{"id":531,"date":"2010-04-01T07:44:38","date_gmt":"2010-04-01T11:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedockchurch.org\/blog\/?p=531"},"modified":"2010-04-01T07:55:16","modified_gmt":"2010-04-01T11:55:16","slug":"beyond-the-rubble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.the-dock.org\/blog\/2010\/beyond-the-rubble\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the rubble…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well it’s been a bit of an upside-down week in Dock-world… \u00a0 \u00a0Just after we returned from our wee break in Galway last week, Susan ended up in the Royal Victoria Hospital and is currently still there undergoing treatment for a blood clot. \u00a0She is OK and the doctors are happy that she is making good progress, but it was a pretty major scare. \u00a0Huge thanks to the massive network from Holywood, Carrowdore and hundreds of other places who prayed, texted, called and generally held us aloft on a wave of love and support! \u00a0It’s all very, very much appreciated by both of us, and there have been answered prayers left, right and centre even through the worry of the last few days.<\/p>\n

In the middle of all this I had completely forgotten that, a few weeks ago, I’d been asked to write a Holy Week Meditation for the Irish News – when a friend texted me yesterday that I was in the paper again<\/em>, I rushed out and got the last copy in the shop! \u00a0Just in case any of you aren’t Irish News subscribers (and there must be at least one or two of you out there), this is the article… funny how it takes on greater significance for me after the events of this week…<\/p>\n

Resurrection is currently happening on a daily basis in\u00a0Belfast\u2019s historic docklands. The old shipyards, famous amongst other things for being the birthplace of RMS Titanic, are being transformed from rusty industrial wastelands to dynamic new complexes of apartments, businesses, colleges and tourist attractions –\u00a0Belfast\u2019s Titanic Quarter.<\/em><\/p>\n

But resurrection isn\u2019t always obvious when it\u2019s in progress. When I was appointed Chaplain to the Titanic Quarter a few months ago, some people thought I\u2019d taken leave of my senses. Chaplain to a building site – no congregation, no church building, no community. Some days it\u2019s hard to imagine the finished product amongst the earth-movers, JCBs and scaffolding.<\/em><\/p>\n

Seeing beyond rubble to beauty requires vision – an Easter perspective. Developers\u2019 vision can see a thriving community where now there is only wasteland. Jesus\u2019 vision could see victory and redemption where his disciples could see only defeat, arrest, torture, death. God\u2019s vision can see potential and worth in us where we can only see our mistakes and regrets.
\nDuring Holy Week, it is worth reflecting that this Easter perspective gives hope when we can only see the messy business of work in progress – whether in a city or in a person – in you or in me.<\/em><\/p>\n

So just as I sign off, here is your Dock Easter meditation. \u00a0This was spotted by Heather The Official Dock Photographer amongst the rubble of the building site out behind the Drawing Offices – it’s an old concrete wall, probably scheduled for demolition, actually very near the slipway where Titanic was built. \u00a0I guess you can’t get a much clearer symbol of finding God’s hope amongst rubble and brokenness. \u00a0So if you have a few moments over Easter, meditate on this photo for a while – think of all the ‘rubble’ of the things that make no sense to you – and ask God to show you how his presence and love are actually right there in the middle of it all.<\/p>\n

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