What’s In A Name?
An excerpt from Back To Life- Experience Your Own Resurrection – a Liturgical Guide for Easter from Sacredise.com
I lived in eleven different homes, in three different continents in the first seven years of my life. My father’s work meant that my family moved often. For my tiny, sensitive, introverted soul, this was a lot to cope with. But what made it possible for me was my security pillow with its dog picture on the front and shaped to match. Everywhere I went my pillow was firmly tucked under my arm. My mother tells me that, as we moved through the various airports, she would put me on the trolley with our luggage and I would put my head on my pillow and go to sleep. I don’t remember when I stopped clinging to my dog pillow, but I do remember the pillow itself clearly and very fondly.
It was appropriate and very helpful for me to carry my dog pillow around with me as a small child traveling the world. But if I had tried to take it with me to my first day of school that would have been less appropriate. If I had kept it beside me through high school, or laid it on my desk as I attended university lectures, or had it on my lap in my first job interview, that would have been dysfunctional. What was normal for me as a child is abnormal for me now as an adult. I still have important objects that hold meaning for me. And some of them may even seem juvenile or strange to others. But I engage with them as an adult in an adult way, not as an attempt to cling to my childhood.
What makes this Easter different from the last two years is that the first signs of an end to the pandemic are beginning to appear. We’re not out of the woods yet, but we can begin to imagine a life that is no longer restricted by COVID protocols. And that can make the temptation to cling to what we’ve known seductive. When we think of a return to normal, it is tempting to look back. We naturally long to return to what we’ve known, even if it is now beyond our reach. But we can’t get back to life by going back. The life, the resurrection we seek is ahead of us, in the new world that is, as yet, unknown.
In the resurrection narrative of John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene tried to cling to the Risen Jesus who had just made himself known. But he discouraged her and helped her to see that he, her relationship with him, and their world, were all changed. She could not cling to what she knew. That reality was gone. The life she now sought was not behind her but ahead.
Jesus had already prepared her to cope with the new reality. Although at first she mistook him for the gardener, he opened her eyes by speaking her name. This was not just saying a label. It was an act of recognising her for who she was, of celebrating her and all that her name meant and embodied. Her relationship with Jesus had always been based on his capacity to make her feel truly seen—perhaps as no one else ever had.
I often wonder how Jesus spoke her name. Did he simply say it as an affirmation of her presence? Or did he voice it with a smile as a gentle question, “Seriously, Mary? You don’t recognise me the way I recognise you?” Perhaps he looked her in the eye and spoke it as a reminder of her strength and uniqueness. Whatever the case, when he named her he empowered her to rise up, embrace her new reality, and share her experience with the other disciples. He led her back to life not by clinging to the past, but by stepping confidently and hopefully into the unknown future.
We cannot know fullness of life, we cannot be resurrected into our most abundant, meaningful life unless we know what it is to be fully seen, truly named, and completely loved. And that’s why the Scriptures are so consistent in speaking about the importance of our names. The psalmist, without specifically mentioning names, celebrates being fully and lovingly known by God in every way (Ps.139). When the people of Israel cry that God has forgotten them, Isaiah brings a divine word that says, “See, I have written (some other versions say engraved or inscribed) your name on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49:15). In Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus, it is the poor beggar who is named in contrast to the wealthy man who ignores him (Luke 16:19-31). When Jesus calls Simon he gives him a new name to express both the giftedness and strength that Jesus sees in him and his new calling among the disciples (John 3:42). Nathaniel’s skepticism is overcome when Jesus describes seeing him under the fig tree before Philip called him and affirms him as a “genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity” (John 3:47). And here, Jesus names Mary and sends her as the first apostle to share the news of resurrection.
If we long to get back to life again, to experience our own resurrection, we can begin by remembering that we are named, seen, and loved by God—just as we are, regardless of what life and the world have taken from us or how others have mis-seen us. All we need to do is learn to believe it and live into it—which is, I confess, easier said than done. And that’s why we need each other. As we intentionally and lovingly see and name one another, so we remind each other of God’s love and God’s seeing of us all. And as our souls learn to trust that we are truly and fully named, seen, and loved, so we can find the courage and strength to move forward into the life, the resurrection, that awaits us beyond the pandemic—or any other tragedy or trauma that we may have had to deal with.
We don’t know what the post-pandemic world will look like. But we do know that we cannot avoid it. We cannot go ‘back to Egypt’. We cannot return to normal in the sense of having again the life we once knew. Like Mary, we have to let go of our temptation to cling to the past, the familiar, the safe, and we have to step into the new reality that awaits us—whatever it may be.
