Review 2012

"Gratitude is the memory of the heart." 

- Jean Baptiste Massieu, translated from French

          "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

when we pray for you,

since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the

love that you have for all the believers."   

                    (Colossians 1. 3,4)               

Easter

'Jesus is alive! I saw him!' These were the words Mary Magdalene shouted as she burst through the door into the room where Jesus' friends had gathered to mourn his death. The other two women followed quickly behind her. 'I am telling the truth, Jesus is alive! '

I wonder how the disciples felt when they heard Mary's news. Did they shout for joy? Did they think she was out of her mind with grief? Luke 24. 11 tells us that 'they did not believe her.'

In many ways we can relate to these events. The idea of a resurrection from the dead still sounds ridiculous. If it was true, it is crazy and upside down, and challenges everything we have been taught to believe about the world and the way it works.

If you don't believe me, check out this link. A scientist responds to the resurrection and shares his own thoughts on it. Along with the short video there are some other facts and evidence provided below called go deeper. It is worth checking out. 

http://www.christianityexplored.org/tough-questions/resurrection

Along with the sceptics, there are others who know how Mary felt as she looked around at the grieving faces of unbelief: Their looks of bewilderment, pity, even annoyance and scorn.

It is difficult to stand alone when others have not seen what you have seen.

But, Peter, Peter listened to what Mary had to say. Peter stood apart.. He turned and immediately ran straight out the door. He ran down the narrow streets of Jerusalem. He ran past the guards at the gate and down to the garden where they buried his Lord. And there he saw with his own eyes, that the Roman guards were gone and the huge stone had been rolled away. Peter bowed his head and went inside, thinking that the tomb was completely empty. But then, bending over, he saw the linen burial clothes, still wrapped around each other, like an empty chrysalis. The Face cloth, however was set apart and folded neatly on its own. Matthew 24 says that Peter 'went away wondering to himself what had happened.'

And I think to myself, what a wonderful place for someone to start on the journey of faith.

Over to you:

Who would you say that you identify with best: Mary, Peter, or the group of people in the room? Why?

Stuck

We all sat around in the sitting room admiring the new baby. I count it such a privilege to meet up with new parents to discuss their hopes and plans. On this occasion, we were discussing plans for their second child. It had been about a year since I had seen them last, at the Christening of their first child.

After discussing diary dates and filling in the paperwork, they shared how much it meant to them to have prayers said for God's blessing. It brought to mind the Bible readings about Jesus blessing the children, and so I asked if they had a Bible we could look at together. And that is when the conversation had stalled. The couple look at each other. No one seems to know the answer. Trying to help, I suggested the Bible we had given at the Christening of their first child. 

  

'Oh.. Yes', she said with a look of great relief. 'We have put it in a memory box for safe keeping. It's packed away in the loft.'

I have to admit, at that moment, my heart sank. 

Today is the day before Easter. 

I am trying to imagine what it was like. Eye witnesses removed the body of Jesus from the cross. Tearing the nails from his hands and feet, and then wrapping his body with linen clothes; they laid him in a tomb (Matthew 27. 57 – 66). Four Roman solders were posted as guards and that the Emperor's own seal of protection was fixed to a massive stone rolled into the entrance. All emotions had been spent. And as far as everyone was concerned, the body Jesus was now packed away for safe keeping.

But then I wonder, what else has been packed away for safe keeping?

What are your memories, hopes, fears from long ago?

When something is locked away inside us, it can become a problem. A problem with our physical health usually affects some aspect of our ability to move freely. In a similar way, a problem with our mental health cam affect our ability to move freely in our thoughts and aspirations. Part of us becomes fixed to one place. We become stuck.

Jesus was laid inside a tomb and locked away for safekeeping, or so they thought. But, 'It was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.' (Acts 2.24) Instead, Jesus enters the tomb to remove the sting, turning the place of death into a place of rest - between the cross and resurrection.

The author of the Narnia books, CS Lewis, wrote his stories to help people understand more about God. The Lion the Witch and Wardrobe includes a vivid scene where Aslan steps in to take the punishment for Edmund the traitor. In a harrowing scene, we watch from the shadows with Lucy and Susan as the mighty lion surrenders himself to be ridiculed and tied down. His glorious mane is pulled out and finally Aslan is stabbed with a knife by the wicked Queen. Afterwards, when everyone has gone and the dust has settled, the girls are left alone, inconsolable at the scene. Suddenly, with a thunderous sound, the table breaks in half and Aslan too is gone. When they look for him, the girls find him standing right in front of them, every bit the King he always was! 

'Aslan is on the move.' And so are we, if Jesus is the one we are following. 

Now over to you:

• What do you do with your memories?

• Is the death and burial of Jesus something you have ever thought about before? What do you think about it? (You may wish to spend some time reading and responding to Matthew 27. 57 – 66)

• 'Aslan is on the move.' Where is God leading you now? 

 

 

The Kiss

As I open the door, I hear the steady breathing of my sleeping daughter. Instinctively I lean over and gently kiss her on the forehead. She doesn't stir. Quietly, I step back and close the door behind me, smiling. I think to myself, daughters are very precious indeed. 

The kiss. The perfect kiss happens in a moment, but time may stand still for an eternity.

A kiss requires our full attention. Albert Einstein once said: 'Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves'.

'A man's kiss is his signature,' says Mae West. And yet, isn't it also true that some signatures leave nothing but a scribble, just a forgery?

I wonder, have you ever been betrayed by a kiss?

Judas, one of Jesus' closest friends, was a trusted companion. For three years, he ate, slept, travelled, cried, and laughed with Jesus. Jesus shared his life with his friend until the end. And yet, for reasons we may never fully understand, Judas chose to turn on his friend. He collaborated with those who wanted to kill Jesus and identified him to the Roman guards with a kiss.

The wounds of an enemy may hurt, but the wounds of a friend cut deep.

During Holy Week we are reminded of the silence of Jesus in the pain he suffered. His journey to the cross exposed the evil all around him. The secret plotting behind closed doors; the unfair arrest, the mock trials, the abusive lashings, the crown of thorns and finally the walk of death; carrying his own cross outside the city to the place where they crucified him.

But the cross reminds me of another kind of kiss signed with love -

                             A perfect love that is tender, loyal and true.

                             A powerful love that remains vulnerable and forgiving.

The love of Jesus never demands its own way and never turns away.

It is a patient and strong, even stronger than death.

...But that leads us to another story!

Now over to you:

• What does a kiss mean to you? Can you remember a special kiss?

• If you are a parent, how does your feelings about your own children give you an insight into the way God thinks about you? Do you think that God thinks to himself, 'daughters (and sons) are very precious indeed!'
• Disappointment and hurt from betrayal of trust can cut deep. How can it help in the healing process to know that Jesus identifies with us in our pain?
• The cross of Jesus has become the symbol for Christian faith. What does the cross mean to you?

Prayer suggestions:

• Pray for those who are have been betrayed by family members or close friends
• The cross exposes evil intentions of the heart. Pray for God's protection of those who are vulnerable to evil in our parish.
• The cross demonstrates God's love. Give thanks that he identifies with our pain and suffers with us in Jesus. Ask Jesus to show you more of his love.