Holy Saturday (Easter Eve) ~ John 11.17–44 If only... ~ Jean 11.17-44

Saturday 4th April

Song of Solomon 8.5‐7 ~ Cantique des Cantiques 8.5-7

Psalm 31.1‐4, 15‐16 ~ Psaumes 31. 1-4, 15-16

1 Corinthians 15.51‐end ~ 1 Corinthiens 15.51- fin

If only...

John 11.17–44 ~ Jean 11.17-44 ~ Johannes 11.17-44

When did you last say ‘If only ...’? If only my friend hadn’t stepped out in front of that

car ... If only my dad had avoided cancer...If only I had done better in the interview

and gotten the job. If only God had helped...Sound familiar?

It looks like quite similar thoughts were going through Martha and Mary's heads as

they meet Jesus just after their brother Lazarus died: "Jesus, if you had been here, my

brother would not have died." Jesus invites Martha to turn her perspective towards

the future, "Your brother will rise again". Understandably perhaps, Martha is not

comforted by a seemingly distant promise. But then Jesus goes further than this: the

seemingly distant future bursts right into their midst as he declares "I am the

resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die."

In the case of Lazarus, Jesus chose to give a very concrete taste of resurrection by

bringing Lazarus back to life. But the real news in this story is not that Lazarus got a

few more years to live. No, the real news is that resurrection is not just a future fact;

not just a doctrine. Resurrection is a person, Jesus Christ, and he is risen!

Wat als...

Joh. 11:17‐44

Wanneer zei je voor het laatst ‘wat als...’? Wat als mijn vriend niet voor die auto was

gestapt... Wat als mijn vader kanker had ontlopen... Wat als ik beter mijn best had

gedaan op dat sollicitatiegesprek, en die baan had gekregen. Wat als God mij had

geholpen... Klinkt dat bekend?

Het lijkt erop dat Martha en Maria met soortgelijke gedachten worstelden toen zij

Jezus ontmoetten, net na de dood van hun broer Lazarus: “Jezus, als U hier geweest

was, zou onze broer niet gestorven zijn.” Jezus moedigt Martha aan om haar blik op

de toekomst te richten, “Je broer zal opstaan uit de dood”. Wel begrijpelijk dat

Martha niet getroost is met een abstracte belofte voor de verre toekomst. Maar dan

gaat Jezus nog verder: de ogenschijnlijk vage toekomst dient zich plotseling bij hen

aan wanneer Hij zegt “Ik ben de opstanding en het leven; wie in Mij gelooft, zal leven,

ook al is hij gestorven.”

In het geval van Lazarus besloot Jezus om een heel concreet voorbeeld van

opstanding te geven, door Lazarus terug in het leven te roepen. Maar het echte

nieuws in dit verhaal is niet dat Lazrus nog een paar extra jaren te leven kreeg. Nee,

het echte nieuws is dat de opstanding niet alleen maar iets van de toekomst is, niet

alleen maar een of andere leer. De opstanding is een persoon, Jezus Christus, en Hij is

opgestaan!

Arttu Mäkipää

Good Friday ~ Psalm 22 ~ Tidal‐Waves of Pain ~ Psaumes 22

Friday 3rd April

Song of Solomon 7.10‐8.4 ~ Cantique des Cantiques 7.10-8.4

1 Corinthians 15.35‐50 ~ 1 Corinthiens 15.35-50

Luke 8.41‐end ~ Luc 8.41- fin

 Psalm 22 ~ Tidal‐Waves of Pain ~ Psaumes 22

One of the factors about myself and other Christians which frustrates me is

our refusal to look long and hard at things when they are really bad. We can

be so caught up with the command to be joyful and confident in the Lord that

we find ourselves averting our gaze from situations and circumstances which

suck the joy and confidence out of the air. I have been moved recently by

working with a parishioner in Leuven who is preparing a sermon for us on the

experience of clinical depression in her family: there is something so corrosive

about clinical depression that it turns to ash our shouts of joy and gladness.