And the thing that empowers us is to know that we are known; to experience, daily, that we are fully and truly seen, that we are enthusiastically celebrated, and that we are unconditionally loved. This is what Christ gives us as he speaks our names and engraves them on the palms of his hands. And this is what he asks us to give to one another as we embody for each other, the seeing, knowing, and loving of Christ.
Who needs you to name them today? Who needs to know that you see them? Who needs to feel God’s love expressed through you? And how will you make sure that you speak that person’s name warmly, respectfully, and with deep celebration and gratitude for who they are?
Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from our author John van de Laar’s new resource Back to Life – just in time for right now, the season of Easter. You can find it through our Lent/Easter resource page, from John’s website Sacredise.com, and directly here.
Featured photo is from Pixabay
TOMORROW! Wednesday, April 20th at a *special* time of 11 am PT, join Christine Sine and Tom Sine for a discussion on Earth Day. Live on Facebook in the Godspace Light Community Group at 9am PT. Can’t join us live? Catch it later on youtube!
Easter is over – or is it? The Easter season now stretches before us extending to Pentecost on June 5th and I want to make sure we make the most of it. This is the season to celebrate the new life that Christ brought into the world and this year I plan to do that by focusing on our new Godspace theme Restoring Rhythms and Seasons. When I introduced this theme to our writers I told them I particularly wanted to focus on “how do we re-anchor our lives in the earth’s story. In his recent book Worshiping in Season – Ecology and Christ Through the Liturgical Year Joseph E Bush Jr states:
Throughout the Christian drama, creation is centrally involved, not only as the stage on which the play is set but also as the object of Christ’s love and the very terrain of salvation history. (Worshiping in Season – Ecology and Christ Through the Liturgical Year xi)
I am more and more convinced that whether we live in the city or the country, we need to listen to the earth and how its rhythms are meant to guide our lives. How far we have strayed from this was reinforced for me in an article I read last week on strategies for making the most of every day. I cringed because every suggestion focused on work and productivity. Not a single one acknowledged the importance of creation in the rhythm and purpose of our days. So I decided that as a beginning place for restoring God’s intended rhythms for our days I would make my own list. Of course some of these suggestions I have talked about before, and they don’t all revolve around creation, but I find I need constant reminders to keep me on track and I suspect you do too.
Ten Strategies for Making the Most of Every Day
- Listen – begin the day with prayer or scripture reading or meditation. Whatever brings light and life to your soul is an important place to begin each day. If you can draw an element of God’s creation into that practice, as I do by focusing on my contemplative gardens, I think you think you will find even more nourishment for your soul.
- Sit with God – invite the presence of God into every project you embark on throughout the day with a short prayer. One of the things I love about Celtic Spirituality is the rich prayer life that meant ordinary people prayed as they lit the fire, planted the seed and walked on a journey. With a little creativity we can craft prayers for our daily tasks too.
- Breathe – punctuate your day with stretches and breathing breaks. Did you know that as we grow older our breathing becomes shallower and taking a deep breath is a more conscious effort? For both our physical and spiritual health taking deep breaths for a minute or two at regular intervals throughout the day is rejuvenating. You might like to use one of the breath prayers I have written over the years, or go outside and take a few deep breaths. My favourite is a quick walk around a small part of my garden while I do that. If you think that the air you breathe is too polluted or too filled with allergens, or if your work environment won’t allow it, take a quick walk to the lunchroom or go talk to a colleague across the room instead of sending them an email. Take some deep breaths as you walk.
- Exercise – daily exercise is good for both our physical and spiritual well-being. For me that means awe and wonder walks each day. A great way to connect to God’s creation in my neighbourhood.
- Spend time in nature – you might prefer to get your exercise in a gym, but how about sitting in the local park a couple of times a week for lunch? You may not like gardening like I do but how about a nature walk or visit to the beach? For some of us getting out into nature is not easy, but the more we do it the more we find it enriches our souls.
- Be Hospitable – now that we are able to get out and about again many of us feel that we need to relearn the art of hospitality, but there are simple ways we can connect to the people around us throughout the day. A greeting to the cashier in the grocery store, a smile and hello to the homeless person at the corner, a cup of coffee for a coworker are all simple ways to show the gift of hospitality to those around us.
