| As we approach Holy Week, we come to what have been called the ‘Three Great Days’ that are at the heart of Christian life and worship. These Three Days are: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Day. On Maundy Thursday we celebrate the Eucharist, a meal that points us to the past and to the future. It reminds us that Jesus welcomed the outcast, the forgotten and those who are usually left behind to His table. He was known for eating with those that the religious leaders called ‘sinners.’ On Maundy Thursday and every time we share the Eucharist we remember that no one is excluded from Jesus’ table. All are welcome. We are welcome. Maundy Thursday also points us to the future. It reminds us that one of Jesus’ favourite images of the Kingdom of God is a feast. It tells us that we are invited to the great banquet in God’s Kingdom. Of course, a tiny wafer of bread and a sip of wine are not anyone’s idea of a great feast. They are merely a pointer, a signpost, a promise. Every time I share in the bread and wine at communion, but especially on Maundy Thursday, it reminds me that heaven is as far beyond my hopes and expectations as a rich feast is beyond the wafer and the sip of wine that we share. Maundy Thursday is a sign of the hope and promise of the kingdom of God. On Good Friday we focus our attention on Jesus’ cross. That Cross tells us of the love of God for us and for the creation. It tells us how deeply we are loved, what we are worth to God. It has been said that you only know the value of a thing when you see how much someone will pay for it. On the Cross God incarnate pays for us with His life, and God the Father pays the cost of allowing His beloved Son to die for us. Thai is what we are worth to God. The Cross speaks not only of the immense love of God; it also tells us how lost we were. If this is the cost of our salvation, then our situation is far worse than we can know. School children often ask me why we call the day on which Jesus died Good Friday. The answer is simple. It is Good Friday because it is the day that the lost are found, the broken healed, the sinful forgiven. It is the defeat of death once and for all. Our hope is in the love of God, and that is seen most clearly in the Cross of Christ. Easter Day is the day of the victory of life and love over death and evil. Easter has been called the start of a whole new world, because Easter and the empty tomb do not fit into any existing world-view. John, in his Gospel, tells the story of the resurrection in ways that recall the story of Adam and Eve. It is set in a garden early on the first day of the week. Instead of Adam and Eve we find Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Instead of the defeat of the Fall, rooted in our rebellion against God, there is the victory of Jesus who was a faithful Son of God. One figure though is missing from the garden on Easter Day: the serpent; because on the Cross the serpent has been defeated once and for all. John tells the story of Easter in this way because for all who come to faith in the risen Lord Jesus, it is the start of a new life. It is hope breaking into the despair of the world. It is the promise that death is a defeated enemy. Easter is the victory of the risen Christ, and He calls us to follow Him, to live in this world as a people who live the Easter hope and victory every day of our lives. And Jesus reminds us that this hope is given not only for ourselves, but also for those who have no hope. May the risen Christ fill you with the peace and the joy of His resurrection as we celebrate these Three Great Days once again, and as we are reminded of the great gift that is ours in Christ. Tim. |
| Following Jesus; Celebrating Life; Welcoming All We are here to help people love and worship God. We aim to be, and encourage others to become, committed and active disciples of Jesus, who love God and worship him, who know the power of the Holy Spirit and who show God’s love in every part of their lives. |
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| Thought for the month |
| Below you will find extracts from this month's Parish Magazine First Words..., A Prayer for the Month & A Thought for the Month |
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| “Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia!” The traditional Easter greeting is usually seen as an acclamation, a triumphant cry of victory and praise. And although it certainly is a cry of victory of life over death; of hope over despair, of the light of Christ over the forces of chaos, it is also, I believe a prayer. We live and worship in a world in which Christ has come, in which Christ has triumphed; and yet, evil still destroys many, many lives. If Easter is the victory of God over evil and chaos, then why is evil still such a force in our world? We live between the times; between the victory of Christ on that first Easter, and the coming of God’s kingdom healing our world and our lives. Easter tells us that evil has been defeated, but until God’s kingdom finally comes in all its fulness, evil is still active and powerful in the world and in our lives. Someone once described our situation by using the analogy of the Second World War. Easter is a bit like D Day. Once a bridgehead had been established for the allied forces, victory was assured, and so in one sense you could say that the Third Reich was finished on that day. And yet it took many months of fighting and struggle until VE Day. We live between the times; between the establishment of God’s kingdom when Christ defeated death and hell once and for all on the Cross and by the empty tomb, and the fulfilment of the kingdom, when every broken heart will be healed and every tear wiped away. And so, until God’s kingdom comes we live in the hope of the victory of Easter in a world which too often feels more like ‘Good Friday’, a day of crucifixion. To be a Christian, to follow Jesus is to be a person of hope. And this hope is expressed in the great Easter acclamation. When we proclaim that Christ is “risen indeed” we commit ourselves to live in the hope of Easter and the Resurrection, and we pray that Christ’s victory will bring healing to our world. For as the great Fourth century Bishop and theologian Saint Augustine wrote: “We are an Easter people, and ‘Alleluia!’ is our song.” God bless and a very happy Easter, Tim |
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| This year Holy week falls in April, and most of the activities in Church are related to this, the central festival of the Christian year. On Monday 1st April 7.30pm we have our PCC Meeting (some have wondered if the date is significant!) to prepare for the AGM. The Lent Group continues on Wednesdays at 7.30pm. You are welcome to come along even if you have not managed to get to any of the earlier ones. On Saturday 13th April at 9am it is the monthly Prayer Breakfast. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, 14th April. After the 10am Service of the Word there will be Children’s Crafts from 11.30 -12.30. On Monday 15th we are invited to the Chrism Service at the Cathedral at 7pm. On Tuesday 16th at 7.30pm we have a short service of Compline with a short ‘Holy Week’ reflection. On Wednesday 17th at 7.30pm we have the last meeting of the Lent Course followed by Compline. On Maundy Thursday at 7.30pm we celebrate Jesus’ Last Supper, followed by a prayer vigil until 9pm. On Good Friday there is All Age worship at 10am followed by hot Cross buns! And from 12 noon until 3pm we have the ‘Three Hours at The Cross’ service. There will be a reading, a reflection and hymn every half hour. Please try to enter or leave Church just before the half hour. We will be creating our Easter Garden at the back of church on Saturday, 20th April at 10.00am. All are welcome, especially children, to join in and help. If you wish to contribute, greenery and potted plants will be gratefully received. On Easter Day, Sunday 21st April, we rejoice to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. On Sunday 28th April we will hold our Annual General Meeting after the 10am service. We need to elect a Church Warden and 3 PCC Members. Please pray about these positions. Later that day at 5pm there is the Youth Fellowship followed by Prayer & Praise at 6.30pm. God bless Tim |
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A prayer for St Mary's for 2019
Heavenly Father,
Your son Jesus Christ has called us into His Church here at St Mary's.
Pour out upon us your Holy Spirit:
that we may worship you with all our hearts and minds;
that we may love one another as Christ has loved us;
and that we may be fruitful in your service.
Help us to grow as a Church in faith, in hope and in love;
and add to our number those whom you are calling,
that as a bigger Church we may do bigger work for your glory.
Amen
Heavenly Father,
Your son Jesus Christ has called us into His Church here at St Mary's.
Pour out upon us your Holy Spirit:
that we may worship you with all our hearts and minds;
that we may love one another as Christ has loved us;
and that we may be fruitful in your service.
Help us to grow as a Church in faith, in hope and in love;
and add to our number those whom you are calling,
that as a bigger Church we may do bigger work for your glory.
Amen
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