Wednesday of Holy Week Hebrews 12: 1-3 John 13: 21-32I remember how, in the past, I would walk on Dartmoor. It can be quite an unforgiving place as well as being full of beauty. Only the unwary go unprepared, to remain near a car park and within sight of the road is not pushing the boundaries of danger too far. It is when one strides out into the wilds of the moor that care needs to be taken. Before setting off the rucksack is checked to cater for all eventualities. Then it is picked up and laid down quickly. Far too heavy for the planned walk. Out comes the excess placed in including the proverbial ‘kitchen sink’. Only then can the proposed venture be considered. The handicap which would have weighed us down has been removed.Paul, in his letter to the Hebrews, exhorts us to run the race that is set before us with perseverance. We are running on a track which does not just meander along its way as a visitor would wander when exploring a new location, but one which has a planned direction and route with a goal which is to be like Christ.In addition we are not travelling alone. Paul tells us that we are travelling in the company of a great cloud of witnesses. It would be like embarking on a perilous journey, with danger lurking on every side, with all sorts of hazards and traps ready to ensnare the unsuspected, and all of the time surrounded with a host of those who have gone before us, who have successfully completed the path and who are encouraging us on.This Holy Week Jesus is traveling along the path that will lead him to the Cross. He is doing is with a cloud of witnesses, except here the witnesses include all of those Christians throughout the centuries who, each year look back on those events with grateful hearts. Grateful that, even leading to his death, Jesus obeyed the word of his Father. In so doing he died crying out that our sins may be forgiven us.Those sins are like the contents of our kitbag weighing us down. Contents which we take out and put to one side no longer needed on our journey. Jesus is there forgiving us our sins as we cast them out. Then we can proceed with our own journey and with our own witnesses looking down on us as we go. Thanks be to God that the heavy burden that we would have travelled with has been removed. We now stand a better chance of reaching the goal set before us.Collect for the Wednesday of Holy WeekLord of all life and power,who through the mighty resurrection of your Sonovercame the old order of sin and deathto make all things new in him:grant that we, being dead to sinand alive to you in Jesus Christ,may reign with him in glory;to whom with you and the Holy Spiritbe praise and honour, glory and might,now and in all eternity.
Tuesday of Holy Week 1 Corinthians 1: 18-31 John 12: 20-36We are walking with Jesus in his final few footsteps towards Jerusalem and his arrest leading to his crucifixion. The crucifixion was something of a stumbling-block to the Jews. Their own law tells them that those who are hanged are accursed by God. Therefore, how can someone who is hanged upon a cross possibly be God’s Chosen One. This very act, to the Jew, painted an impossible picture of the Chosen One of God.In God we find goodness and beauty, we find happiness and all that is best. In coming to us as his Son he immediately encounters the ugliness of humanity. To the Greek this just could not happen. How could one who had suffered as Jesus did be the Son of God.This is the atmosphere that surrounded Jesus. The questioning, the uncertainty. How could this happen?There is a well-known sentence in the Bible from the pen of Paul; "What looks like God's foolishness is wiser than men's wisdom; and what looks like God's weakness is stronger than men's strength." How can God allow himself to become involved in such an act? Was it disregard? Here is where some of the problem lay. The wisest of humanity pondered and pondered over this and could not arrive at a solution. But the answer, in its plain and simple truth, is that what might appear to us mere humans as foolishness on God’s part is in fact far wiser than any solution that we might ever possibly derive from all of our deliberations.There is a similar argument to the second part of Paul’s sentence. No matter how strong we might feel in displays of power, or in the volubility of our language. Or in displays of political manoeuvrability or of emotional prowess, all of these displays of strength may be quite formidable to those around us, but are as mere puffs of wind in the strength of God our Father.This was the background of the Christian message. Against the Jewish or Greek ideas it looked as if it would have little chance of success. It was a battle. Christianity won through. Comprising of people from all walks of life, from slave to members of the highest ranks of society, all are called. The reward waiting for them was of knowing that in Jesus they look upon the most uplifting thing in the universe. It told them, and us, in all of our humility, that in the eyes of God we are worth the death of his only Son.Collect for the Tuesday of Holy WeekLord of all life and power,who through the mighty resurrection of your Sonovercame the old order of sin and deathto make all things new in him:grant that we, being dead to sinand alive to you in Jesus Christ,may reign with him in glory;to whom with you and the Holy Spiritbe praise and honour, glory and might,now and in all eternity.