- Have some fun – when I asked my Facebook friends “have you had your daily dose of fun?” several commented “I am too busy for that.” Sad. Jesus encourages us to “become like children” and we can’t do that without getting out and having a bit of fun. Playing, laughing, doodling, reading a children’s book are all activities that enrich our lives and return God’s intended gift of play back into our daily lives. (And if you haven’t read it yet you might like to get a copy of my book The Gift of Wonder to help you on the way.)
- Take a nap. Did you know that people who take an after lunch nap are so much more productive afterwards that those who don’t nap cannot equal their productivity? Lots of high-powered execs take daily naps. I know this would be hard for a lot of people but even a short nap at your desk can make a difference. Or perhaps you can gather some of the research on this, present it to your boss and suggest that everyone in the office has 1/2 hour for a nap each day!
- Take screen breaks. Did you know that looking at computer screens all day can ruin our eyes. Take a break every hour. These breaks don’t have to be for long periods of time. Every hour or two, take a few minutes to get up, go for a short walk, and stretch your arms and legs. Yes you’re right this can be combined with several of the other suggestions above. All you need to do is figure out the best way for you to combine them.
- Give thanks. Ending your day with prayers of gratitude, keeping a gratitude journal that you write in each evening, composing a gratitude prayer you can say before you go to bed are all ways to end our day by giving thanks to God for the goodness of the day that has passed. One exercise I find particularly helpful is to write down three good things that happened during the day and thank God for them. When I focus on thanking God for the goodness God blessed me with it is amazing how my perspective on struggles can change. I hope it does for you too.
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Join Christine Sine, Tom Sine, and others for Inhabit 2022 on April 29-30th in Seattle- a live conference by Parish Collective. Explore stories of hope and be encouraged to be the church in your neighborhood. You are not alone – the everyday realities are carried by us all. Click here for more info!
A contemplative service with music in the spirit of Taize. Carrie Grace Littauer, prayer leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756 with additional notes below:
“Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)” Traditional Black American Spiritual, Arrangement by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons license, attribution (CC-BY)
“Jesus the Lord is Risen (Surrexit Dominus Vere II)” Copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé
“Rabboni Beloved” By Kester Limner and Andy Myers, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
“Even In Sorrow” Composed by Kester Limner in March 2020 for the people of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Seattle, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
Thank you for praying with us!
by Joy Lenton
“When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?’ And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.’” — Mark 16:1-6 ESV
Privileged
You gave a special place,
an honoured role
to the women you had known,
allowing them to break
with convention by listening
in on your words,
lavishing love with costly perfume,
and being the first
to greet you from the tomb.
Even if Mary, blinded by her grief,
failed to recognise you
immediately, in the speaking
of her name
you made sure she understood
just who she met at dawn,
who was risen,
resurrected in full strength,
like the morning sun.
The women were gifted
with the charge
of telling the disciples, of sharing
the Good News
that you were not dead
but very much alive,
with scarred hands and feet,
a pierced head where sharp
thorns had been,
and a wounded side.
How I would have loved
to have been among
their number, excited,
elated at the revelation
of your resurrection
being true, just like you said,
knowing they could trust
your words of reassuring love
as daily manna bread.
But instead I am privileged
to have your very own spirit
living within,
your eternal presence
and your word to guide me
as I seek to follow you
each and every day
with Holy Spirit’s help,
his wisdom, grace and truth
stemming from your holy realm.
© joylenton
There are many mistreated and disadvantaged women worldwide who deserve to live more fully and freely than their country, culture or society allows them to. Therefore, it’s encouraging to note the honour and respect; the inclusiveness that Jesus gave to the women he encountered, especially as they were living in a strictly demarcated, patriarchal society.
He didn’t consider them to be second-class citizens or hold them in contempt. On the contrary, he scandalised his disciples by the way he welcomed women to hear his preaching, allowed close physical contact with those considered unclean, and gave them important roles in his pre-crucifixion and resurrection stories. This is heartening for us, particularly when we might feel downtrodden or not enough.
Precious Lord Jesus,
Help us to see how very privileged we are to be in relationship with you and enjoy the tremendous blessings it imparts to us. We needn’t feel short-changed at all because we didn’t live during the years when you came to earth or get to know you then, because we have the Holy Spirit living in our hearts.
Despite how wonderful it would have been to see you face to face, now you are risen from the tomb, we have been given instant access to Father God whenever we want to. Our prayers ascend like incense to heaven’s throne room where you continually intercede for us. We thank you for the enormous privileges we have as people of the cross.
