It was 50 years ago today on 4^th May 1972 that the Greenpeace Movement was formed, taking over a fledgling anti-nuclear protest group known as ‘Don’t make a wave Committee’ – a name it had given itself based upon the fear that an atomic blast would create a giant wave that could swamp West Coast cities in America.

A tidal wave

From being a radical action group, which had been the thorn in many politicians’ sides across the western world, many of the values of Greenpeace have been recognized, praised and absorbed into our way of thinking today as we’ve become more conscious not only of nuclear threats but of more general damage inflicted on our planet and compromising its future survival.

Waves of injustice

I would dare to suggest that in all manner of ways we need to revive the former tagline but make it a positive instead to: ‘Let’s make a wave.’ We should as people be standing out against all kinds of injustice and imbalances in society and be ‘waving’ and ‘flagging these up’, and not least things that are Green and involve Peace. We have seen over recent weeks, all too many scorched earth campaigns of destruction which have left vast swathes of Ukrainian territory devoid of anything green and inhabitable and shattered any peace that once existed.

Shockwaves from Easter

From a Christian perspective, however, what the Easter message encourages us to do is to make ‘huge waves’ in spreading the good news that Christ has brought through his resurrection. His disciples were huddled together in a ‘bunker’ underground, frightened by the shockwaves of Jesus’ death, and looked anything but green and peaceful. What was their future? How would they cope with the maelstrom of feeling from both Romans and the Jewish leaders in the aftermath of such cruel vindictiveness?  Jesus appeared in front of them and simply said, ‘Peace be with you’ and invited them to see his hands and side as proof of his triumph over death. He even asked them to produce a piece of fish for him to eat, to dispel myths that he was just a ghost. From this time, Christ equipped his followers to go out and proclaim the Good News, and once filled with his promised Spirit at Pentecost to turn the world order upside down, beginning with the injustices within the human heart, announcing peace with God as sins are forgiven. Indeed, it is with this realization that we can be set free within that all else follows: we then see the need for the love of God to reach equally to all people, we have a passion for human life and for the world we care for. Let’s all make waves for peace…within, and make the world Green with envy, but without excluding any. At least, let’s test the waters!            

(With thanks to Revd Alex Aldous, chaplain at Prestfelde School)