Third Sunday of Easter Acts 3: 12-19 Luke 24: 36b-48There are many causes for us to enter into shock. A sudden surprise gift, an unexpectedly high bill arriving, a most unlikely person appearing on your doorstep. This morning, in the gospel reading from Luke, we read how the disciples were startled and terrified at the appearance of Jesus. He was dead. He was the last person that they would expect to stand before them.Jesus saw their state and said to them to reassure them, ‘Look at my hands and feet; touch me and see’. He showed them his hands and feet where the marks of his crucifixion would be very evident. The disciples were still a little unsure and Jesus could see this. He asked for something to eat. He was given some broiled fish which he ate in their presence.The disciples were still perturbed. This could not be happening. Jesus, their teacher, set about explaining everything to them. Right from the beginning he set the scene and worked his way forwards. He finished by saying, ‘repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations’.Jesus then ‘opened their minds’ so that they could understand the events leading up to his death on the Cross. He said, ‘You are witnesses of these things’. The disciples were to leave Jerusalem and to preach to all nations in the name of Jesus. The message – repentance and forgiveness of sins.It was an urgent task for the disciples. The upper room was not to be the ending place of their encounter with Jesus. Rather it would be the beginning. Here the Church was being born and sent out to every nation. Here is the world-wide mission of the Church. Behind them are the days of sorrow, the days of depression. Instead, the days of joy and happiness are being launched.Those days continued throughout the following centuries, right up to today. We do not know of the date and time of the Second Coming of the Lord. What we do know is that we need to be prepared. Our souls must be cleansed from sin, we need to have repented before the Lord. Then we can join with all of the Church, in shouting with joy, of the Resurrection of Christ. In so doing we are joining with all of the Church in taking the message forward. Alleluia Christ is Risen! AlleluiaCollect for the Third Sunday of EasterAlmighty Father,who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples with the sight of the risen Lord:give us such knowledge of his presence with us,that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen lifeand serve you continually in righteousness and truth;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.
Second Sunday of Easter Acts 4: 32-35 John 20: 19-endFor some people getting into trouble just happens once, or maybe twice. For others it is almost a way of life. Virtually everything that they touch or do causes them to get into trouble – “can’t do right for doing wrong”. If one is lucky the misdemeanour will soon be forgotten, wiped away never to be brought up again. For others the wrong-doing will be remembered for years and years – “do you remember what happened last time?”During Holy Week we listened to the reading telling us about Peter. He followed Jesu after his arrest and loitered in a courtyard to see what would happen. Unfortunately for him he was recognised as one of the followers of Jesus. Upon being acknowledged as one of the followers he denied the claim. He was fearful of his life. There was a great danger that he too would be arrested alongside Jesus. Here Peter was in trouble. Three time over in fact because he denied knowing Jesus three times. For this Perter is remembered not only for the years of his own generation but for centuries afterwards. No doubt he will be remembered for this, not for just a short while, but for the whole of Christianity.Now we have another one who has eternal remembrance thrust upon him. Poor old Thomas. He missed the boat when Jesus first appeared to the disciples. He would not believe the evidence of his fellow disciples when they told him about the Risen Lord. He required the evidence of his own hands. Doubting Thomas became his known name, and he carries that with him also throughout eternity.Do we wish similar notoriety? Do we wish to be remembered throughout the future alongside people like – well, choose one yourself. A name remembered for their evil ways and there are plenty of them. Or would you prefer to be remembered for your acts of kindness, alongside Mother Teresa, Joan of Arc, Florence Nightingale and so on. These are people who will be remembered for years and years.Thomas gained his notoriety because he did not believe what his fellow disciples were telling him. Jesus had risen. Not only that but Jesus had approached them in the room that they were hiding in. They had seen Jesus with their own eyes. But he would not believe. He wanted to see for himself. He wanted to touch the wounds. Until he did he would not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead.Two thousand years have now passed since this episode with Thomas. In that time hundreds of millions of people have read the witness of the disciples of Jesus. They have read of the works of the disciples which they did following their encounter with the Lord. Looking back through history some believers in turn became well known, giving their life through martyrdom, through a great ability to teach of the faith. It is this that strengthened all of them. Their faith. A faith that has transcended time, passed from generation to generation.We are a part of that faith line. From the moment that we learnt for ourself of Jesus we become a part of the chain of faith that is travelling through time. Yes, time travel is possible! At least it is when we look at the Christian faith.Jesus Christ is Risen! It was proclaimed around the world last week. Our hearts rejoice that Jesus is showing us the way. He has passed through