Ascension : News From The Grotto
Submitted by The Islander (Shari Parkhill) 23.03.2005 (Article Archived on 06.04.2005)

This week during Lent, the readings are all about resurrection.

This week during Lent, the readings are all about resurrection.  “I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me shall never die”.  The story of Lazarus is all about how Jesus raised him from death, and brought his friend back to life.  He wanted an example to show His followers, and even more, to show the unbelievers, that we could all be resurrected into God’s kingdom.  It took actually bringing a man back from death to prove his teachings.

          Christians share this belief in resurrection with people of many faiths.  We all believe that our lives do not end with our physical death.  If we believe in the resurrection, then our faith will take us home to be with God.  It is a familiar theme through many religions.  It is a foundation of Christianity, and proven to us through the many examples in the Bible.

          In our day to day life, our faith can be the path to resurrections of different types as well.  We can have a resurrection of faith, a rebirth in our commitment to live a better life, to be better Christians, to try harder to share our faith and the love of God by helping others, being kinder and more compassionate towards our fellow man.  Last week in the Islander, the final total of the Tsunami appeals raised by the residents of Ascension Island was announced, around 14,000. pounds.  That is a tremendous amount for a small island with a population of only around a thousand.  I think as a community we should be proud, and grateful that we have been given this chance to contribute to such a worthy cause.  May it not stop here.

          I read a story this week about a group of Jews who hid out during the second world war in a cave in a wheat field in the Ukraine.  The advancing German army was laying waste to Jewish settlements, and killing the inhabitants, or sending them away to the concentration camps.  One family had already hidden in a cavern for six months until they were discovered and narrowly escaped capture.  In desperation, they approached a Christian friend, who told them about a cave called the Priest’s Grotto, a sinkhole in a field.  Desperate, they headed there and on May 5, 1943, descended into the depths of the earth.  Altogether, 38 men, women and children forged a habitation in the darkness and damp of the many small rooms of rock.  A few of the men ventured forth several times to collect supplies but most stayed underground for almost a year.  The oldest was a 75 year old grandmother, the youngest a toddler.  

          They hid out in their underground world lit only by candles and lanterns, shivering in the constant 10 degree Celsius cold, sleeping long hours to pass the time.  They survived a deliberate cave in by some neighbours, a barrage of gunfire by police, and other attacks.  Helped by a few friends on the outside, they managed to survive, although most were malnourished by the end of their ordeal. 

          On April the twelth, 1944, after receiving a message in a bottle dropped into the mouth of their cave, telling them that the Germans had retreated, they left their underground world, and emerged, for most seeing and feeling the sunshine for the first time in 344 days.  In recent weeks, we have been constantly reminded about how God’s love is like the light.  What better example could there be than the true story of a group of refugees, finally escaping their forced underground prison, and seeing the light for the first time in almost a year?  Imagine how they must have felt, feeling the warmth of this light on their faces and how they must have thanked God for their deliverance. 

          When we think about the sufferings of people like these, we also have to see how easy it should be for us to let the light into our lives, to resurrect ourselves from our problems and our mistakes, and rededicate ourselves to our faith.  In this last week before Holy Week, let us take a few moments to pledge ourselves anew to our faith, to thank God for our blessings, and to pray for those still looking for a way out of the darkness, and into the light of God.