Amen
Photo by Pisit Heng on Unsplash
Check out our Lent, Holy Week, and Easter resource page for inspiring posts, helpful products and resources, and gathered lists of liturgies and more to help you plan an Easter service, a solo journey through Holy Week, or a family adventure.
A few years ago I was preaching at a church in Pietermaritzburg and I asked the people if they thought the world was getting worse or better. One old gentleman stood up and passionately declared, “John, the world is so bad now it can’t possibly get any worse!” Of course he was very aware of the crime, greed, corruption, and abuse of power that we hear about in the news every day. But, if the cross tells us anything, it’s that this is nothing new. The world has always been this way.
But, here’s the uncomfortable challenge of the cross—it holds us responsible for the state of the world. Jesus died because evil blamed him for stirring rebellion, for not playing by the (corrupt) system, and even for blasphemy. Sometimes we crucify others by blaming them for our sinfulness, our brokenness, our selfishness. As the old saying goes: We have seen the enemy and it is us.
But, here is where the cross also offers us hope. Because Jesus did not lose faith. He did not give up his innocence. Even as evil threw its worst at him, Jesus did not become evil—he disarmed it. And through the power of the cross he empowers us to do the same, in our own hearts and in the world. This is why today is GOOD Friday: because it’s the day goodness was not overcome by evil, but disarmed evil.
And this is the great challenge of our faith. This is what we are called to be as followers of Jesus—those who stop co-operating with evil, who are no longer overcome by evil, but who disarm it in Christ’s power. There are two simple, but difficult and powerful, things that Jesus did to disarm evil on Good Friday, and we can learn them from him.
STOPPING EVIL IN ITS TRACKS
A few years ago, on a camp where I was a leader, I was asked by a teenage girl if she could talk to me. She proceeded to tell me that a few years before her boyfriend’s father had driven her home. The two of them were alone in the car and he had stopped in a quiet road, under a bridge, and had raped her. And all she could say to me was that she was desperate for revenge. She could not forgive him and never would. My heart broke because I knew that until she could find a way to let go of that anger and hatred, she would never be free of her abuser. *
But, here in the cross Jesus does the opposite. As he looks at the people who are killing him he prays, “Father forgive them…” And at that moment Jesus proclaims to the world, “Evil stops here! The cycle of violence, hatred, injustice, and brokenness ends with me!” Jesus refused to adopt the ways of evil to achieve God’s Reign.
Forgiveness is the only thing that can stop evil in its tracks. It refuses to let evil make our choices for us. Calvin Miller defines vengeance in his book The Singer in this way: “Vengeance (noun): Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. A fair, satisfying, and rapid way to a sightless, toothless world.” But Jesus’ forgiving response breaks this cycle and stops the power of evil in its tracks.
Where in your life are you tempted to respond with ‘an eye for an eye?’ How can you embrace Jesus’ response of “Father, forgive them…”? It’s not easy. The pain may remain for a long time. But, as we continue to choose to let go of our bitterness, so it slowly dissipates and disappears. This is the way of faith, the way of the cross.
PUSHING EVIL BACK
The problem with forgiveness is that it can seem passive in the face of evil. It’s as if we’re expected to ‘just forgive and leave it at that.’ But that’s not actually what the way of the cross does. Jesus was not passive in the face of evil. He was highly confrontational.
Jesus confronted the evil—or the potential for evil—in himself. When he went into the wilderness at the start of his ministry, he was tempted to use the means of evil to accomplish God’s ends. If there was no chance for him to fall, it wasn’t really a temptation. For him to have been tempted as we are (as Hebrews 4:15 says), there had to have been a chance that he would choose the wrong way. Then years later, at Gethsemane, he faced his greatest fears but did not succumb. Jesus confronted the potential for evil in himself and he pushed it back.
But he also confronted the evil outside of himself. The evil in his community and country, in the politicians and leaders who exploited the poor and oppressed the vulnerable. The whole journey through the cross was a direct confrontation with the forces of sin, injustice, oppression, and evil.
Notice what’s really going on here. It’s not Jesus who is really on trial. It’s Pilate. When Jesus died the people who condemned him walked away in deep sorrow. Even one of the Roman soldiers could not help but declare that he was innocent, righteous, God’s Son. Confronting evil is not about meeting force with force. It’s simply making the truth about evil known. Asking the right questions: ‘Is this the world we want?’ ‘Is this the person I want to be?’ And if the answer is no, then we commit to change—inside and out.
