Jesus’ friends were in lockdown for fear of the Jews. We have been locked away in fear of COVID 19, afraid that we might catch it and die or pass it on to those we love. Fear is at its worst when it separates us from loved ones and neighbours, placing a wedge between us. Fear paralyses us impacting our thinking and decision-making in negative ways, leaving us susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions. Physically it can leave us with a weakened immune system, increased cardiovascular damage, gastrointestinal problems such as ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome, impaired formation of long-term memories, sweating, fatigue, clinical depression, and PSTD. Emerging from lockdown it is becoming apparent that many are suffering with poor mental health. Those sheltering for health reasons living on their own have been particularly vulnerable. Some have slipped into dementia, some are no longer confident enough to go out or drive the car, some have lost track of time, their sense of purpose and place. Many have lost hope and vision for the future. We have been told that our way out of lockdown is science. Whilst this is true to some extent, (I am grateful for the vaccines) it does not address our psychological and spiritual needs. It is not surprising that the disciples of Jesus were afraid. They had witnessed the shameful humiliation of Jesus and had ran away so that they wouldn’t have to witness the horror and brutality of crucifixion. In the brutal society in which they lived, they would have witnessed this horror many times and they knew they could be next. Their Jewish neighbours knew they were disciples of Jesus, so they had hidden themselves away for protection. In our gospel Jesus starts bringing healing to the 120 men and women disciples upon whom the Holy Spirit would fall at Pentecost. Mary Magdalene had excitedly told them that she had seen the Lord and Peter and John had witnessed the empty tomb. We do not know what their thoughts were at this time. My guess is that they were in emotional turmoil, too afraid to think, to believe or disbelieve. Sometimes we feel like that, too exhausted, ill, fearful or depressed to pray. It is too great a risk to open the door of our lives and our hearts to Jesus. Jesus recognises when we are fearful and vulnerable and comes alongside us even when we don’t recognise him or have the power to respond. He asks that we don’t lock him out and when we recognise him we invite him in. Jesus came to his frightened friends, through locked doors in the evening of the day he rose from the dead. He stood among them and used the normal Jewish greeting, ‘Peace be with you,’ used throughout our church services and still used by Jews and Moslems when they greet each other. Shalom! Salaam Aleichem! All that is good for your flourishing in life be yours, healing, mental well being, love, joy, children, good finances and wealth. Jesus could have come with recriminations for the way his disciples had failed him before resuming a relationship with them but this would have been more than they could have coped with, even if it might have been what they expected. Jesus then showed them his hands and side. I do not believe that was just to prove that he was their friend who had been crucified and was now alive. There would have been easier, less gory ways of proving who he was. He was saying suffering is not the last word. He was showing them what it meant to be fully alive, healed, delivered from death, full of the Holy Spirit, full of love, joy and peace. He was also opening the whole of himself up to them. Whilst Jesus’ body still bore the scars of crucifixion, his body was not like ours. He had not knocked on the door and been let in. His spiritual body had come through locked doors. When the disciples become less frozen, they rejoiced. Jesus repeated, ‘Peace be with you,” to disciples more able to receive the gift he brought. When we offer one another the peace in imitation of Jesus we are offering both the gift of ourselves and the peace of Christ within us. How can we hurt or mistrust someone with whom we have shared that peace? Jesus’ next words were not designed to assuage fears. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ Jesus had been sent among us to show his Father’s love and die so we could be forgiven. Now he was sending his friends to continue his work and most of them would become martyrs. By hiding in the upper room, this was what they were trying to avoid. It was dangerous to be associated with Jesus. Jesus was giving them a purpose and an identity, a reason to get up in the morning. They would not have to return to their old jobs. To enable them to succeed in their mission, he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.” There is no evidence that the lives of the disciples were transformed at this moment. They didn’t rush into the streets to preach the gospel. They stayed in the upper room where Jesus visited them again a week later with Thomas present and were still there until the Day of Pentecost 50 days later. The gift of the Holy Spirit would make a difference in their lives enabling them to be like Jesus in the world. Like the breath of God breathing life into Adam and the dry bones that came alive again in Ezekiel, these disciples were receiving the new life Jesus gives. Jesus calls his disciples to tell the world that we need to be forgiven and that if we refuse the forgiveness of Jesus we will not shown God’s mercy. That is a hard message for fearful disciples to bring yet bring yet they did. Even Thomas who was out when Jesus appeared the first time and didn’t believe the testimony of his friends was to become a witness and reputedly took the message of Jesus to India It must have hurt the others when he didn’t believe them. Did he really think that all of them were suffering from mass hysteria and seeing things? There is stubbornness about Thomas. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Thomas, not surprisingly, didn’t want to believe. He had been willing to die with Jesus and didn’t want to open himself up to that amount of pain again. When Jesus appeared, he invited Thomas to reach out his hand and put it in his side. Most of us hide our wounds. Jesus opened up the whole of himself to Thomas as he does to us. He invites us to reach out to him and know that he is real. Thomas was convinced. He responded “My Lord and my God!” From that day forward he was going to do what Jesus wanted. Jesus was his God and he worshipped him. Jesus comes to us in our fear and failures bringing healing, forgiveness and peace to us so we can minister to others. He commissions us giving us purpose and breathes his life giving Spirit into us. Believing in Jesus is more than just knowing that he is alive as a fact, it is putting our whole trust in him, having a relationship with him and allowing him to change us. To receive all that Jesus longs to give us and to be all that he wants us to be, we need to unlock the closed doors of our hearts fully trusting him as our Lord and friend. Risen Christ, for whom no door is locked, no entrance barred: open the doors of our hearts, that we may seek the good of others and walk the joyful road of sacrifice and peace, to the praise of God the Father. Amen
Jesus’ friends were in lockdown for fear of the Jews. We have been locked away in fear of COVID 19, afraid that we might catch it and die or pass it on to those we love. Fear is at its worst when it separates us from loved ones and neighbours, placing a wedge between us. Fear paralyses us impacting our thinking and decision-making in negative ways, leaving us susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions. Physically it can leave us with a weakened immune system, increased cardiovascular damage, gastrointestinal problems such as ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome, impaired formation of long-term memories, sweating, fatigue, clinical depression, and PSTD. Emerging from lockdown it is becoming apparent that many are suffering with poor mental health. Those sheltering for health reasons living on their own have been particularly vulnerable. Some have slipped into dementia, some are no longer confident enough to go out or drive the car, some have lost track of time, their sense of purpose and place. Many have lost hope and vision for the future. We have been told that our way out of lockdown is science. Whilst this is true to some extent, (I am grateful for the vaccines) it does not address our psychological and spiritual needs. It is not surprising that the disciples of Jesus were afraid. They had witnessed the shameful humiliation of Jesus and had ran away so that they wouldn’t have to witness the horror and brutality of crucifixion. In the brutal society in which they lived, they would have witnessed this horror many times and they knew they could be next. Their Jewish neighbours knew they were disciples of Jesus, so they had hidden themselves away for protection. In our gospel Jesus starts bringing healing to the 120 men and women disciples upon whom the Holy Spirit would fall at Pentecost. Mary Magdalene had excitedly told them that she had seen the Lord and Peter and John had witnessed the empty tomb. We do not know what their thoughts were at this time. My guess is that they were in emotional turmoil, too afraid to think, to believe or disbelieve. Sometimes we feel like that, too exhausted, ill, fearful or depressed to pray. It is too great a risk to open the door of our lives and our hearts to Jesus. Jesus recognises when we are fearful and vulnerable and comes alongside us even when we don’t recognise him or have the power to respond. He asks that we don’t lock him out and when we recognise him we invite him in. Jesus came to his frightened friends, through locked doors in the evening of the day he rose from the dead. He stood among them and used the normal Jewish greeting, ‘Peace be with you,’ used throughout our church services and still used by Jews and Moslems when they greet each other. Shalom! Salaam Aleichem! All that is good for your flourishing in life be yours, healing, mental well being, love, joy, children, good finances and wealth. Jesus could have come with recriminations for the way his disciples had failed him before resuming a relationship with them but this would have been more than they could have coped with, even if it might have been what they expected. Jesus then showed them his hands and side. I do not believe that was just to prove that he was their friend who had been crucified and was now alive. There would have been easier, less gory ways of proving who he was. He was saying suffering is not the last word. He was showing them what it meant to be fully alive, healed, delivered from death, full of the Holy Spirit, full of love, joy and peace. He was also opening the whole of himself up to them. Whilst Jesus’ body still bore the scars of crucifixion, his body was not like ours. He had not knocked on the door and been let in. His spiritual body had come through locked doors. When the disciples become less frozen, they rejoiced. Jesus repeated, ‘Peace be with you,” to disciples more able to receive the gift he brought. When we offer one another the peace in imitation of Jesus we are offering both the gift of ourselves and the peace of Christ within us. How can we hurt or mistrust someone with whom we have shared that peace? Jesus’ next words were not designed to assuage fears. