The end?

Grief plays tricks on us.

Mary must have been mistaken. Unless she was lying. Because how could she possibly have seen Jesus?

With his mother and the other women she had stayed with him on his final journey to death, faithfully sitting at the foot of the cross, hearing every cry and groan as the life ebbed from his body.

Mary must have been mistaken. Unless she was lying. Because how could she possibly have seen Jesus?

He died on the cross in public view. His body suffered a gradual and horrible death from which there could be no healing. A soldier plunged a spear into his side and pierced his lung to make certain of his death.

Mary must have been mistaken. Unless she was lying. Because how could she possibly have seen Jesus?

His body was prepared for the grave with the spices provided by his rich friends. He had been wrapped tightly in grave clothes and left in the tomb. There could have been no doubt that they were dealing with a dead body.

Mary must have been mistaken. Unless she was lying. Because how could she possibly have seen Jesus?

Mary came to the tomb and saw the stone which sealed it had been removed.

Mary must have been mistaken. Unless she was lying. Because how could she possibly have seen Jesus?

She ran in distress to tell Peter and another disciple. They came back with her and saw that Jesus’ body had gone. The men went home, convinced something had happened, but not sure what.

Mary must have been mistaken. Unless she was lying. Because how could she possibly have seen Jesus?

Mary was left alone at the tomb, weeping. Two angels sat where Jesus’ body had been laid. They told her Jesus wasn’t there.

Mary must have been mistaken. Unless she was lying. Because how could she possibly have seen Jesus?

She met a stranger, and pleaded with him to tell her where the body was.

Mary must have been mistaken. Unless she was lying. Because how could she possibly have seen Jesus?

And finally, when he spoke, she realised this stranger was Jesus.

Mary must have been mistaken. Unless she was lying. Because how could she possibly have seen Jesus?

She went to the tomb weeping for his loss. She came back declaring ‘I have seen the Lord.’

Mary must have been mistaken. Unless she was lying. Because how could she possibly have seen Jesus?

We have a choice. God always gives us a choice.

We can believe that death was the end of the story.

Or we can believe that death was the start of the story.

Mary must have been mistaken. Unless she was lying. Because how could she possibly have seen Jesus?

Years before, an angel had told another Mary, who was to become Jesus’ mother, ‘Nothing will be impossible with God.’ Luke 1.37

Mary must have been mistaken. Unless she was lying. Because how could she possibly have seen Jesus?

But what if she did?

Today’s Bible reading is John 20:1-18.

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The whole truth

Jesus died as a convicted criminal. He was despised and mocked while he was dying. As a wandering preacher, he owned nothing when he was alive but the clothes he wore, and his clothing was taken by the soldiers who guarded him on the Cross.

When someone has died, laying them to rest is the last service we feel we can do them. But special permission was needed to take down the body of the crucified. And even if Jesus’ family and friends had been allowed to take his body from the cross, they could not afford a tomb to put him in.

Joseph of Arimethea and Nicodemus were two powerful and influential men who had spoken with Jesus in secret but had never admitted to being followers. They gave themselves away by asking for permission to bury him.

They took Jesus from the cross, prepared his body with costly spices and put him in a new tomb – an honour usually reserved for kings.

When Jesus was alive, Joseph and Nicodemus hid their relationship with him. Now he was dead they openly declared themselves as his supporters. We can see Jesus’ influence working even after his death as the need to honour him moves them to act boldly. Although Jesus was dead, he was still changing people.

Jesus brought hope to people who felt they weren’t good enough to ask for God’s love and forgiveness. He transformed people’s lives with his healing power. And even in death, his influence and example changed the way people lived.

That was the truth about Jesus. But it wasn’t the whole truth.

Today’s Bible reading is John 19:38-42.

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Seven Words from the Cross

Jesus said: Father forgive them – they don’t know what they’re doing

I don’t want to forgive them, they don’t deserve it. They knew what they were doing. They should be taught a lesson, they should know what it feels like, they should be paid back for what they’ve done.

On the Cross, Jesus begs God to forgive his killers. How can we refuse to forgive?  Luke 23:34

Jesus said to the thief: Today you will be in paradise with me

The thief said to Jesus: I deserve to die, but why must you?

Jesus said: So that you can be in paradise with me.