Many years ago my wife and I were invited to the wedding of a couple who were good friends. They were especially concerned for poor and disadvantaged people, and so they requested their guests not to give them gifts. Instead, they asked that the money that we all would have paid for the gifts be given to one of a list of charities that they believed in. This was a confrontation with the evil of poverty, but in a very gentle, creative way. This is what it means to live the faith of the cross. This is what we do when we are desperate to bring goodness into the world in some way.
IT’S FRIDAY, BUT SUNDAY’S COMING:
One of the men who died next to Jesus mocked him, “Save yourself and us.” But that’s exactly what Jesus was doing. He was breaking the power of evil by stopping it in its tracks, by refusing to allow it to take hold of him, and by revealing its true, destructive nature.
It may look like evil wins—as it seems on Good Friday. But, the truth is that, in the way of the cross and in believing in its power, evil is overcome. And when that happens, resurrection is always just around the corner. Or, as one old preacher put it, “It’s Friday. But Sunday’s coming!”
My purpose in this post was to highlight how forgiveness frees us from the ghost of those who have done us harm, and how that freedom can bring us healing.
I apologise for the lack of clarity in how I expressed my thoughts and for any hurt that has been caused as a result.
John
Editor’s Note: Check out this post about John van de Laar’s new Easter season resource! You can check it out now from our resource page on Lent/Easter, or directly here: Back to Life – Experience Your Own Resurrection
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
Join Christine Sine, Tom Sine, and others for Inhabit 2022 on April 29-30th in Seattle- a live conference by Parish Collective. Explore stories of hope and be encouraged to be the church in your neighborhood. You are not alone – the everyday realities are carried by us all. Click here for more info!
by June Friesen
Maundy Thursday is celebrated in different ways in the Christian church. For some churches there is a morning as well as an evening service. And for different churches there are different ways of remembering this time in Jesus’ life and the life of His disciples. Jesus had explained to His disciples some time before when they were alone with Him about this time – but one has to wonder if they like me may not have remembered it. This is recorded in Mark 9.
Mark 9:30-32 – He didn’t want anyone to know their whereabouts, for he wanted to teach his disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to do with God. They will murder him. Three days after his murder, he will rise, alive.” They didn’t know what he was talking about, but were afraid to ask him about it.
This was some time before the last week before Jesus’ crucifixion – I am not sure exactly where it was on the timeline. As I pondered the above verses, I wondered to myself – ‘would I have understood what Jesus was saying? How would I have reacted?’ We often forget that the twelve disciples were human just like you and I – they had no vision or extraordinary revelation that we are aware of about what was ahead of them when they chose to accept the call and follow Jesus.
Earlier this week we celebrated the entrance of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem for the celebration of the Passover Feast. He was active in the city and it says He spent time teaching in the Temple area during these days. But now the ‘Time’ is at hand.
How is your ‘time at hand’? How is my ‘time at hand’?
As this week in 2022 has progressed each one of us will continue to have different experiences in our lives and different ways of observing and remembering this time with Jesus. For some of us, we may be facing restrictions in our celebrations/remembrances due to continued issues with the pandemic, issues with health concerns that limit our mobility, issues with war, political and even religious unrest in some countries/areas, some may even fear persecution of some kind, etc. This may be a time when we take the time to sit in the presence of the Spirit allowing Him to minister not only to our own personal spirit but to also be open to the Spirit’s guidance in how we can embrace and pray for God’s presence and strength to help those who are face difficulty at this time.
This night was also a solemn night for Jesus as He knew that Judas would no longer be among His followers. His heart was broken already for Judas yet Jesus did not reprimand him or ridicule him in front of the other disciples – rather, Jesus released Judas.
I personally have struggled with this ‘letting go of Judas.’ And as I struggle with it I find myself realizing it is all about the free will that God allows each one of us to have. And I have to ask myself, ‘Am I willing like Jesus to allow each person to make their decision in how they follow God/Jesus?’
This was also considered the time that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. How did Judas react or feel when Jesus was washing his feet? What might have been the conversation between Judas and Jesus at that time, if there was any? And if Jesus wanted to call Judas out, why didn’t He do it then rather than seemingly in front of the other eleven? So as you and I sit imagining Jesus washing our feet today before celebrating the communion meal with Him what may it be that Jesus may be praying over each of us?
Matthew 26:17-19 17 On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare your Passover meal?” 18-19 He said, “Enter the city. Go up to a certain man and say, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near. I and my disciples plan to celebrate the Passover meal at your house.’” The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions to the letter, and prepared the Passover meal …
26-29 During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples:
Take, eat. This is my body.
Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them:
Drink this, all of you.
