THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
1st May 2026
Greetings,
In true British fashion, the weather for this Bank Holiday weekend looks unsettled. It poses the question, why bother, as so many do, to make a long excursion, sitting in endless queues of traffic, only to be rewarded with a soggy few hours at the beach? I suppose I am sounding a little resentful of tourists who, after all, are vital to our economy, but this Sunday's gospel (John 14.1-14) does laud the wisdom of being at home. Whereas the way home for the frustrated Bank Holiday visitor can be long, slow and frustrating, we are reminded that our true home, wherever we reside in this world, is in the heart of a loving Father. In my Father's house are many mansions is a statement of the sheer breadth of humanity redeemed by the Cross of Christ and an assertion of the capacious love of God, a love that stretches beyond the bounds of our limited imagination. In these troubled times, as we see an escalation in public disorder and violence against the Jewish community, part of the witness of Christian discipleship is to hold fast to God, who, in Christ, wipes away all those distinctions that matter so much to us. Our society is being confronted with uncomfortable truths, but we must resist being drawn into the harsh and coarse rhetoric promoted by so-called social media and be guided always by those inspiring words of St. Paul; there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3.28). To me, those words fly off the page as a revelation to Paul of the extraordinary breadth and depth of divine love. Whether we are at home or travelling this weekend, they are words to ponder as we move on in our witness to the crucified and risen Lord.
Blessings,
Charles Booth
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