Luke 23:43

Jesus said to his mother: Woman, this is your son

Then he said to the disciple: This is your mother.

How blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.   

John 19:26-27

Jesus said: My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?

They say he loved sinners, preferred prostitutes and thieves to God fearing people like you and me.

They say he healed the sick and helped the needy.  There are strange rumours about his miracles.  I know someone who says they saw him bring Jairus’ daughter back to life!

Yet now he dies in hideous pain, needy and outcast himself.   So  much for his miracles!      Mark 15:34

Jesus said: I am thirsty

How blessed are those who hunger and thirst to see right prevail.

Quick! Fetch wine and hyssop. Ease his pain.

No – wait. I’m scared.  Perhaps God will send someone like Elijah to rescue him?

There is no-one to rescue him but you.   John 19:28

Jesus said: It is finished

His life is finished-
He has died as we all must die

He helped the poor and weak and suffering
but in the end they put a stop to it.

I knew it was too good to last.   

John 19:28

Jesus said: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit

But did God hear? Where was he? Why did he allow this?

Jesus taught us God is on the side of the weak and poor.

So why did he let the powerful win yet again?

Luke 23:46

Today’s Bible readings are here.

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Love one another

If you’ve ever walked around in sandals on a hot day you’ll know how sore and dry the dust can make your feet feel. In hot countries washing feet is a gesture of hospitality, but it isn’t personally offered by the host. Where Jesus lived, a parent would wash a child’s feet, but a host would never wash a guest’s feet – a slave would do it.

Jesus chose twelve people to be with him during his ministry of teaching and healing. They were called his ‘disciples’ because they were learning from him. The disciples called him their teacher and their Lord. So when Jesus wrapped a towel around himself in the middle of supper and prepared to wash their feet, it must have felt as if things were completely upside down.

Peter, not for the first time, tried to correct Jesus. He was doing something that only a slave would do. Surely this was wrong?

Jesus’ gesture is a gesture of service and humility, but also, like a parent who washes a child’s feet, a gesture of love and care. He isn’t doing it because he’s been told to but because he wants to.

We can see from Peter’s reaction to Jesus how hard it can be to accept love on someone else’s terms. Jesus is teacher and Lord so Jesus shouldn’t wash feet. Peter won’t accept the gesture because it will turn their relationship upside down.  But Jesus says unless Peter can accept having his feet washed, unless he can accept being loved, he can’t share in who Jesus is and what he’s doing.

Jesus told his disciples: Love one another. This means that each must love, and each must accept love. Otherwise we can have no share in him.

Love can be dangerous. It makes us vulnerable to being hurt, it makes us feel someone else’s pain as if it were our own, and it gives other people power over us. 

As the song says, love changes everything.

Today’s Bible reading is John 13:1-35.

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Imagine

When I worked in a prison, I learnt that a lot of people commit crimes simply because they lack imagination. If you can’t imagine the effect your actions will have on other people, then there isn’t much to discourage you from doing exactly what you want.

It’s been found that once someone understands the effects of their crime on other people they are much less likely to reoffend. Some prisoners enter rehabilitation programmes in which they are enabled to see their crimes from the point of view of the victim. Others take part in restorative justice programmes where they come face to face with their victims. When someone finally understands how it felt to be on the receiving end of the crime, they can suddenly see why they shouldn’t do it again.

Jesus seems to have known that once he was caught and tried by the authorities his death would inevitably follow. But I wonder if Judas understood that. He had been offered a large amount of money to give them the information they needed – but did he think beyond that to what would happen once Jesus had been arrested? Perhaps he just didn’t think that far ahead? Or perhaps he thought someone as powerful as Jesus could look after himself?

Judas is thinking about what he wants, about the power and influence that money will buy him. Jesus makes himself vulnerable to the failings and frailties of others to the point of dying for them.

Whose example do we follow?

Today’s Bible reading is John 13:21-32.

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Turn!

My friend put some newly hatched tadpoles into a goldfish bowl so her three year old son could watch their development. The next day she found him with his hands either side of the bowl, carefully turning it round and round. As the bowl moved he chanted ‘Turn! Turn! Turn into frogs!’

It’s difficult to understand things which are outside our experience. It can be like trying to work out the picture on a jigsaw when most of the pieces are missing. But as more pieces are slotted into place there comes a point when we suddenly say ‘Now I see it!’

