For whom do we lay down our life?

 It is not often that Anzac Day coincides with Good Shepherd Sunday. Bit it is significant that they arrive at the conjunction of event around the world. Not least is the current pandemic but there are also fresh rumours of war or armed conflict reemerging. Russian troops gathered on the border of Ukraine, the flights of Chinese fighters over Taiwan, the ongoing conflicts in Chad and sub-Saharan Africa, the tensions in the Middle East and ongoing suffering Yemen. There can be a sense of deja vu in how we face familiar problems in a new context. The central question is how we respond to circumstances beyond our control as a person of faith.

I feel that we need to have a prayerful response to these situations. We need to recognise the profound effect that armed conflict and the ravages of the pandemic can have on the life of communities. We need to be people who are not only praying but prayerfully present to the reality of the suffering of others. Our lives are interconnected and we are not called to live in isolation from the needs of others. Our prayer should not be to keep the reality of such situations far from our minds and our concerns but rather how do we respond as a person of faith to these circumstances. What affects one part of humanity affects us all. As Pope Francis notes are that during May we pray that this pandemic may end.

However, as people who are called to apply our minds and hearts to ways in which we can respond to this situation. This means that we need to be reasoned and reasonable in how we are of service. In some cases, we need to consider not only what is for our good but the good of the whole community. We have noticed this has assisted in responding to isolating outbreaks of the virus and people being vaccinated. Yet there is also the need to connect with each other in ways that support each other rather than becoming consumed by fear, anxiety and anger. In times such as these, it is natural for tensions to rise and people to become suspicious of the behaviour of others. Yet our call to serve is not just to seek what is good for me but what is for the good of the whole.

Thus it is when we are called to act we notice how we are called to be both prayerful and present to the good of the other. Our lives are based on simple acts of kindness which value the life of another. In being present in these ways we follow the example of Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop who looks for the next obvious step as we travel together. We become people who lay down our lives for each other.