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ Jesus had been sent among us to show his Father’s love and die so we could be forgiven. Now he was sending his friends to continue his work and most of them would become martyrs. By hiding in the upper room, this was what they were trying to avoid. It was dangerous to be associated with Jesus. Jesus was giving them a purpose and an identity, a reason to get up in the morning. They would not have to return to their old jobs. To enable them to succeed in their mission, he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.” There is no evidence that the lives of the disciples were transformed at this moment. They didn’t rush into the streets to preach the gospel. They stayed in the upper room where Jesus visited them again a week later with Thomas present and were still there until the Day of Pentecost 50 days later. The gift of the Holy Spirit would make a difference in their lives enabling them to be like Jesus in the world. Like the breath of God breathing life into Adam and the dry bones that came alive again in Ezekiel, these disciples were receiving the new life Jesus gives. Jesus calls his disciples to tell the world that we need to be forgiven and that if we refuse the forgiveness of Jesus we will not shown God’s mercy. That is a hard message for fearful disciples to bring yet bring yet they did. Even Thomas who was out when Jesus appeared the first time and didn’t believe the testimony of his friends was to become a witness and reputedly took the message of Jesus to India It must have hurt the others when he didn’t believe them. Did he really think that all of them were suffering from mass hysteria and seeing things? There is stubbornness about Thomas. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Thomas, not surprisingly, didn’t want to believe. He had been willing to die with Jesus and didn’t want to open himself up to that amount of pain again. When Jesus appeared, he invited Thomas to reach out his hand and put it in his side. Most of us hide our wounds. Jesus opened up the whole of himself to Thomas as he does to us. He invites us to reach out to him and know that he is real. Thomas was convinced. He responded “My Lord and my God!” From that day forward he was going to do what Jesus wanted. Jesus was his God and he worshipped him. Jesus comes to us in our fear and failures bringing healing, forgiveness and peace to us so we can minister to others. He commissions us giving us purpose and breathes his life giving Spirit into us. Believing in Jesus is more than just knowing that he is alive as a fact, it is putting our whole trust in him, having a relationship with him and allowing him to change us. To receive all that Jesus longs to give us and to be all that he wants us to be, we need to unlock the closed doors of our hearts fully trusting him as our Lord and friend. Risen Christ, for whom no door is locked, no entrance barred: open the doors of our hearts, that we may seek the good of others and walk the joyful road of sacrifice and peace, to the praise of God the Father. Amen
Unlike Jesus whose resurrection body moved through the walls of his tomb, we are slowly emerging from over a year of lockdown and restrictions. This time last year we were not allowed to worship in our building and I had never heard of zoom. I am full of mixed emotions; excited about seeing members of our community who we haven’t seen for a long time but still anxious. Like Mary Magdalene who longed to hug and hold onto Jesus when she recognised him as risen from the dead, we long to hug each other. A handshake and conversation would help. Will we ever be able to express our love for each other the way we once did? Our fear is heightened by the restrictions we still have to observe, social distancing, sanitizing our hands frequently, keeping our face masks on and not being allowed to sing. COVID 19 has not gone away. People we know are still dying. Life in our schools is returning to normal. Children have to be patient with us adults as we seek to keep everyone safe and move towards greater freedoms ourselves. Most of us have lost friends and loved ones during the pandemic including many in our church community. Some are unable to return because their health has deteriorated. We have got out of the habit of travelling to church on Sundays. Joining a worshipping community online or watching a service on television is easier than being part of a community in which we are expected to serve and give. During lockdown our local community has become needier than it was before. The referrals I am making to New Starts for food each week are increasing and we are likely to experience economic uncertainty for many years to come. Our pattern of services will be different. Our Thursday evening zoom service will continue as long as there is a need for it and we will have a discussion about whether we want the services we used to attend on Sunday evenings and Wednesday mornings to continue. Life this year has been tough for churches. Leaders have had to learn new technological wizardry and our community has been divided between those who have been able to access zoom and those who haven’t. Some Christians have enjoyed a greater variety of worship styles and preachers whilst for others it must have seemed as if their church had deserted them. When Jesus died on the cross the hopes of those who loved him were crushed. The women visiting his tomb probably suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. Unlike most of the men who had fled, locking themselves away, the women disciples stayed by the cross, watching Jesus suffer and die. Even though their grief must have been overwhelming and their lives were in danger, they stayed until the end and watched where Jesus was buried. They may have seen Nicodemus wrap the body in a white sheet, anointing Jesus with very expensive