This is my blood, God’s new covenant poured out for many people
for the forgiveness of sins.“I’ll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I’ll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father.”
30 They sang a hymn and went directly to Mount Olives.
THE FINAL WALK TO GETHSEMANE
What must that walk have been like that night so long ago?
Was it a time of total silence?
Everyone alone with their own thoughts?
May there have been some weeping?
Would there have been some whispering among them?
Would they have been clustered close together?
Close to their Master in hopes to maybe protect Him?
Or hear a word or two of hope?
What must the face of the Master looked like on that path?
Would it show the occasional tear on His cheek that slipped from His eye?
Were His footsteps slow, maybe a bit uncertain at times?
Or did He walk with a hurried step to meet with His Father –
The only One who completely understood His heart of agony?
Was it totally dark already?
Or was the sun in its final setting moments?
Were there any lights along the way?
Or did the Master know the path so well no other light was needed?
Everyone was becoming more weary with each step,
How far into the garden are we going they may have wondered?
Then as they entered the garden He told some they could stay there and watch
While He took Peter, James and John with Him a little further –
Then He too told Peter, James and John they could sit down –
But He told them to be alert and pray.
And then the agony began for the Master –
As He now began to face the reality of beginning the time where He would be alone –
Not only alone on the earth –
But to face that point of taking on the sin of humanity and then being alone without the Father’s presence…..
He prayed … and He prayed some more …
He wept … the tears flowed from His eyes …
He was sweating in agony … so much so His capillaries burst
And drops of blood fell from His face in overwhelming grief …
It was there my Jesus, your Jesus, the disciples’ Jesus –
The Jesus of the world began His intense suffering that ended in physical, human death
And He sought the One and Only One, His Father for the strength to make it through –
Declaring: “NOT MY WILL, BUT YOUR WILL BE DONE, O FATHER.”
And with that commitment He was then prepared
To walk the final steps through the torturing trial and crucifixion
For all of humanity from the beginning of time to the end of time.
Amen.
Writings and photographs by June Friesen. Scriptures are from the Message Translation. The beginning photo is from the Saint Joseph Shrine ‘Stations of the Cross’ in Yarnell, Arizona.
Check out our Lent, Holy Week, and Easter resource page for inspiring posts, helpful products and resources, and gathered lists of liturgies and more to help you plan an Easter service, a solo journey through Holy Week, or a family adventure.
by Carol Dixon
Some years ago I was introduced to the Ignatian practice of imagining yourself present in one of the Gospel stories and imagining what one of the characters might have been feeling is a good way to start. My reflective poems for Holy Week and beyond are some of my responses to what might have happened from different perspectives. I hope you enjoy reading them. You may like to read the Passion narratives again yourself and think about which character you identify with today.
Editor’s note: This is part of a series. For Parts 1 & 2, click here.
Part 3 – EASTER DAY
He spoke my name
He spoke my name.
That was how I knew it was him.
No-one ever said my name
like that, before, or since.
I’d had to get out of the city –
the claustrophobic confines
of the upper room, the sombre
atmosphere, forced conversation,
drove me mad; so I stumbled
down the outside stair onto
the quiet paving stones below
and followed my feet.
I wasn’t aware of where I was heading
but found myself back in the garden.
I hadn’t meant to go there
yet when I reached the place I thought
at least I’d be doing something;
replacing the spices, re-arranging
the grave clothes, anything
to keep me close to him.
Then I remembered the stone,
the huge boulder blocking the way,
sealed with Caesar’s insignia,
ringed round with Roman guards.
I couldn’t bear to turn back,
empty hearted, now I’d come so close,
so I pressed on, hoping against hope
for a miracle, just a small something –
a kindly soldier, or friendly passer-by –
so I could see him just once more,
at peace. Not like the last time:
barely cold, broken, lying immobile
while his broken hearted mother wept
as we struggled to do the right thing
and prepare his battered body
before the Sabbath curfew began.
But when I reached the tomb – nothing!
No seal, no stone, no body;
an empty shell with no-one inside.
Oh God! Don’t say they’ve taken him,
defiled in death the body of the Man
I loved; who loved me, and all who
followed, with the passionate love of God.
I looked around frantically and,
in the distance, I espied a figure
in the burgeoning daylight, silhouetted
by the brightening rays of early sun.
Thank God! The gardener.
I hastened to him, falling at his feet:
‘Oh Sir,’ I said, ‘If you know
who has taken him, tell me,
so I can go and get him.’
