Easter 2008
Dear Friends,
It’s not easy to write an Easter letter. What do you say after 18 years of writing about spring and new life, and crocuses poking up through the snow, and Jesus rising from the grave? After so many years, it’s hard to put a new spin on the Easter theme. It all sounds kind of like a sappy Hallmark card, or like the first draft of this year’s newsletter, nice but predictable.
So let’s back off from Easter a bit. Let’s back up into the week preceding Easter, into the week we call Holy. And think for a moment about the holiness of that week.
I try to imagine what it must have been like for the friends of Jesus, the ones we call disciples. What a horrible week this must have been for them. First of all, they warned him not to go into Jerusalem, because they knew people there were out to get him. But Jesus insisted that he must go into the city. His entry with palm branches waving isn’t such a bad start to the week, but after that it’s pretty much all down hill. The Passover meal is laid out and Jesus explains that this will be his last meal with them. Later on, out in the garden, one of them betrays him and armed guards lead him away to a mock trial. The men flee, the women try and figure out what is going on, and Jesus is left on his own to face his accusers.
There are some
weeks in which things go terribly wrong. And this is one of them.
And his political handlers - the disciples - could see that things
were quickly going from bad to worse. All their planning and
strategy and devotion to the cause was quickly disintegrating in
front of their very eyes, in one short week.
Following Jesus doesn’t mean you’re always going to feel peaceful,
happy and fulfilled. I’m sure that his disciples didn’t feel the
least bit religious during this ‘holy’ week. They must have felt
terrified for their lives, sickened at their own cowardice,
disillusioned that their hopes for Jesus’ leadership potential had
been dashed, and confused about what to do next. Have you ever
felt these things?
I can’t really get to Easter unless I admit to finding myself in holy week. Do you and I not find ourselves at certain times in our lives, lost and confused, afraid and disillusioned? Are we not, like those disciples, in the same boat in our attempts to follow Jesus; when things just go terribly wrong and we are frightened and unsure of what to do next? We thought we had charted a course that would be stable and lead to success, but then suddenly everything began to fall apart. You think that everything is going well, but then a crack appears, and then another, and pretty soon the whole structure of your life appears to be crumbling.
What is Easter after a week in which everything has gone to hell? What is Easter to someone who has lost everything or lost someone who was precious to them? Easter is obviously a complete surprise, something that comes to you out of the blue, that hits you between the eyes, that knocks you off your feet and then lifts you up to see something you hadn’t seen before.
It’s not just
chocolate eggs or a hot ham supper, but something a little bit more
than this. Easter is not something we plan or prepare for with a
tablecloth and nice napkins. It’s not of our own doing. It is
unexpected. It must be something like Love taking us by surprise;
Life calling our name when all we knew was death and sorrow. Hope
calling us forth when we had chosen despair as our lot. Easter must
surely surprise us with joy and bring us that peace which they say,
passes all understanding. I pray that you and I may find ourselves
welcomed into this Easter blessing, especially after coming through
those difficult times in our lives we call ‘holy’.
Please do join in our services of Holy Week and Easter:
Holy Week and Easter
Upcoming Events
On behalf of the churchwardens, Doreen Page and Terry O’Regan, we wish you and your family the blessings of the Easter season.