Jesus is Risen!
Sometimes I hate Christmas! Every year I’m faced with the same conflict; on the one hand I want to embrace all that Christmas means in our country today – presents, family, turkey, tinsel etc.. but while doing this there is a danger that I can forget about the true meaning of Christmas.
The same thing can happen at Easter. There is a danger that I spend the whole time stuffing my face with Easter eggs ( cream eggs are my favourites if any of you are thinking about buying me one ) that I can forget what it’s all about.
This is made worse by the fact that Easter is not much of a holiday these days with many people working on Good Friday and only really having a 3 day weekend in which to do all the family stuff.
It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the fact that if I was to choose between Christmas and Easter as to which one was the most important I would always choose Easter. Okay so Christmas might have a cute baby, pretty angels and some farm animals, as opposed to an execution, but while Christmas tells the story of God coming to Earth in human form it is the Easter story where God’s plan comes together and finally makes sense.
As most of us will already know the true meaning of the Easter story my point is that we should have as our top priority this Easter to try and find some time to reflect on it’s meaning. I am reminded of Psalm 46 v 10 ‘Be still and know that I am God’. No matter how busy we are likely to be over Easter, whether that is with overindulgence of chocolate or with family and other commitments, we should prioritise some time to ‘Be still and know that I am God’. For if Easter is to have any real meaning we must give ourselves chance to remind ourselves of that meaning.
You could of course do this by yourself by just taking some time out or you could come and do it at St. Paul’s where there are events on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Day where you’ll have chance to stop stuffing yourself cream eggs or overindulging in what you’ve been struggling to live without for lent and focus on what Easter is all about.
Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. ‘I am the light of the world’ he said. ‘Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness’ ~ John 8:12
Some of the earlier entries in this blog have been pictures that different people did at the Parish weekend about what Lent means to them. Alexander (5?) and Katarina (3?) were sitting on our table and they drew the ‘Pancake Train’ that appeared on Day 16. At the time I presumed that this was because they like trains! Now I wonder if I underestimated their artistic genius! As we approach Easter I realise just how much that picture symbolises how I feel about Lent. The picture that Alexander and Katarina drew is on black paper so it looks a bit like the train is going through a tunnel. And in some ways that’s what Lent feels like to me – a journey through a time of darkness. We haven’t yet reached the darkest point in the tunnel – Good Friday – when Jesus was killed and the Light of the World was extinguished. But very quickly after the darkest time the train comes hurtling out of the tunnel and into the dazzling brightness that is Easter! This image reminds me of the line from the song ‘In Christ alone’ : ‘Then bursting forth on glorious day, up from the grave he rose again!’ Wow! There’s something about this image that really excites me. It’s something to celebrate. Jesus died. A terrible, agonising death, that doesn’t bear thinking about. But then he ‘burst forth’ in victory over sin and death and he continues to dazzle us with the radiance of his light! And because of what Jesus did we need never fear the darkness again. I’m excited about Easter – I hope you are too!
Easter reflection
When civilization finally collapses, and law and order breaks down, I’ll steal a van and drive down to Trafalgar square and lift Caravaggio’s Meal at Emmaus from its wall at the National Gallery and bring it home. I’ll liberate a few more paintings but this will be the first, because it is such a brilliant portrayal of the astonishment and delight that Jesus’ resurrection brought to his friends. From the very second that they knew he was alive nothing could possibly be the same for them again.
I can’t share their astonishment because I have been aware of the resurrection of Jesus for as long as I can remember, but I think I can share their delight. In fact my appreciation of what that event means seem to get deeper as time goes by. That’s not, self evidently, because I am getting any more holy, but because I am seeing more of life – losing people I have loved, visiting hard and poverty struck nations, becoming less optimistic about institutions, sharing in the struggles of friends and family. In all of this I’m seeing the fragility of life but finding no reason to trust Jesus any less and more and more reasons to see him as the foundation for all my reliable hope.
I’m finding that, strangely enough, the mysterious and astounding rising of this man from death seems to be the most realistic and clear headed way of approaching the sorrows and struggles of our world.
