Thought for the month:
“From total, utter collapse and failure something totally and utterly new has
arisen. The unexpected, the humble, risen Christ – alive, giving courage to the broken, renewing
hope, giving life, empowering…” Jean Vanier – The Gift of Love
Dear Friends
I realise that I write this article just days before a possible war with Iraq. However, as I have already
written about this topic last month, I only want to add a few words now. This is mainly to say that
we will keep the whole situation in our prayers here at the church, praying for our own service men
and women and all others from whatever nation caught up in the conflict. Most of all we pray that
lives, both civilian and military from whatever side of the conflict, will be spared. Throughout April a
twenty minute prayer meeting will take place on Saturdays at 9.30am in the church and you are
welcome to attend these silent times of prayer and reflection.
I want instead this month to focus on the meaning of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I wonder
how you would begin, if you were asked to explain to a newcomer to the faith what these two holy
days meant?
Too often, I believe, we are tempted to simply talk about the events of both days, rather than their
inner meaning. We may well say that Good Friday is the time when Jesus was crucified, and
Easter Sunday the day when Jesus rose from the dead. However, this simple explanation of the
facts is in itself never enough – even young children know these facts. These statements need to
be explained, or unpacked, for their full meaning to be revealed.
Good Friday is not simply a question of Jesus’ death upon the cross, important though that is. It
was a pivotal point in the history of the world. Before Good Friday the way people found forgiveness
for their sins was through an elaborate system of animal sacrifice. The blood of bulls and lambs
was offered up as a sacrifice for sin, in the same way that in some parts of the world today,
traditional religions employ animal sacrifice to try and avert famine or disaster.
Good Friday, the bible tells us, represented a whole sea change in God’s dealings with humanity. It
was the day when God decided to provide the “lamb” himself, his own Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for
sin. No longer then do we need to sacrifice our own possessions to find forgiveness. God has done
that for us, through the death of Jesus.
Sadly so many people see Good Friday as a day of disaster and failure, but this is a total
misunderstanding of the cross. Jesus always said from the outset of his ministry that the cross
was the central reason behind him even coming into the world. Take this passage in Mark’s gospel
for example:
"For even I, the Son of Man, came here
not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”
Our patron Saint St Paul writes of how the cross was a deliberate plan to allow us to receive
forgiveness of our sins – certainly not a mistake or a failure:
“But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the
cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing.”
In other words, without the cross there would be no clear free forgiveness from God. However,
because Jesus has taken our sins on himself, has become “the Lamb of God that takes away the
sins of the world” – we can be forgiven and have our place as God’s children in his kingdom here on
earth. That is why we have Holy Communion, to remember his sacrifice on our behalf.
Easter Day similarly is not just about saying “Christ is risen”, regardless of how important that
physical act was as a historical reality. We need to go deeper into that fact and realise that the
resurrection was a second and equally important moment in human history. As Jesus rose from the
grave he announced to the world that death is not the victor in the end. Just as Christ rose from the
grave, so do we as Christians have confidence that we also will rise to eternal life. The power of the
Devil seemed to have defeated Jesus, but the victory of the resurrection that God’s power is far
greater than any evil. Therefore the resurrection gives us confidence that we have a living Saviour
who is leading us even today by his Spirit, and will lead us into eternal life beyond this present
experience of life that we know now.
Obviously I would like several more pages to explain this matter, but I will have to stop here! I would
like to invite you though warmly to our Holy Week and Easter events and through them find time to
explore the Christian faith deeper. Alternatively, why don’t you consider coming on the Christian
Discovery course and finding a deeper faith through that. The Christian faith has so much to give us
and it is a sadness to me that there are not more people finding these wonders. You might even
consider being confirmed at our church later in the year! It’s never too late – adults are most
welcome!
All good wishes and Easter greetings to you when we arrive to the 20th April
Simon Tillotson
Old and thoughtful thoughts
November 2000
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June
2001
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