And then I heard my name,
spoken, as if I’d never heard it before:
‘Mary!’ and I knew. In that moment
I knew everything.
He gently prised my grasping hands
aside and raised me to my feet,
and bade me tell the others
he would see them, back in Galilee.
He spoke my name.
And all my world was filled with joy –
the joy of a new beginning.
| The Garden
‘Very early on Sunday morning, just after sunrise,’ [Mark 16: 2] He watched the trees wafting In some ways, the pain and Even after he accepted the cup, Therefore, in this awakening garden, |
The Gardener
(Tune Traditional: Have you seen my bonny lad?) ‘Tell, if you know where my Lord is laid,’ cries Mary, heart torn with grieving. The Gardener looks on, his heart filled with love. But sorrow stops Mary believing. ‘O Mary, it’s me!’ the Gardener replies, ‘Can you not see through your grieving? A while I was gone, but now I return. Dry all your sad tears, start believing.’ ‘Lord, I believe, I understand now; (the power of death was deceiving), and doubt and despair are things of the past: now I can live truly believing.’ When life is filled with darkness and fear, or the heart is weighed down with grieving the Gardener is near and calls us by name and leads us through doubt to believing. © Stuart J. Brock (Used with permission)
|
The Road to Emmaus
We were walking slowly. Taking our time you might say, for there were about seven miles to go. I’m not sure that I really wanted to return to our lodging at Emmaus. I wanted to stay in Jerusalem with the others. The other women, that is. We needed to think about what had happened to us that morning. What we had seen and heard. Even if none of the men believed us. Perhaps, just perhaps, we need not be in despair, as we had been since Friday evening. But Cleopas wanted to get away. He was heartsick with grief and disappointment. He had been so sure that Jesus was the one who would save us, which for him meant somehow getting rid of the Romans. He wasn’t exactly a zealot, you understand, but if push had come to shove, he was ready to man the barricades under Jesus’s leadership. So he had been desolate since Friday, and he was indignant that the strange message that Jesus had risen – even if he didn’t believe it – should have been given to women.
He couldn’t leave it alone. He mourned the death of our leader. He lamented the lost opportunity. He questioned me about what the men – the angels? – had said to us. I wished he would be quiet, though I didn’t say it. I had never been quite sure about Jesus as a king in this world, leading a military coup. It didn’t seem like him. It contradicted most of the things he had ever said. And I wanted to think quietly about what happened this morning. To ponder in my heart.
Then I realised there was someone walking beside us. I don’t know when he joined us, or where he came from. I didn’t think it was anyone I knew. He seemed to be listening to Cleopas’s diatribe, and my dutiful answers. Then he spoke. It wasn’t a voice I recognised, and yet…
“What is it that you are talking about?”
We stopped and looked at him. Cleopas said, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem that doesn’t know about what’s been happening there these last days.” I smiled to myself. Trust Cleopas to think his concerns were at the forefront of everybody’s mind. I was pretty sure that most of the people who were visiting Jerusalem had kept well out of the way of trouble and only had a hazy idea of the matter. Cleopas continued, “How the authorities took Jesus of Nazareth who was a prophet and a teacher, and our leader, and handed him over to the Romans to be crucified. We thought – hoped that he was the one who would deliver Israel, but we can forget that now. And then, if you please, some of the women in our group,” he carefully didn’t look at me, “went to the tomb this morning and came back with a cock and bull story about him having risen from the dead. I ask you!”
The stranger shook his head and spoke rebukingly – yet I thought there was a smile in his eyes. “How foolish you are. Don’t you understand anything you’ve been told? Don’t you remember what the prophets have said?” Then he set to and explained everything Isaiah and the other prophets has said about the Messiah, and what would happen to him. It made perfect sense. Suddenly, Friday didn’t seem such a disaster. We could understand why it had to happen. I was almost happy. I felt a warm glow inside. It reminded me of that time we sat in a great crowd on the hillside and Jesus told us how we should behave.
By the time he’d finished we had reached Emmaus. As we turned into the house, the stranger seemed to be going on, but Cleopas stopped him. “It’s getting late,” he said. “Come in and stay with us.” So he came in with us. I put food and wine upon the table. We sat down and he picked up the bread. I watched his hands, fascinated. He blessed the bread, broke it, and handed it to us, with that gesture we had seen so many times. We both gasped. It was the Lord. But even as we realised, he just wasn’t there anymore.
We stared at each other. We knew this was something we had to share with everyone. With the whole world! But first… “We must go back to Jerusalem and tell the others,” I said. “ Are you sure you want to? Won’t you be too tired?” He asked.