Monday of Holy Week Isaiah 42:1-9 Hebrews 9: 11-15 John 12: 1-11Our journey through Holy Week begins at looking at what it means to be near to God. In the days of Jesus religion was most important in access to God. The purpose of religion was to bring a person into God’s presence. It was also thought that there can be no religion without sacrifice. Purity was costly. To have access to God meant that you had to be pure, your sins must haver been atoned for. In the letter to the Hebrews, we learn that Jesus is the only High Priest who brings a sacrifice that can open the way to God. That sacrifice was himself. Unlike traditional sacrifices it was made voluntarily. Christ has offered himself, like the traditional sacrifices without blemish, to cleanse us from our sins.The gospel reading tells us, in a way, how Jesus was being prepared for his coming sacrifice. To be acceptable a sacrifice had to be without blemish. In the gospel Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with a most costly perfume. Its aroma will have filled the house. One of his disciples objected to the seemingly large waste of money. But here the feet of Jesus were being cleansed. Cleansed so that when he made his sacrifice he would figuratively be without blemish.In Church we have the opportunity to offer sacrifices to God. In one way we do this through the giving of the bread and wine used in the Eucharist. We do not offer just the scraps left over from breakfast, as it were, but bread of the finest quality such as we would lay before a guest at table. If we use wafers instead we make sure that they remain fresh and crisp.Our sacrifices are of the highest quality, fresh and without blemish, such as befits laying before God, for that is what we are doing. There are many other ways that we can lay a sacrifice before God. From placing and arranging flowers in pristine condition to cleaning with due care and respect, from ringing the church bells with precision and skill to handing out books at the start of the service with a genuine welcome, all of these are forms of sacrifice made from our heart. Behind all is the desire to make them out of love. Love lies behind all sacrifices and those that we make to God are made in the name of love through our faith.Collect for the Monday of Holy WeekLord of all life and power,who through the mighty resurrection of your Sonovercame the old order of sin and deathto make all things new in him:grant that we, being dead to sinand alive to you in Jesus Christ,may reign with him in glory;to whom with you and the Holy Spiritbe praise and honour, glory and might,now and in all eternity.
Palm Sunday Mark 11:1-11 Isaiah 50:4-9a Mark 14:1-15:endIf you have worked hard and attained fame it is quite natural that people around you will wish to make a show of how proud they are of you. If you are lucky they may even throw a party in your honour or treat you to some sumptuous meal.Today, Palm Sunday, Jesus is making his way into Jerusalem. His reputation was well known and the people along the way wished to recognise him by throwing palm leaves along his path as he entered the city, not on foot, but riding on a colt.His entrance into the city was also accompanied by shouts and cries, “Hosanna!” the people shouted. It was their belief that this person, Jesus, was coming into the city to become their king. He would bring to an end the rule of the occupying powers. Jesus was riding on a colt, lifted up before the people, lifted high so that more could see him and shout their words of encouragement. They wished to give Jesus a conqueror’s welcome but little did they realise the kind of conqueror he would be.It can be so easy to pile different kinds of attributes upon a person. They can have honours bestowed upon them. They can be treated to the most privileged seat in the house. They can be ushered to the front of any queue. Yet, deep down they are just like you and me. Such prominence is the last thing that they want. Their qualifications and attainments fit them for a task that they perform, a job which they can do in a more efficient manner.This is just what Jesus was doing. He had a task, a ministry. He had to teach of the love of God, of the heavenly kingdom, of how to lead a life following the laws as laid down in the commandments. He came to lead them in a battle against wrong doing and sinfulness, and to lead them into loving God and obeying him. Yes, Jesus had a battle but not, as the people generally thought, against the enemies of Israel. It was a battle against themselves, against the sins they harboured in their hearts. The crowds shouted “Hosanna”. But it was not a shout of praise. The real meaning is “Save Now!”. The people were shouting for help, for protection against the hand of the king. It was a cry to God to step in and to save his people. Jesus was the Messiah, he had come and he was going to achieve this.One could almost expect someone in such a position to creep in to the city, almost being unnoticed, hidden from the authorities. They were, after all, out to destroy him. But instead he arrived with everyone’s eye focussed upon him. He was also going to tell the people that their ideas of what he would do were all wrong. Jesus was making his one last act of love, with courage.In carrying out this last act of love Jesus is showing us how we too should approach various times in our life. Not necessarily riding in with’ all guns blazing’, making a scene or spectacle. Jesus spent time with his Father, with God. He would often find time to be with God. It was in God that he found his strength. Here is where we can follow his example.Faced with similar circumstances, where the world around us is determined to pour upon us honour and praise, turn the spotlight upon us, make us stand out. It will be good to ‘time out’. To find time with God. He, after all, has enabled us to reach this position. Now is the time to ask him how to handle all that the world is throwing at you. A time in peace and quiet allows a period to gather thoughts, to gain strength, if that is what will be needed. Time to cast yourself upon God and allow him to lead.Collect for Palm SundayAlmighty and everlasting God,who in your tender love towards the human race sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christto take upon him our fleshand to suffer death upon the cross:grant that we may follow the example of his patience and humility,and also be made partakers of his resurrection;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
