Reflection for May 6th from Rev Alison RobertsJohn 15:26-16:426 ¶ "When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.1 ¶ "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray.2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.4 I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you. (NIV)The scripture makes heady reading, and I feel it helps to understand when and why Jesus was speaking to the Disciples like a dying parent would speak to his beloved child. In the Gospel of John chapters 13 – 17 record the intimate night when Jesus prepared the Disciples for the terrible events of his trail, and death; and then his resurrection and ascension when he would return to his Father. Together they are referred to as ‘The Farewell Discourse.’ The conversation takes place in the upper room. You know the one I mean; that room where Jesus and the disciples have just finished their last and final meal. Judas has excused himself, with more than a hint of the treachery that will become clearer the next day.There is only the briefest of time left for Jesus to give reassurance as well as instructions to his Disciples. Like any of us, Jesus wants his beloved ones to be okay; to carry on what they had started; and he wants to reassure himself as well as the Disciples that they will be safe. So, the time they have left to them, is both precious and for Jesus; sharing his guidance is crucial.For the Disciples hearing what Jesus had to say must have been shockingly hard to comprehend. They wouldn’t have wanted to hear that one of them could commit an act of betrayal or that Jesus would die. And that he would die soon. They are going to lose their Shepherd, their teacher and their dear friend.John’s text itself is full of strange metaphors and jumbled tenses; but I would argue that any repetition and subsequent incoherence gives us a clue to the level of distress that Jesus may have been experiencing at the time, for he is human as well as divine!I find the scripture heartbreaking, and if you are of a mind to read it, I’d recommend a comfy chair, in a quite space, with a candle and cross close by. But if we find reading the scripture and trying to understand it tricky, imagine how confusing and shocking, it would have been for the Disciples to hear?So often it’s words of great importance, words that reveal the deep loves and concerns of our heart. They are the words that must be said before death comes. And this is how we can make sense of Jesus’s words. That he is saying something so close to his heart, hoping that the Disciples and all of us, will receive his words.A few hours later Jesus will be arrested, tried, and crucified. He knows the end is near. Yet with all the horror facing him he is eager to prepare the Disciples for his departure as best he can.When someone is nearing death….what do they want to talk about? What do they want to say?What would you want to say?This afternoon in St Margaret’s Rev Jules will start the first session of ‘GraveTalk’ which will continue throughout May every Monday afternoon. Because it isn’t easy to talk about death, dying and funerals, especially our own. But if we neglect these subjects, we can be unprepared for some of the most significant events we will ever have to face - our own death and the deaths of those close to us.In small groups ‘GraveTalk’ gently encourages safe conversations about life, death; and includes your own experiences, what is important in your life and how you would like to?Please come and join the conversation, we’d love to see you this afternoon or any May Monday afternoon at St Margarets 2pm - 4pmIn the LeavingIn The LeavingIn the leaving, in the letting go,let there be thisto hold onto at the last:the enduring of love,the persisting of hope,the remembering of joy,the offering of gratitude,the receiving of grace,the blessing of peace. Amen Jan Richardson taken from ‘Circle of Grace’ Common Worship: Collects and Post Communions, material from which is included here, is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2000
We are taking a different look using this book.Holy Trinity Church on Sunday 17th February 3pm and following weeks on Mondays 2pmFebruary 18th & 26thMarch 4th, 11th & 18th