resurrection

True Resurrection – a reflection

This is the day of resurrection.

In our narrative, just three short days ago, hatred had free reign. And now, as the sun crept over the horizon on yet another day, change was in the air. Heralded by the sound of a voice, the calling of a name, the offering of peace, the breaking of bread, change was waiting in the wings.

Hatred has had free reign through this year since we celebrated this festival last. And now as the sun creeps over the horizon on yet another day change still pervades the air. Silence and fear mix with the calling of a name, candles are lit, peace is hoped for, bread is broken, people pray, change is in the wings.

What do you do after a death?

Lost voices echo over the gulf of death and shake us, for though silenced, they will never be lost.

Actions, simple actions, will make memories real. My father’s hands, those of your mother, the painted nails of your daughter, the knuckles of my son – all familiar – all echoed in our own hands, bringing us up short. And tears, unexpectedly, sometimes inappropriately, flow and we lose control.

Then someone points out the significance of words which still stay with us, the occasions when we heard them informing what we say and how we act.

This is the day of resurrection, of re-creation, of persistent love.

Some hold this as an historic event easily, a matter of faith. Others feel it is beyond belief. Yet what happened in those days, miraculous or not, is mirrored in our own experiences, yesterday, today, perhaps tomorrow. This was a day that changed lives, offered a new perspective. Mary heard her name being called and the disciples walked into a new future. All that Jesus had said and done lived on for and in them. He changed attitudes and informed actions. But he had died.

Love, however, had not been destroyed. If you can have faith in a literal bodily resurrection hold onto it, it is a gift of grace. But whether you can, or not, reflect with me for a moment on how the first disciples kept Christ alive even beyond crucifixion, resurrection, Ascension.

Acts 2

⁴⁴All who believed were together and had all things in common; ⁴⁵they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds^[^j^] to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home^[^k^] and ate their food with glad and generous^[^l^] hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.

Christ was raised and lived on in the love and kindness of ordinary people like you and me.

Love, real love, cannot be destroyed, for there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from God’s love. That’s what matters and our ongoing love, our persistent loving kindness, is evidence of resurrection NOW!

That is real:

When we greet with loving kindness those who have betrayed us;

When we make peace with those who have let us down;

When we meet apparent strangers, yet learn their names, and call them in loving kindness;

Then Christ is alive.

Christ is alive when persistent loving kindness is alive in your life and mine!

Resurrection Hymn – Here on the crest of the wave of creation

Here on the crest of the wave of creation

Here on the crest of the wave of creation,
roaring and rolling beyond time and place;
God is transforming through quiet resurrection,
challenging hopelessness, offering grace.
	
Now we will follow the steps that will lead us
on through the horrors and hatred of life,
on through the angst ridden pain of bereavement,
on through the cross to the ending of strife.
	
Here at faith's edge where our peace is beginning,
God soaring free through our chaos and pain,
here is the meaning of loving and living,
here is the place of our rising again.

Andrew Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2008 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk .
Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL
Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior
application to Stainer & Bell Ltd
Metre: 11 10 11 10
Tune: EPIPHANY HYMN

The Way to the Cross – from Bethlehem to Calvary and Beyond – A Hymn

When Jesus came to Bethlehem there was no harsh a day, 
they say a census had been called, there was no place to stay;
this baby who would shake the world, would first lay down his head, 
not in a royal house or hall, but in a manger bed.
	
When Jesus went to Nazareth his father had a trade, 
a carpenter now had a son and business plans were laid;
but soon within the temple courts, this lad would have his way, 
dissenting from his parents' wish, they'd looked for him all day.
	
The path that he set out to tread from Jordan's crowded bank
would take him him through a wilderness with neither power nor rank; 
returning he would scourge the ones and verbally deride
a viper's brood, these hypocrites, who dressed themselves in pride.
	
Returning to Jerusalem, but not in regal dress, 
he's seated on a donkey's back, not here to rule or bless;
the temple tables were upturned, but more disturbing still, 
his challenge to authority would cause the air to chill.
	
That chill was in Gethsemane when he knelt down to pray, 
and all the pain of all the world  seared through him on that day; 
the time of crisis had arrived to turn from what was right,
or walk with soldiers on to what now looked like endless night.
	
The trial came and ones that he had scourged with words scourged him, 
and this was brutal vengeance now, not wondrous, simply grim:
his flesh was ripped, his sinews torn, his body hung to dry, 
and as the darkness gathered round the whole world seemed to sigh.
	
That ragged child that Mary bore was taken from the tree, 
the women waited through three days, covertly went to see:
they found the tomb was empty now, the one they sought had gone, 
and as they raced in fear away, the mystery lingered on.  
	
Yet through two thousand years and more the influence of that man
has rippled down through history from where it first began; 
his spirit stills inspires a faith that trusts to what is right, 
to seek for truth, to live in love, keep justice burning bright.

Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2015 © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . 
Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. 
All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 14 14 14 14 
Tune: THE LINCOLNSHIRE POACHER
Written at the request of the Rev’d Dr John Parry

Emmaus a hymn – Way out beyond the reaches of the cosmos

After Easter some people were walking to Emmaus talking about all that had happened. Jesus, unrecognised, walked beside them. Only when they reached their destination and asked Jesus to join them for a meal did they recognise him – when he broke bread.
This hymn reflects on the all-pervasive nature of the message of resurrection, that of creation and re-creation, only in the last verse bringing us to Emmaus. It is for communion, or any other meal.
Fred Kaan once pointed out that ‘companion’ means ‘with bread’. 

Way out beyond the reaches of the cosmos,
through strands, like smoke, of interstellar cloud, 
our God is moving, forming, re-creating, 
each image speaks the name of God, out loud.

It seems this God will nurture like a mother, 
the power of love embodies life and light.
This love transcends succeeding generations, 
brings comfort in the darkness of death's night. 

Companion God in breaking bread together 
we meet with you as we met on the way, 
a friendly God you still make peace between us, 
as sharing meals we meet with you each day.

Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2014 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 11 10 11 10
Tune: O PERFECT LOVE
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