“Tired! I feel as if I could walk all round the Middle Sea and not be tired.” So we set off back the way we had come. But oh, how differently. We discussed what Jesus had told us, making sure we understood what he meant. We laughed and rejoiced. Cleopas wasn’t grumbling now.
It must have taken us nearly two hours to get back but it felt like a few minutes. We burst into the room where our friends were. “The Lord is Risen!” exclaimed Cleopas. “Indeed He is.” They replied. “Simon has seen him.” Poor Cleopas. He so wanted to be first with the news. But he swallowed his chagrin and told them all that had happened and what Jesus had said to us. © Fiona Middlemist (Used with permission)
(Author’s note: There is a theory that the unnamed traveller to Emmaus was a woman, that is, the wife of Cleopas. I have wondered if she was also one of the women at the tomb that morning. Different Gospels give different accounts of who went on that sad errand. If you look in the previous section of the chapter of Luke you will see that he mentions “Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the other women. On the assumption that this woman was one of them, I have tried to imagine how she viewed this experience of encountering the risen Lord. In John’s Gospel, one of the women at the Cross was named as ‘Mary the wife of Cleopas. Perhaps this was the same woman.)
Part 4 – RESURRECTION LIFE
Thomas
I’ve just spent the worst few weeks of my life!
Everything was wonderful – then it fell apart.
That last supper with Jesus was something special,
despite the undercurrents of unease
and the usual bickering over which one of us –
his closest friends – would be the greatest.
Well, we all failed that one spectacularly I can tell you.
Judas most of all. I still can’t understand why he did it –
betraying Jesus to the authorities.
Peter didn’t come out of it too well either –
denying he ever knew him.
I must admit though at least Peter had the guts to go
with John to the trial (if you can call it that –
stitch-up more like). The rest of us just scattered.
I couldn’t follow him to the Cross, seeing the Lord we loved reduced
to a tortured, bleeding lump of humanity.
The stench of sweat and excrement – of death, hanging in the air.
But it wasn’t that I couldn’t stand.
I suppose I could have steeled myself to watch his stretched out agony,
the pain of listening to them taunting him,
the embarrassment of his being killed as a common felon.
No, it was his love I couldn’t bear.
Still loving to the end. Loving them – his enemies;
loving us – his unfaithful friends. Loving me.
And afterwards – it was all we talked about in the upper room;
every sordid detail, over and over again.
Then on Sunday morning that madwoman from Magdala
came in with such a tale: She’d seen him, talked to him, touched him.
I couldn’t take it in. I just cut and ran.
When I got back the rest of them were at it.
“You’ve just missed him,” they said. “He’s been here.
We gave him the leftovers from supper.”
I thought they were having me on at first, then I realised they meant it.
I told them straight: “You’re all crazy. I’ll never believe it – not unless
I can put my finger in the nail holes and stick my hand in the wound in his side.”
And I turned my back on it and walked out.
[Read John chapter 20 verses 26-31 and find out what happened]
Photo © Jackson David Unsplash
A prayer
Loving Lord, often like Thomas we doubt your power
to rise above the death-like situations
in our lives and in our world.
When we recall the sudden deaths, murders,
painful experiences, and serious illness
of people around us, some of whom
we know and love personally;
When we think of the wars, terrorist bombings,
famines, and other disasters which wreak havoc
around us, we want to run away and hide.
Help us to have the courage
to reach out and touch your scars,
borne for the world, and for us,
so that we may be healed,
renewed, and see your risen life
in the broken people and places
of our world, and acclaim you again
as our Lord and our God. Amen.
| Watcher on the shore
‘There stood Jesus on the beach; but the disciples did not know it was Jesus.’ [John 21: 4] Sitting on the shore He regarded them more He looked at the sea To be able to look on ‘Cast your nets on the
|
At the lakeside
It was the lad – John – who saw him first; Afterwards when everyone was sated and settled ‘Yes, Lord,’ I said again. ‘You know I love you.’ I looked back and saw the lad was following. And I did, to the end…. So can you. |
Photo 
Acknowledgements
Some of the above have been published by the Iona Community Wild Goose publications who are happy for them to be used for non-commercial purposes with the acknowledgement (C) Carol Dixon Iona Wild Goose Publications – All heaven weeps [Candles & Conifers]; Sister of Mary [Spring] ; At the lakeside [Fire & Bread] all edited by Ruth Burgess.
I have also included two items written by friends of mine with their permission.
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