Greeting at the Gates

In Clonard-Fitzroy Fellowship we are learning that the destiny of Christians in Northern Ireland is to help make an end of the Reformation conflict. We discover that those we used to call “outsiders” are truly “brothers and sisters” in Christ and that we hold our traditions not against but for one another. We are learning that “Love one another as I have loved you” is a call to us not only as individual persons, but also as congregations and communities of the Church.  … We have questions to ask ourselves. In the clash of values in the last generation why did the non-violent civil rights movement succumb to the ethnic political violence? Why did the Churches fail to hold the Civil Rights struggle in the non-violent way of Jesus? It has been said that “Divided Churches cost lives.” We need to analyse such questions with a view to gaining wisdom – not to judge any group, but rather to leave the judgement to God!

Father Gerry Reynolds, Irish priest and ambassador of peace, 1933-2015

Father Reynolds was walking towards the light.  He had no doubts; he was ready for whatever came next.  As he ascended further from the mortal coil, he began to make out silhouettes waiting for him to draw near.  At first he could only distinguish a few, but it soon became clear there were hundreds of people waiting for him.

He began to recognize the souls of his brothers and sisters.  The souls of those who, like him, had spent their lives working towards peace and reconciliation.  Spanning centuries, they had fought religious, racial, ethnic and sexist bigotries, all with the vision of improving lives and leaving Earth a better place than they had found it. Whenever one of theirs came home, they all gathered, hoping for news, hoping for progress.

Father Reynolds surveyed the optimistic faces, some that he recognized more easily than others.  Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Martin Luther Jr. and Coretta Scott King, Janet Bloomfield, Mohandas Gandhi, His Holiness John Paul II, John Lennon; these souls he recognized innately.  The others he was familiar with, and knew he would become quickly acquainted with them.

But right now, they all stared at him, with a singular expectant, encouraging query, willing him to tell them what they wanted to hear.

All Father Reynolds could do is spread his arms in supplication and, with a sad smile, reply, “Not yet.”

Source: Wed Stories: Not Yet