 70 years old. When his wife Hilly died some 12 years ago, her death exposed a secret the two had shared for decades. Sid was unable to read or write. So, at the age of 60 Sid went off to college and discovered a talent for writing, even becoming a published poet.

Housewife and frog rescuer Sylvia Pitt enlists Aussie truck drivers to return "fruit box" frogs to the wild after they turn up in the cities in packing cases of vegetables.

If, as Joan Chittister suggests, the real miracle of the resurrection is the way that those who believe it behave, then what a challenge that is for Christians: the challenge of being Good News people. May the life, death and resurrection of Jesus inspire us all to be the Good News that our world needs.

Happy Easter

Be Open to Transformation!

Next Newsletter Article

Newsletter Index



		INFORM-A^CTION Issue Number 37 - April 2001 Easter Reflection In one of her writings, Joan Chittister suggests that the great miracle of Easter is not so much the resurrection itself, but what happened to those who encountered Jesus after the resurrection. They did not actually see him rising from the grave and neither have those of us living today. Only a small number of people actually experienced the risen Christ, others believed their stories. It was the belief in those stories that led to the great activity of those first Christians. They were alive with the 'Spirit of Jesus'. Those disciples, who had been frightened and locked themselves inside, now went about the countryside doing what Jesus had done. They became the Good News themselves! The world of today needs Good News stories. So often the media bombard our senses with bad news stories. Events that cause death and destruction receive headlines. Occasionally, we are told stories of courage, of people who have overcome adversity, but these do not often make the headlines. ABC television often portrays stories of Good News people. Such people are not necessarily "religious" but they can be Good News for today because they give hope to a world that hears so many stories that give little hope. Here are some examples taken from the ABC website from the program Australian Story: 38 year old Brett Nielsen, Australia's first victim of the anti-nausea drug thalidomide, was born with no arms. But his most defining feature is his refusal to be defined by his disability - working as a songwriter, musician, recording engineer, backhoe operator and public speaker. Dorothy and Moya O'Brien are colourful and cheerful eccentric twins, now in their seventies. Twenty-one years ago they set up a centre in Brisbane that provides work and companionship for intellectually disabled people. They were successful in keeping their base for SWARA away from the bulldozers during the creation of the new Roma Street Gardens. Sid Roy is 70 years old. When his wife Hilly died some 12 years ago, her death exposed a secret the two had shared for decades. Sid was unable to read or write. So, at the age of 60 Sid went off to college and discovered a talent for writing, even becoming a published poet. Housewife and frog rescuer Sylvia Pitt enlists Aussie truck drivers to return "fruit box" frogs to the wild after they turn up in the cities in packing cases of vegetables. If, as Joan Chittister suggests, the real miracle of the resurrection is the way that those who believe it behave, then what a challenge that is for Christians: the challenge of being Good News people. May the life, death and resurrection of Jesus inspire us all to be the Good News that our world needs. *Happy Easter* Be Open to Transformation! Next Newsletter Article Newsletter Index