Jesus’ teaching was often puzzling to the people who heard it. He talked in stories, riddles, and obscure images that didn’t always make immediate sense

In the shadow of his own approaching death, Jesus used the example of a seed to show that death is not the end of life, but a transformation which brings greater life. The plant can only grow out of the small, inert looking seed if the seed is destroyed in the process.

But there is another side to this. New life can’t happen if the old life doesn’t give way.

Jesus says ‘Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life’.

This sounds like a riddle. Those who love life, lose it; those who hate life, keep it.

But he is talking about two different kinds of life. There is life as we live it in the here and now, and life we could live as part of God’s eternal now. We have the potential to grow and bear fruit as part of God’s abundant plan for the world – or we can stay as we are. We can’t do both.

Jesus said ‘The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’  John 10:10.

The seed doesn’t have a choice – if the conditions are right, new life will start to spring forth. But we do have a choice. We can choose to hold on to who we are or turn  into who God wants us to be.

Today’s Bible reading is John 12:20-36.

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Always with you

When Jesus and his followers visited the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, Mary poured costly perfumed oil on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair.

Jesus went out of his way to spend time with the poor and disadvantaged. When a rich young man asked how to gain eternal life, Jesus told him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor.  So Judas must have felt very sure of himself when he criticised Mary for pouring such a valuable resource away. Surely Jesus would agree that Mary, too, should have sold what she had to give it to the poor?

It must have been a shock to Judas when Jesus told him to leave Mary alone. And perhaps we can sympathise with his reaction. Even though we are told that Judas is really motivated by greed, isn’t the point he makes a good one? Isn’t it wrong to spend money on luxuries when people are in need?

Jesus knows he is close to being captured and killed. Mary is showing her love and concern for a friend in trouble. Judas is not thinking about Jesus, but the money. It is so much easier to talk in abstract terms about helping ‘the poor’ than to see the suffering person right under your nose and give him what he needs then and there.

When someone we love is about to die they become the whole focus of our existence. To Judas the perfume represents money, but to Mary it is a sign of love and a last act of service before Jesus faces death.

Jesus says ‘You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.’ The poor are a symptom of our disordered world. We can’t cure measles by putting ointment on the rash, and we can’t cure poverty by applying money to it. The causes of poverty are inequality, crime, disease and human greed and the only cure for these things is the transformation of people’s hearts.

Jesus gave up his life so that God’s transforming love might pour onto us, and through us into the world. But like Judas and Mary, each of us must make our own choice about whether we accept it.

Today’s Bible reading is John 12:1-11.

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Palm Sunday – Fear not

Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.

Look, your king is coming,

sitting on a donkey’s colt!

John 12.15

The great crowd which gathered around Jesus tore branches off trees and proclaimed him to be the King of Israel. It must have been frightening for anyone who was caught up in the crowd without meaning to be; and even more frightening for the religious authorities to see the power that Jesus had over people.

When people are in God’s presence, their first reaction is often fear. It’s natural to be scared when we are faced with something or someone we can’t control, and there is no force on earth or in heaven that can control God. We are entirely reliant on his good will towards us. Our language reflects the fear that such power creates in us; we call people of faith ‘God-fearing’ and say of frightening experiences and people that they ‘put the fear of God’ into us.

Fear has a physical effect. Adrenaline rushes into our bloodstream, creating the ‘fight or flight’ reaction. If we want to make someone do something, it’s easier to threaten that to persuade. If we frighten someone, they will act rather than think things through and come to a measured decision.

But although God can scare us, that isn’t how he wants to relate to us. When the angels announced Jesus’ birth to shepherds on the hillside, they told them not to be afraid. When an angel appeared to Mary, Jesus’ mother, he told her not to be afraid. And Jesus often told people not to be anxious or afraid.

Throughout his life, Jesus chose to demonstrate God’s love for the weak, the poor and the outcast by spending time with them. He didn’t scare people into believing in him but brought them into the kingdom of God by the power of love.

Paradoxically, Jesus taught us that people don’t change because of fear but when they know they are loved and accepted as they are.

Instead of using his power to protect himself from crucifixion, Jesus gave himself up to the worst that human power could do to him. If he had not given in to human power we would never have seen the infinitely greater power of God’s love.

Today’s Bible reading is John 12:12-16.

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