perfume. Like so many watching their loved ones die from COVID 19, they haven’t been able to touch Jesus or get close to him while he was dying. They haven’t been able to prepare his body or give Jesus the dignity of a proper family burial. Mary Magdalene came as soon as she could early on the Sunday morning when the Sabbath was over because she loved Jesus. He had set her free by casting seven devils out of her. She was not a respectable woman who kept proper boundaries and had been forgiven much. With her were Mary and Salome. They came with spices to anoint the body. Bodies matter. Most of us when saying farewell to loved ones need to hold them and look on their faces. The women were not avoiding the ugliness and stench of death. They were ready to face what they had seen. They had observed the Jewish Sabbath and waited until the law said they could come. They came even though it was dangerous and guards had been put in front of the tomb in case someone stole the body. They came unaccompanied by men, even though as women they were likely to be subjected to violence and disgrace like so many women across the world. They came expecting to fail because the stone in its groove in front of the tomb was immense. It had been sealed to stop the body being stolen and they had no idea who would roll it away. These women were prepared to risk all with little hope of success. How many of us would be prepared to do that? We tend to weigh up the likelihood of succeeding before trying. When the woman arrived they discovered the stone was rolled away and when they looked in the tomb they didn’t see an angel as described in the other gospels, but a young man dressed in white. The women were alarmed when they discovered the tomb was empty. John’s gospel says Mary wept because she did not know who had taken away her Lord. Because the tomb was empty, the women were unable to do what they had come to do. They experienced helplessness, fear, confusion and failure yet again. The young man attempted to quell their fears by explaining that Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified had been raised. They were to go and tell his disciples and Peter who denied Jesus that Jesus was going ahead of them to Galilee where they would see him. Jesus had returned to the place where his ministry was most effective. He was getting on with the job he was given to do and his followers needed to do the same. Not surprisingly, the women succumb to even more fear and amazement. They knew that as women, their testimony was unlikely to be believed. Luke tells us that when they did eventually tell, their story seemed like an idle tale. The women also knew that once the disciples knew Jesus was risen their lives would never be the same again so Mark ends with them not telling anyone because they were afraid. Like us today, the women had mixed feelings. They behaviour was typical of those who have experienced trauma, failure and uncertainty. They had not yet experienced the risen Lord. The women brought spices. Some bring beautiful flowers to worship. Others bring writing skills, musicianship or skills in gardening. Many show love for Jesus through showing love for others. Like the women, most Christians find it is difficult to tell others that Jesus is alive. The resurrection sounds even more unbelievable today than when it happened. Like the women we are sometimes frightened because our families and friends know our lives are not perfect. Sometimes just mentioning Jesus causes anger and division. We speak of the resurrection because it really happened and it makes a difference to our lives. Jesus, according to 1 Corinthians, appeared to well over 500 witnesses and has appeared to many more since. This is good news. Jesus died for us. He was buried and rose again and everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Despite the obstacles, the risk of failure and shame, we are called to make ourselves vulnerable and tell the story of Jesus. His living presence moving among us will take away our fear of what might be coming. As we rely on him, he will lead us. God’s mighty power demonstrated in the resurrection brings joy out of grief and life out of death. Like Jesus, we will one day burst from the tomb with resurrection life no longer restricted by the death and decay of our earthbound bodies. The living presence of Jesus gives joy and hope. Happy Easter!
Unlike Jesus whose resurrection body moved through the walls of his tomb, we are slowly emerging from over a year of lockdown and restrictions. This time last year we were not allowed to worship in our building and I had never heard of zoom. I am full of mixed emotions; excited about seeing members of our community who we haven’t seen for a long time but still anxious. Like Mary Magdalene who longed to hug and hold onto Jesus when she recognised him as risen from the dead, we long to hug each other. A handshake and conversation would help. Will we ever be able to express our love for each other the way we once did? Our fear is heightened by the restrictions we still have to observe, social distancing, sanitizing our hands frequently, keeping our face masks on and not being allowed to sing. COVID 19 has not gone away. People we know are still dying. Life in our schools is returning to normal. Children have to be patient with us adults as we seek to keep everyone safe and move towards greater freedoms ourselves. Most of us have lost friends and loved ones during the pandemic including many in our church community. Some are unable to return because their health has deteriorated. We have got out of the habit of travelling to church on Sundays. Joining a worshipping community online or watching a service on television is easier than being part of a community in which we are expected to serve