Easter; Quote - Unquote

Truly Alive

“Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonise earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord's Prayer is about.” 

― N.T. Wright, former Bishop of Durham and Professor of New Testament Theology (Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church)

Have you ever thought this way when you pray, “Your kingdom come”? So often through Jesus teaching we hear him describing the essence of his coming kingdom, in earthly terms. The kingdom of heaven is like - a man sowing, buried treasure, a mustard seed and so we could go on listing tangible descriptions mentioned by Jesus. In many ways  we need to listen to God’s messengers who asked on that first Easter Morning, ‘Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” Luke 24:5-7

We can picture the women moving through the garden with heavy hearts, unresponsive to that dawning spring morning. They are oblivious, above all, to the glorious presence of the risen Christ. We might well pray, Lord, help me to realise that when I am weighed down with sorrow, anxiety or hopelessness, you are no further from me than you were to the women in that dawn garden.

Women are the first witnesses to the resurrection. They reveal the qualities of good disciples in their capacity to believe. Perhaps we should pray not to treat the resurrection as an idle tale, but as the message that transforms our world and gives hope to everyone.

Why do we look for the living among the dead? 

May we be able to say, You are not in any tomb, Lord. The tomb is empty. You are not a dead hero to be studied in retrospect. You are alive, and meeting us, at our side, in our hearts, feeding us through your life giving presence. The report brought by the good women, dismissed by the apostles as an idle tale, is the creed by which we must live.  Amen

Online Worship Link for Sunday 11th April

St Nicholas Methodist Church, Topsham 110421 led by members of the congregation 

https://youtu.be/77LhGPZXjEA

When the Normal becomes Abnormal

 

John 21:3-6 They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”

They answered Him, “No.”

And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.”

We continue with Jesus and his fishing disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.

It is part of human nature to seek the security of the familiar, yet there are times, try as we might, we fail to find a way of returning to a former state or place. Time and circumstance have changed what we long for, as the ‘normal’ seems to be an illusive phenomenon. The word normal is defined as “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”. But what if the ‘standard’ has changed beyond recognition or dissolved completely within the emerging human condition.

The famous quote by John Newton puts this so well; “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am”

But back to our seaside scene where we hear Jesus every day call to the disciples;‘Come and have breakfast’. How simply, sensitively and normal Jesus deals with them and wants to deal with us! He knows our needs and our hunger. He knows too that we can only manage the new normal revelations of the divine in small portions. I could do well before my daily breakfast to listen to the Lord speaking my name and saying ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Imagine him serving me, if not with bread and fish, perhaps with a muffin and coffee! I begin to notice that through the day he continues to serve me what I need.

Ponder, how does Peter feel in this scene? Somewhere in the back of his mind he sensed where that catch of fish had come from. Surely now his heart breaks open in repentant love when he is treated so kindly by the person he had betrayed? Suddenly the every day familiar call has a newness and raises in us the question,  “Am I open to God’s kindly care which picks me gently up when I have fallen?” 

Prayer 

Jesus, you meet me at the water’s edge of my ordinary life with extraordinary love and patience. You accept me lovingly, you encourage me, you invite me to abundance. Nourished by the food of your word, warmed by the fire of your unfailing love, may I in turn nourish, heal and love those I meet today. Amen

Getting back to normal

John 21:1-3 “After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.  Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”

I must admit, as I view the prospects of emerging from the abnormal brought about by the pandemic into what has been dubbed the “new-normal”, I find myself questioning what do we mean by normality. 

Brandon Ambrosino, a freelance writer, in an article for the BBC asserts, “The new normal, in other words, changes what was wrong but keeps what was right with the old normal. But if the old normal was wrong, then why did we call it normal? Similarly, if the new normal is different from the old one, how can we pretend we’re still dealing with “normal”?”

Confused! Well this was the situation that the disciples found themselves in during the post Easter period. From the gospel record it would appear that the disciples yearned for some kind of the old normal and returned to their former work as fishermen on the Sea of Tiberias. 

Yet, it was even here in the familiar that the Risen Jesus meets his friends as they returned to their life as former occupation. They find him close to them as they go about their work. He makes it bear abundant fruit, precisely when they felt they had laboured a whole night in vain. Perhaps in our post Easter situation we should ask to be able to encounter the Risen Lord, and that our work will bear abundant fruit through his presence.

Also, in our minds eye, should we too stay with the image of Jesus cooking breakfast for his friends. As if he had nothing better to do: couldn’t he go to the Temple to address the crowds, or on Calvary to show them he was alive, so that they believe in him? He chooses to spend time in intimate contact with his friends, preparing them for their mission after his departure, giving them a strong experience of his closeness. Do we give enough time to develop our relationship with Jesus, or am I too busy doing ‘good things’ for him, trying to conjure up a new normality of our own making?

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the gift of our minds.  We praise you for the blessings you give: in how we can grow in what we know, be wise to live in your ways, and come to understand the depth of your Kingdom’ purpose in us. For your transforming truth that would refresh and renew our minds in you today and always, we bless you, through Jesus Christ our Light of Truth and Life.  Amen

Hope for the hopeless

One can but just imagine the thoughts and conversation of the two Emmaus disciples as they travelled the Highway of Heartbreak, ‘We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.’ Perhaps our feelings at times are so similar to the Emmaus duo, full of disappointed hopes, which make us angry or even resentful. On our journey it is important to get in touch with the disappointments of our hearts, and imagine Jesus walking with us as we struggle to regain hope and trust. 