So …. Happy Easter.
Some of you will have heard of the Brick Testament, but for those of you who haven’t, it is essentially the Bible in Lego form! It covers events from Genesis right through to Revelation, and can be found here http://www.thebricktestament.com/.
We used the following image from the Brick Testament in our youth work this Sunday:
It struck me that even when it’s made out of lego, the image of Jesus carrying the cross on which he was to be crucified is an extremely powerful one. During Lent, we remember the time Jesus spent in the desert; being challenged by the devil and fighting temptation. His obedience to God is astounding here, and as Philippians 2 verse 8 says, he then, ‘became obedient to death —even death on a cross!’
This image, made from lego or otherwise, brings home to me the cost of the obedience that Jesus showed. He humbled himself, enduring humiliation, pain, and ultimately death, allowing us to be in relationship with God. All too often I forget the price that was paid to make this relationship possible. If the temple curtain hadn’t been torn in two, we would still be kept at a distance from God. Instead, thanks to Jesus’ saving death, we can pray to God, talk to him, tell him our concerns, our hopes, our fears. We can listen to Him, ask Him what he wants us to do, what he wants for our lives. What an incredible privilege!
And yet sometimes I see talking to God as a chore; something I should do so I can tick it off my list. Imagine how my friends would feel if I talked to them just so I could cross that task off my to do list? Pretty undervalued I think, so I have no idea how God must feel about it! We are able to talk to the creator of the universe – as we look towards Easter, let’s rejoice in that possibility, and make the most of this amazing gift.
Last week at the St Paul’s Welcome Evening, John Lee shared several images that he feels are useful to look at when thinking about the vision of St Paul’s as a church. Here’s one of them – see what you think!
And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love – how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullnesss of God. ~ Ephesians 3 v 18, 19
I don’t come from a church tradition where Lent is observed. Lent as a 40 day practice is a new experience for me. I did some research and found that Lent was; in short; remembering Christ and what He has done for us. Many verses and prayers that I came across on the internet referred to our ‘Father’; Father God; Father in heaven.
This got me thinking.
What if we dont have an understanding of Father? The phrase ‘Fatherless Generation’ has been used by many organisations and churches with reference to people who would now be in their late 20′s or early 30′s. Unfortunately, it is on the increase and includes many who are younger than this, and even some who are older. For those who have had absent or distant fathers, there is a distinct lack of understanding and experience of a loving father. Sometimes fathers can be present but far from positive.
Having had the privilege of being raised by my father, I can tell you that it is so much more than love. It is the way they show their pride, the way they protect, the way they encourage. I experienced all of these things from my father. Even so, I am still overwhelmed by the love of my Father, God. I have had all of the postive experience of a physical father and yet the extent of love from God is sometimes difficult to comprehend.
As a church, we want to share the love of God our Father and introduce Christ to others so that they may have the same awesome experience of knowing His love, grace and mercy. How do we do that when the very emotional image we are presenting is a complete unknown or negative? I dont have the answer, I wish I did!
So, this wasn’t very much about Lent……or was it?
A few months ago, Helena discovered Christian media company Igniter Media. Some of their videos are thought provoking, others are just funny, but the ones I’ve seen have all been great. The following is one of their’s; a simple but effective look at the differences between following the crowd or following the cross. Enjoy!
If you want to see more videos like this one, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/IgniterMedia
Re-reading Ben Brady’s Blog this morning I was shamed – in fact I realised that I am shamed by the whole of Ben’s family – knowing them as I do to give up sleep, chocolate and booze is impossible – yet they are doing it because they want to give respect for Jesus. What am I doing? – nothing! What do I usually do? – nothing! Shame on you Chris Woodcock. So from today I am giving up booze and chocolate. I know there is hardly any time left to suffer the deprivation but know this dear readers that my bitter pill is coated in shame!! And thank you Lord that you are not bothered about chocolate or booze any way but you are bothered about intention and hearts so my giving up even at this short notice is so that I can talk to him about all the other stuff in my life that I feel ashamed of and so that I can truly receive all his resurrection love stuff into my heart on Easter Sunday.
