#WatchAndPray reflections - Happy Easter! Morning Holy Week: Easter Day Alleluia. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia. Reading Matthew 17.22-23 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.’ And they were greatly distressed. Reflection When reading through Matthew’s Gospel we may wonder why the disciples were surprised by Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus had been preparing his disciples along the journey to Jerusalem. He utters the same words, almost verbatim, three times (in Matthew Chapters 16, 17 and 20). Jesus tried to make things as clear as possible for his disciples. It is reminder that even the Lord of life must endure darkness. But the darkness and despair foretold is hard to conceptualise until it arrives. Within seasons of darkness and despair resurrection is unthinkable. Let us give the final word to Selina Stone, whose book Tarry Awhile exploring Black Spirituality has inspired these reflections: “This is what it means for us to be people of the resurrection. We inhabit a world that is not yet what it will be, as people who continue to be formed into the likeness of Christ who embodied life and love in their fullness. The scars we bear are not cause for shame, nor must they define us in our entirety. They remind us of the work of God which continues to be needed in the world and in each of us, as we tarry ever more, for the reign of God to be made known among us in justice and peace.” Watch Spend some time noticing how these forty days of watching and praying, tarrying and reflecting have helped to deepen your faith. ...and pray Holy God, grant us the faith to trust you in times of struggle. Give us courage to dwell with you, knowing that you will bring us to new life. Amen. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
#WatchAndPray reflections - Holy Week: Easter Eve We shall weep Holy Week: Easter Eve Reading Matthew 24.15-27 ‘So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; someone on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; someone in the field must not turn back to get a coat. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, “Look! Here is the Messiah!” or “There he is!”—do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, “Look! He is in the wilderness”, do not go out. If they say, “Look! He is in the inner rooms”, do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.' Reflection Matthew Chapter 24 is a difficult part of the Gospel full of apocalyptic predictions. Many have used it to predict the present age and the future in definitive ways. It is tempting to use it to predict, for example, the coming of the Son of Man, and the how the end time judgement will take place. However, the chapter ends by stating that all should be prepared since the Son of Man will come “at an unexpected hour” (verse 44). Nonetheless, it does warn that what will certainly take place is “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (verse 51). These difficult passages, like apocalyptic passages generally, remind us of the utter reality of the human condition. Deep suffering is a part of life. Black spiritual traditions remind us that trial and pain are part of being human. But they also remind us that weeping is not the final experience. Watch Call to mind places and people in the world today who are in the grip of weeping and grief. ...and pray for glimpses of the new heaven and earth God promises to bring about. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
#WatchAndPray reflections - Holy Week: Good Friday All creation weeps Holy Week: Good Friday Reading Matthew 27.45-54 From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’ Reflection The moment of Jesus’ death in Matthew’s Gospel is dramatic – not only for Jesus himself, but for the physical world. Darkness covers the whole land … the curtain of the temple is torn in two … the earth shakes and the rocks split … the tombs open and the dead are raised to life appearing to many” and it is all described as “an earthquake”. This is a way of describing the overwhelming experience of the created order. The earth weeps. Death and the grave are beside themselves. This is a death that shakes the universe. Indigenous spiritualities and Black spiritual traditions that are still close to creation and the environment know that there is a connectedness of all things. On Good Friday, Jesus dies on the cross. All of creation groans, and all of history weeps. Watch Spend time in silence today contemplating Jesus' death on the cross. ...and pray for a deeper and larger understanding of Jesus' life and death. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
#WatchAndPray reflections - Holy Week: Maundy Thursday Mary weeps Holy Week: Maundy Thursday Reading John 19.16b-27 Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”, but, “This man said, I am King of the Jews.” ’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfil what the scripture says, ‘They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.’ And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. Reflection Mary weeps. Mary and the women closest to Jesus follow along as Jesus is moved towards Golgotha. This is a painful road – the Via Dolorosa – not only for Jesus, but for his mother too. She stands beneath the cross to the bitter end. Mary has known that this deep pain would come, as prophesied by Simeon when she and Joseph presented their child in the temple (in Luke Chapter 2). The knowledge of his impending death is a burden she has long carried. Many Black mothers have carried within their souls the truth that their children – especially their sons – were likely to be killed at an early age, or jailed, victims of systemic injustice. They have had to stand by when their children have been crucified by systems of violent racism. They, like Mary, have had simply to abide – clinging to love, enveloped in tears – to the bitter end. Watch Become aware of mothers weeping for their children across our violent world. ...and pray for a worldwide sorrow for the killing of innocents and children. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
