Vicar's Blog

For those of you that came to church last Sunday, you were treated to the full 45 verses of the above reading. I still think it is better to read and digest the full story, especially as we begin our approach to Holy Week and all that brings in terms of our faithful journey to and through the Cross. Today we start the period in the Church calendar called 'Passiontide' but have you wondered what the word 'Passion' means? We think of passion as being associated with intense outbursts of strong emotion, like desire, or great enthusiasm. People are "passionate" about their football for instance. But the term was originally used to refer to severe suffering, and applied to the period of suffering undergone by Jesus before the glory of His Easter resurrection.Passiontide comes with some huge themes, like suffering, death, resurrection and glory, as we shall see as we accompany Jesus through the last two weeks of his life. In the raising of Lazarus Jesus reveals his power over death, which we will see again at his own death and resurrection. We also see another of the seven "I am" statements - "I am the resurrection and the life!" But above all we should notice how yet again Jesus responds to another person's faith. Martha knows with every power of her being that her brother Lazarus could have been healed if Jesus had been with them earlier, and even though he has been in the tomb for four days, that Jesus can raise him from the dead. Her confidence brings forth a statement that believers too will one day be raised, for Jesus says, "Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." Passiontide is meant to be a special penitential period where we focus on Jesus' bitter passion and feel sorrow within ourselves for our own sins. But the good news is that Passiontide doesn't have the last say, and this sombre period of preparation will end in two week's time, and then our hearts can rejoice in the glory of Christ's resurrection.

A prayer for Passiontide

Lord Jesus Christ,
as we enter this solemn period of Passiontide,
when Your enemies began to gather around You,
may we learn true faithfulness from Martha's example.
Help us to trust in Your plans for our world,
and to know when the days are dark
that through Your death and Resurrection
You have already defeated death
for all who believe in You.
Amen.