Seeker

Today I had hoped to be on holiday in France. The Covid-19 lockdown meant that was cancelled. It's disappointing, but I'm grateful to be in a safe home with someone I love. Lots of people are coping with lesser or greater disappointments just now. Many people’s disappointments are expressed in sentences that begin, ‘We had hoped’. ‘We had hoped to go on holiday today’. ‘We had hoped to get married this Easter’. ‘We had hope to get enough PPE.’ ‘We had hoped to be there when s/he died.’ ‘We had hoped for a funeral with all the family and friends.’ Today's Gospel reading ( Luke 24: 13 – 35 ) is about 2 of Jesus’ disappointed followers. Jesus, in whom they had hoped, had been crucified. Confusion and fear added to their grief. Jesus' tomb was empty, his body missing. Women told of angels who said Jesus is alive. Cleopas and his companion didn't know what to believe. Bruised by the shock of Friday’s Crucifixion and Sunday’s disturbing rumours, they retreated to...

Easter Day 2020 feels like no other I have experienced. I am not yet feeling an overflow of Easter joy as I have experienced on some Easters in the past. I am feeling tired and conscious of others I know who are completley exhausted. I am feeling grief, some of it is my own and some is the grief of others who are recently bereaved. These feelings will pass, the long period of lockdown, of hiding away at home, will pass. There is hope. Once again, I am drawn to my favourite gospel account of the resurrection of Jesus, from John's gospel. I am struck again with the emotions which are there or implied - fear, bewilderment, grief. And then the slow dawn of recognition, that something not yet understood has changed. Death does not after all have the last word. Even through tears it is possible to see Jesus and know his prescence and love. "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from t...

One way to really hear a Bible story is to imagine being one of the people in the story. When reading the gospels I sometimes try to put myself in the shoes of someone who was there, who saw, heard, smelt, tasted and felt it all. What follows is my imaginative take on a story that will be read in many churches today, John 11: 1 - 45 , the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The image above shows Jesus with the dead man's sisters Mary and Martha at the entrance to Lazarus' tomb. Jesus is (shockingly) calling for Lazarus to come out. What if I had been Thomas, one of Jesus' disciples who was there at the time? How might I have reacted to what I experienced? THOMAS'S STORY I was so scared in  Jerusalem . The things Jesus said there made some think he was crazy. They nearly stoned him - tried to arrest him. We escaped with Jesus. We could have gone to  Bethany  where Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha lived – only 2 miles away - always a ...

St Thomas by El Grecco: Wikimedia Commons I was so scared that day in Jerusalem. Jesus said things that made some people think he was crazy. They nearly stoned him. They tried to arrest him. We escaped with Jesus. We could have gone to Bethany where Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha lived – only 2 miles away. We were always sure of a warm welcome there. But it was too near Jerusalem. We retreated with Jesus out of Judea, back across the Jordan river - much safer. It was good to get away and I felt relieved I can tell you. Then Jesus heard that his friend Lazarus was sick. He didn’t set off immediately to see him. Even with the danger of returning to the danger area we thought that odd. He loved that family - but he stayed put 2 more days. Eventually he said 'let's go back to Judea'. Afraid he'd be killed, we tried to talk him out of it. That was no good. Jesus was determined. He said Lazarus was asleep. He had to go to wake him up. It didn't make sens...

Easter Essentials by J. Barrie Shepherd Strip away the perfect lilies massed along, across the chancel steps, the bright reflecting sight and sound of brasses, and the white and gold of paraments and stoles. Set aside two thousand years, almost, of holy words and gestures, the jostling flotsam of an epic tidal surge of global custom and conviction, conquest too. Try to ignore this new spring sunlight, the steady warming of the soil, the waking birdsongs, green and early fragrant air. Reject all this and you are left with a report, some blood-stained bandages in a vacated garden cave, several startled temple guards, a gaggle of bewildered witnesses, and through all this a dawning hope, so strange yet sure it drives you to your trembling knees, groping for fresh syllables and sounds to shape this ever new, yet ancient cry. The Lord is risen...risen indeed! Image Credit: Flickr, CC License  

Here is one of the gospel accounts about the first witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus: "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believ...

This sculpture by Guzon Borglon is called 'Rabboni' and portrays Mary Magdalene as she turns from Jesus' empty tomb and reaches out to the man she supposed to be the gardener. When he addressed her by name, 'Mary', she responded 'Rabboni' which means Teacher. This gospel story from John 20 is read at Easter, but also today 22 July as this is the festival of Mary Magdalene. In searching for images to use for Mary Magdalene it was obvious how persistent are the false ideas about her. She was not, for example, a penitent prostitute, although much art shows her as such.  In 'Who was the real Mary Magdalene?' I wrote about who she was not and who she was. I see her as a role model for Christian discipleship  and evangelism, someone who told what she had seen and heard of Jesus. Jan Richardson has a lovely poem in her post Easter Sunday: Seen . It expresses so well the depths of Mary Magdalene's experience, the mystery of resurrection and new cr...

Here's a  new poem for Easter by J.Barrie Shepherd found here . Easter Essentials Strip away the perfect lilies massed along, across the chancel steps, the bright reflecting sight and sound of brasses, and the white and gold of paraments and stoles. Set aside two thousand years, almost, of holy words and gestures, the jostling flotsam of an epic tidal surge of global custom and conviction, conquest too. Try to ignore this new spring sunlight, the steady warming of the soil, the waking birdsongs, green and early fragrant air. Reject all this and you are left with a report, some blood-stained bandages in a vacated garden cave, several startled temple guards, a gaggle of bewildered witnesses, and through all this a dawning hope, so strange yet sure it drives you to your trembling knees, groping for fresh syllables and sounds to shape this ever new, yet ancient cry. The Lord is risen...risen indeed! Ima...

I was so scared in Jerusalem . The things Jesus said there made some think he was crazy. They nearly stoned him - tried to arrest him. We escaped with Jesus. We could have gone to Bethany where Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha lived – only 2 miles away - always a warm welcome there. But it was too near Jerusalem . We were relieved to retreat with Jesus out of Judea, back across the Jordan river - much safer. It was good to get away. Then Jesus heard Lazarus was sick. He didn’t set off immediately to see him. Even with the danger we thought that odd. He loved that family - but he stayed put 2 more days. Eventually he said 'let's go back to Judea ' . We tried to talk him out of it - afraid he’d be killed - but Jesus was determined. He said Lazarus was asleep. He had to go to wake him up. It didn't make sense. It made even less sense when Jesus said Lazarus was dead. You can't wake the dead! And we'd be too late for the burial. Why not stay safe - v...