and give. During lockdown our local community has become needier than it was before. The referrals I am making to New Starts for food each week are increasing and we are likely to experience economic uncertainty for many years to come. Our pattern of services will be different. Our Thursday evening zoom service will continue as long as there is a need for it and we will have a discussion about whether we want the services we used to attend on Sunday evenings and Wednesday mornings to continue. Life this year has been tough for churches. Leaders have had to learn new technological wizardry and our community has been divided between those who have been able to access zoom and those who haven’t. Some Christians have enjoyed a greater variety of worship styles and preachers whilst for others it must have seemed as if their church had deserted them. When Jesus died on the cross the hopes of those who loved him were crushed. The women visiting his tomb probably suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. Unlike most of the men who had fled, locking themselves away, the women disciples stayed by the cross, watching Jesus suffer and die. Even though their grief must have been overwhelming and their lives were in danger, they stayed until the end and watched where Jesus was buried. They may have seen Nicodemus wrap the body in a white sheet, anointing Jesus with very expensive perfume. Like so many watching their loved ones die from COVID 19, they haven’t been able to touch Jesus or get close to him while he was dying. They haven’t been able to prepare his body or give Jesus the dignity of a proper family burial. Mary Magdalene came as soon as she could early on the Sunday morning when the Sabbath was over because she loved Jesus. He had set her free by casting seven devils out of her. She was not a respectable woman who kept proper boundaries and had been forgiven much. With her were Mary and Salome. They came with spices to anoint the body. Bodies matter. Most of us when saying farewell to loved ones need to hold them and look on their faces. The women were not avoiding the ugliness and stench of death. They were ready to face what they had seen. They had observed the Jewish Sabbath and waited until the law said they could come. They came even though it was dangerous and guards had been put in front of the tomb in case someone stole the body. They came unaccompanied by men, even though as women they were likely to be subjected to violence and disgrace like so many women across the world. They came expecting to fail because the stone in its groove in front of the tomb was immense. It had been sealed to stop the body being stolen and they had no idea who would roll it away. These women were prepared to risk all with little hope of success. How many of us would be prepared to do that? We tend to weigh up the likelihood of succeeding before trying. When the woman arrived they discovered the stone was rolled away and when they looked in the tomb they didn’t see an angel as described in the other gospels, but a young man dressed in white. The women were alarmed when they discovered the tomb was empty. John’s gospel says Mary wept because she did not know who had taken away her Lord. Because the tomb was empty, the women were unable to do what they had come to do. They experienced helplessness, fear, confusion and failure yet again. The young man attempted to quell their fears by explaining that Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified had been raised. They were to go and tell his disciples and Peter who denied Jesus that Jesus was going ahead of them to Galilee where they would see him. Jesus had returned to the place where his ministry was most effective. He was getting on with the job he was given to do and his followers needed to do the same. Not surprisingly, the women succumb to even more fear and amazement. They knew that as women, their testimony was unlikely to be believed. Luke tells us that when they did eventually tell, their story seemed like an idle tale. The women also knew that once the disciples knew Jesus was risen their lives would never be the same again so Mark ends with them not telling anyone because they were afraid. Like us today, the women had mixed feelings. They behaviour was typical of those who have experienced trauma, failure and uncertainty. They had not yet experienced the risen Lord. The women brought spices. Some bring beautiful flowers to worship. Others bring writing skills, musicianship or skills in gardening. Many show love for Jesus through showing love for others. Like the women, most Christians find it is difficult to tell others that Jesus is alive. The resurrection sounds even more unbelievable today than when it happened. Like the women we are sometimes frightened because our families and friends know our lives are not perfect. Sometimes just mentioning Jesus causes anger and division. We speak of the resurrection because it really happened and it makes a difference to our lives. Jesus, according to 1 Corinthians, appeared to well over 500 witnesses and has appeared to many more since. This is good news. Jesus died for us. He was buried and rose again and everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Despite the obstacles, the risk of failure and shame, we are called to make ourselves vulnerable and tell the story of Jesus. His living presence moving among us will take away our fear of what might be coming. As we rely on him, he will lead us. God’s mighty power demonstrated in the resurrection brings joy out of grief and life out of death. Like Jesus, we will one day burst from the tomb with resurrection life no longer restricted by the death and decay of our earthbound bodies. The living presence of Jesus gives joy and hope. Happy Easter!