We need to be honest about this if our faith is to be emotionally authentic

enough to convince those around us of its truth, goodness and beauty. In

Matthew and Mark's gospels, Jesus' final words on the cross are Psalm 22.1:

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" There is a miserable

desolation in these words which not just those who live with depression but

all people can identify with. Jesus himself, God's Son, deserted and betrayed

by his friends, condemned to death on trumped‐up charges, mocked, laughed

at, spat at, humiliated, tortured to death, cries this great cry of heaviness,

sadness, despair. We know how Psalm 22 ends  ‐  after verse 22 it is an

acclamation of praise and confidence in God's salvation. We know how Good

Friday ends  ‐  on Easter Day the tomb which was the triumph of all that is

corrosive and hating and evil in our world is empty because Jesus has risen.

But today on God's Friday, let us sit and wait patiently with Jesus' despair and

torment, and let us see ourselves and the tidal‐waves of pain in our world in

his wounds.

Le vendredi saint est l'apogée du mal et de la malveillance humains : Jésus

souffre ; Jésus se sent loin de son Père ; Jésus crie son désespoir. Même si

Pâques va donner l'évidence du triomphe divin absolu, ce jour‐ci restons‐nous

avec la douleur de Jésus, qui reflète la souffrance et les larmes de tout son

monde actuel.

Jack McDonald

Maundy Thursday ~ Luke 7.11-17 ~ The healing of the widow’s son ~ Luc 7.11-17

Thursday 2nd April

Song of Solomon 5.2‐6.3 ~ Cantique des Cantiques 5.2-6.3

Psalm 116.1, 10‐17 ~ Psaumes 116.1,10-17

1 Corinthians 15.29‐34 ~ 1 Corinthiens 15.29-34

Luke 7 .11-17 ~  Luc 7.11-17

The healing of the widow’s son

As Jesus arrives at the gates of the town with his disciples, they encounter a funeral

procession; for a young man, the only son of his widowed mother. Widows in days

before the welfare state were often destitute; reliant entirely on their children or on

the charity of others.

The story is reminiscent, intentionally, of the story of Elijah and the Widow at

Zarephath in 1 Kings 17. During the drought God provides for Elijah; he lodges with

the widow and her son, where the jar of flour is not used up, and the jug of oil does

not run dry (1 Kings 17: 16). When the widow's son dies, Elijah cries out to God in

distress and despair and the young man is restored to life (1 Kings 17:22). And the

widow acknowledges Elijah as being a man of God.

The episode in Luke is a demonstration of Jesus' healing, but it is also about Jesus'

compassion. Luke records: “When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her ... And

he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, Arise.” (vv.13‐14) And then, in words which are a

direct quotation from 1 Kings 17:23: “And he gave him to his mother.” The young man

is restored to life. His mother’s life is transformed as her sorrow turns to joy.

What do these stories tell us about God? They tell us that God is at work in our world;

that God hears the prayers of his people and responds to them. They remind us that

God is our provider; the source of all that we need. We are fed not by the EC

Agricultural Policy, nor by Tesco or Carrefour, but by God's provision for our lives. “All

good things around us are sent from heaven above ...”

Finally, it is no coincidence that there are two widows. God has a particular concern

for the weak and the powerless; the gospel, (and Luke's Gospel in particular) has a

bias towards the poor:

“He has put down the mighty from their seat, but has exalted the humble and

meek. He has filled the hungry with good things, but the rich he has sent empty

away.” Mary’s song, in Luke 1.

These stories underline the character of the God whom Mary celebrates in the

Magnificat. She herself is an example of one who has been exalted from lowliness to

greatness. The poor in Luke is almost a technical term for followers of Jesus  ‐

because they were the people who put their trust in Jesus’s provision and promises.

Chris Martin

Wednesday of Holy Week ~ Matthew 28.16-end ~ Matthieu 28.16- fin

Wednesday 1st April 

          

Psalm 70 ~ Psaumes 70

Song of Solomon 3 ~ Cantique des Cantiques 3

1Corinthians 15. 20-28 ~ 1 Corinthiens 15.20-28

Matthew28.16-end ~ Matthieu 28.16- fin

Jesus is with us

When someone speaks about ‘the Great Commission’ probably foremost in their minds and in those listening to them is the call of Christ to his disciples to go out and teach others and make more disciples. This is, of course, a very fair frame of mind to be in when thinking of the Great Commission, but today let us make note of two other important aspects from this reading. Firstly, when some of the disciples saw Jesus they doubted, but Jesus still called them to go out. Doubt is a reality in faith, but it does not need to invariably interfere with our calling. Secondly, Jesus said ‘surely I am with you always’. Through doubt and teaching and hard work Jesus is with his disciples - with us.

Naomi Brown