See you in the mourning: the end of an era

A week after my own dear Mum passed away, tonight brought the news from the Vatican which to me had seemed imminent for the past month or so. Pope John Paul II, who was the third longest serving occupant of St Peter's throne, died around 20.40 BST yesterday.
Karol Woytyla - excuse my spelling but Polish is such a difficult language!- was without question one of the great popes, and yet a very approachable and human man who changed history-even down to his influence on the fall of Communism in Europe. Even to Protestants like me, who do not feel obligated to the authority structure of the Catholic church, he was a giant of a Christian who was faithful to his Lord to the end. He died as he had lived, with humility and love; ready to meet the saviour, but caring to the end on this earth for the flock of millions entrusted to him in the great tradition of St Peter which we remember around this time of the year.

John Paul II will be a "hard act to follow". His papacy spanned two centuries and 26 years. The world he walked in as a sheep among wolves in 1978 is a very different one in the 21st Century, but the wolves remain albeit in different guises. If ever there was a man to embody the central Christian tenet of forgiveness and love for enemies, this was he. John Paul's meeting with his would-be assassin in the early eighties, recalled in news coverage tonight, spoke more of the message of the gospels than a thousand homilies ever could.

It has indeed been a strange Eastertide this year. The manner of John Paul's passing has in many ways echoed that of my Mum, whose funeral will take place on Friday April 8th, while the papparazzi and the pompous, the royalists and the regal, gather down the road from here in historic Windsor to witness the marriage of our heir apparent to his lifelong love. I dread the former, of course, the final parting, but hope that I will have the courage and strength of character to pay the due tribute to the acts of love and service Rose Savage brought to all those who knew her, just as the funeral of John Paul II around the same time will be one of gratitude and thanksgiving for the life of a great servant of God.

What an irony, and what a tall order for me this week as I have to wear the mantle of mourning as bravely as I can along with my brother- and yet in 10 hours time present a morning service here at Christ Church! I was not planned for today, but the scheduled preacher has himself been in hospital so I have been asked to take his place at short notice. A privilege, but also a challenge, to speak of the continuing message of Easter on this "low Sunday", also known as Quasimodo Sunday, while the bells toll for the loss of a great man of God.

Time now though to get some sleep, but also prayer and prepare as we reflect on the mysteries of God and his timings. We are all in this world for but a little while, but we can all make a difference and leave it a better place. Would that my life could have something of the great about it when I too have to answer that homecoming call, which will come sooner than expected, judging from the swift passage of time. Would that we could ALL hear, as Karol Woytyla will tonight when the Lord calls him by name: "Well done, my good and faithful servant". A fallen world needs the risen Christ now more than ever. May John Paul II's successor, whoever he is, be able to present this Good News in such a faithful and relevant way to the people of today, that soon the Earth shall be filled with the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea.