Dear Friends
As I write this letter I’ve just received the sad news of the death of the Bishop of
Guildford, Bishop Andrew Watson, at the age of 64 from a particularly aggressive
form of pancreatic cancer.
His cancer was not diagnosed until relatively recently and during his illness, and
approaching his death, he has been writing a series of moving letters to his diocese
(they can be read on the Diocese of Guildford’s website).
In his last letter, knowing that he has only a matter of a few weeks at most to live, he
wrote the following words, ‘I don’t fear the prospect of dying and find to my relief
that my faith in the ‘resurrection of the body and the life everlasting’ has only grown
stronger over the past few weeks. I’ve sometimes had private worries that, when
faced with the starkness of a terminal diagnosis, my faith in the Risen Christ might
falter. Well, it hasn’t. Or better still, God hasn’t faltered. Quite the reverse.’
As we celebrate Easter, we remember that we celebrate not simply the one who rose
but the one who lives, not just his victory over death but ours too, not a one-off
event but an enduring reality. That’s what Easter is about: life for you, for me, for all;
life lived now in a new dimension, transformed by His touch; life that will go on being
lived with Him for all eternity. It’s a message that has shaped countless lives across
the world and throughout the ages, and it goes on shaping ours today, including
Bishop Andrew’s – and most especially when he so graciously approached the end of
his life with such faith and trust. And so I join with that ancient Easter acclamation of
joy, ‘Christ IS risen! He’s risen indeed. Alleluia!’
Yours in Christ
Simon