This post Easter Episode offers a rich image of prayer. We start out on our own, perhaps quite hopeless, if life has been going badly. Jesus comes by unobtrusively; we welcome him and tell our story. He listens intently, then gently throws light on what had been bothering you.

For Jesus, the key is found in the Scriptures, especially in the great mystery of the Cross, which seems to be the only way to the Resurrection. We too can ask Jesus to enlighten us and to set our hearts burning as he did to the two disciples.

Friendship grows and by the end of the prayer we don’t want him to leave, but we know he will always be watching out for us and will meet us again tomorrow. We can pray: ‘Stay with me, Lord, because it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.’’

Cleopas and his companion saw and heard Jesus without knowing that they did. Did Jesus, in his discussion of Moses and the prophets on the road to Emmaus, remind his listeners of Moses’ admonition that “the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart” (Deuteronomy 30:14)?

Can we sense the nearness of the Lord? He is near us in his word, in his personal presence in our daily  worship, and in our own conscience. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus, this story tells us so much about you. You are: not passive ethereal being, but a pursuer, not a benign, nice associate, but one who risks speaking the truth in love. Not a coercive overpowering presence, but a patient teacher. Not an isolated, individualistic prophet, but a guest, even a host, whose true character is seen in table fellowship.

We praise you as our patient teacher, our ever-pursuing Lord.

Stay with us, too, we pray,

in every part of our journey,

no matter how full of doubt or fear we may be today.

Through your Holy Spirit,

we pray that you will open our eyes, too

Help us see you as our risen Lord

in all your beauty,

and in all your loving power.

Amen.

What now?

Locked doors and Lock down

"When the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" (John 20:19).

It is perhaps easier for us, with our 20-20 hindsight vision of the Easter narrative, to not see how difficult is was for the first disciples. Even though they had seen the risen Christ, fear was the overwhelming thought that invaded their hearts and minds. The gospel tells us quite plainly that the disciples were in a form of self imposed isolation, and locked in by fear. 

Whenever John uses the words ‘the Jews’, he is not talking about the identity of the population at large, but specifically the Sanhedrin authorities who had demanded the demise of their Master.

In our current post Easter period, with the slight easing of lockdown restrictions, many are finding it difficult; that there is a mental or emotional locked door restricting their wellbeing. In fact this scenario has its own diagnosis.

‘Post-lockdown anxiety', as it was recently dubbed by mental-health charity Anxiety UK, and is the fear or worry of returning to normal life as lockdown measures are relaxed.

 

Despite the easing of the lockdown, a survey by Ipsos Mori showed that more than 60% of Britons are uncomfortable with the prospect of returning to bars and restaurants, using public transport or going to a large gathering, such as a sporting event.

Such fear, whether found in the Upper Room or within our own homes is the emotion that keeps us in hiding and paralyses us into inactivity. God knew we were going to struggle with fear because his word instructs us not to fear in over 300 Bible verses. The whole of the Easter Message is that we can boldly face life, knowing Jesus' sacrifice on the cross connects you to the power and protection of God the Father.

It was John Newton who pointed out, “If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, His arm over us, His ear open to our prayer - His grace sufficient, His promise unchangeable.”

Dear Lord, Your words were clear. I am never to worry about what’s going to happen tomorrow, because you haven’t given me the grace to bear up under tomorrow’s concerns until I get there. So help me not to borrow worries from the future. Rather, help me to invest in faith. Help me choose to look for your hand working on my behalf today—and trust you, in simple faith, for my future and accept the peace you offer. Amen

What Now?

So the day of Easter Glory is behind us and in my mind I wonder how many of those who had raised their palms and listened to Jesus teaching were now contemplating, what to do now. Where they to continue believing Him, or return to their former ways.  Where they glass half full or glass half empty people?

A story is told of a woman approached her pastor to inform him that she’d no longer be attending his church.

Perplexed by her decision, the pastor pressed her as to why.

“Ah! I saw a woman gossiping about another member; a man that is a hypocrite; the worship team living wrong; people looking at their phone during service; among so many other things wrong in your church,” she replied.

The pastor was sad to hear her reasoning, but not surprised, as he’s heard it all before. That’s why he let her go. But not before she did one final thing for him.

“But before you go, do me a favour: Take a full glass of water and walk around the church three times without spilling a drop on the ground. Afterward, leave the church if you desire.” 

An odd request to say the least, but the woman knew it would be a piece of cake.

She followed his instructions, walked three times around the church with her full glass of water, and returned to him — task completed.

The pastor prompted her with just one more thing before she left:

“Before you leave I want to ask you one more question. When you were walking around the church, did you see anyone gossiping?”

She told him, “no.”

Then he asked if she’d spotted any hypocrites, or come across anyone on their phones.

Again the woman replied, “no.”

Then the pastor offered up this perspective-shattering, thought-provoking analogy that would leave even some nonbelievers shouting “amen.”

“You were focused on the glass, to make sure you didn’t stumble and spill any water. It’s the same with our life. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we don’t have time to see the mistakes of others. We will reach out a helping hand to them and concentrate on our own walk with the Lord.”

Prayerfully read

 “For this reason I kneel before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen me with power through his Spirit in my inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. And I pray that I, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that I may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Amen (Ephesians 3:14-19 Adapted)