We continue to think about the Resurrection this week, from three different perspectives: the Gospel gives us another story of Jesus appearing to his disciples - this time the beautiful story of the meeting in Jerusalem, when Jesus proves he is alive and no ghost by eating some grilled fish: he reminds the disciples that all he suffered and rise so the “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” could be preached to the whole world. The first reading shows us Saint Peter’s doing just that, as he addresses the crowd in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost: he takes them through recent events (fifty days earlier), highlighting the important point, that he and the disciples can witness to the raising of Jesus from the dead, and calling them to “repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.” The second reading brings this into our lives: the resurrection is not just a historical event, which we remember. By baptism (which we renewed at Easter) we become part of Jesus in his dying and his rising, as he ‘becomes the sacrifice that takes our sins away’. So all that Saint John tells us about the commandments and avoiding sin is our way of living the Resurrection.
Let us pray for the parishioners of the parishes of SS. Aidan and Oswald, Royton, and St. Joseph, Shaw, and for Fr. Stephen Doyle, their recently retired parish priest. We pray for their parish primary schools and for the chaplaincy to the Royal Oldham Hospital and Dr. Kershaw’s Hospice