death and has shown us the way. This is our faith. It is a faith that has been handed down from generation to generation. It is a faith that continues. We have played our part and shared our faith with others. In so doing the faith ‘pool’ grows.Jesus appeared to the disciples and said to them, “Peace be with you.” It is a normal everyday eastern greeting. But its meaning is far deeper than ‘May you be saved from trouble’. It means ‘May God give you every good thing’. It is this peace that we pass to each other Sunday by Sunday.Alleluia Christ is Risen! AlleluiaCollect for the Second Sunday of EasterAlmighty Father,you have given your only Son to die for our sinsand to rise again for our justification:grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickednessthat we may always serve youin pureness of living and truth;through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
Easter Day Acts 10: 34-43 Mark 16: 1-8Alleluia! Christ is Risen. We may shout this from the rooftops, from the heights of the hills and mountains, we may spread the message far and wide. Yes, Jesus is risen from the dead and in so doing has shown us all the way to the heavenly kingdom.In rising Jesus has shown us new life. This is amplified as we look about us. There are spring lambs jumping about in the field, the trees are in bud as we await the colourful blossom, the flowers are bringing colour into the gardens and hedgerows. In addition there is the covert sneaking a nibble at an Easter Egg before getting caught – “wait until after ….”Jesus Christ is Risen. The stone sealing the tomb has been moved and the tomb is bare. Fright and astonishment may have overwhelmed them. However, there was a young man sat in the tomb who gave the women at the tomb words of comfort. He told them that Jesus, whom had been crucified, has been raised. They will see him just as he had told them. The Resurrection of Jesus is the central fact of the whole of the Christian faith. Think back to poor Peter who had denied Jesus. He must have been wracked with guilt; his soul must have been tortured beyond belief. But here, from the very tomb of Jesus, the young man told the women who had come to the tomb, “Tell his disciples, and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee”.Upon hearing this message imagine the pure and unadulterated joy that Peter must have felt. The relief must have been quite out of this world. This is the joy that we also can share. Jesus is the Risen Lord. It does not matter how much sin we have gathered upon our shoulders. As Jesus looked kindly upon Peter so he does upon us. our sins were washed away when he was on the Cross. Then we also may share in the joy that Peter felt.This Easter dig into that Easter Egg, the symbol of new life, and rejoice in the new life given to us by Jesus.Gill and I wish you God’s blessing and a very Happy Easter.Collect for Easter DayLord 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.
Easter Eve 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 John 13: 1-17, 31b-35I remember being taken to my first professional football match. It was Birmingham City playing against Tottenham Hotspur. I followed ‘The Spurs’. The ball was kicked around from one end of the field to the other and eventually a goal was scored by ‘The Spurs’. I immediately started to wave my arms and cheer only to change to scratching my head and coughing. No one else around me seemed happy that a goal was scored. I was at the wrong end. I was surrounded by ‘City’ fans and I would have been well and truly dealt with should I have continued to cheer. Well, I didn’t know!Jesus has been crucified. But might things have been different. Both Nicodemus and Joseph were members of the Sanhedrin. They were also secret disciples of Jesus. When the Sanhedrin met to examine Jesus they were either absent from the meeting or kept silent from the events as the charge was formulated against Jesus for fear of retribution. If they had spoken out would it have made any difference?The deed was done. Jesus had been crucified. Jospeh put his fear behind him and asked for the body of Jesus. Nicodemus brought herbs and spices as was required for the dead. They put behind them the fear of punishment that Pilate might bring upon them. Gone was the time to be a coward, to hesitate, to hide behind whatever cloak they could find.Is not the effect that Jesus has upon people? The power of the Cross was beginning to operate, drawing people closer to Jesus. Even though Jesus had been dead for just a few hours his body had been claimed and treated according to the Jewish rites.As we read of the immediate post-crucifixion events we can begin to understand the power that the Cross held. Those who previously had behaved in a cowardly fashion came forward in a new found strength taking centre stage in the retrieval of the body of Jesus. They, who at first wavered about which way to go, took the final decision to look after Jesus.The Cross can give us strength too. Almost wherever you are the Cross can be seen on a church, or maybe where two lines meet on the road, for instance, making a cross shape. Turning to the Cross can give us strength. When we are weak it can help us onwards. Do you wear a Cross around your neck, or as studs in your ears – you carry the Cross with you, you have a constant reminder, you have a constant power source with you.As you go about your daily life seek out the Cross and bathe in its power. Collect for Easter EveGrant, Lord,that we who are baptized into the death of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christmay continually put to death our evil desires and be buried with him; and that through the grave and gate of deathwe may pass to our joyful resurrection;through his merits,who died and was buried and rose again for us,your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
