Building Bridges - Reflection by Canon Mike

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Christ is Risen!  He is risen indeed; Alleluia!  A Happy Easter to you all, from all of us at Liverpool Cathedral.  Although, I can safely say it has been one of the strangest of Holy Weeks and the Triduum leading to the celebration of our Lord conquering death for all of us on Easter Day….nonetheless, the fact, the joy, the message is as strong and resolute as ever.  Jesus died and rose from the dead for us – that we might have eternal life.  Jesus enabled that to happen – by his own sacrifice; he built that bridge for us – by his own sacrifice.

And in my strange scientific brain, one in which I like to create images and structures to help me ‘see’ concepts, I picture that that’s exactly what happened on Easter day….a bridge was built which enabled us, any of us, to have eternal life with the Father.  An amazing hope through faith that we can all have; one helping us through everyday lives….for me, for anything and everything in life, through the power of prayer.  One that can help us through the most difficult of crises – like the present one.

Many of us will now have experienced this – the loss of a loved one or dear friend through COVID-19.  For me, it was last week, through the loss of a lifelong friend, just a few years older than myself; a loving husband and father; a talented GP and musician; a faithful Christian.  Such shock and grief – as much in the suddenness and the inability for the family to be with each other, just to hug each other in consolation.  There is much to mourn, and much to celebrate in the gift of his life, when we are able to.  But he has crossed that bridge now – the one to be with the father in heaven in his glorious kingdom.  And for that hope of being with him once again in glory, our faith enables us to get through now, in just some small way.

But other bridges are also being built – ones through necessity in the current circumstances, ones which in hindsight, when we are back into ‘normality’, that we should revisit and keep.  Bridges built into new ways of working; some of which have been there for quite some time and we’ve never either thought of crossing or indeed had the courage to do so.  Now, forced into doing so, we see new perspectives – to complement previous ones.  New ways of connecting with people; of helping each other; of understanding, above all, the commonality of our frailty and fragility as one humanity across the world and how Jesus’ new commandment rings so true these days; one which emerges as being the most obvious thing needed at times like this.  The one given at his last supper with his disciples – that we must love one another, as he loved us.  For that is happening through these new bridges of hope and help that we are building as we continue to stay home, protect the NHS and save the preciousness of life.  May we continue to do so with faith and hope….in Jesus’ name.

With my love and prayers for you all; stay safe….

​Canon Mike 

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