Sunday 21 April, Easter Day - Le tombeau vide

Jean 20.1-18   Psaume 118.1-2, 14-24   Esaïe 65.17- 25    Actes 10.34-43

John 20.1-18   Psalm 118.1-2, 14-24  Isaiah 65.17-25   Acts 10.34-43

Le tombeau vide

Dimanche matin, très tôt, faisait très sombre, Marie Magdala, se rendit au tombeau, elle trouva que la pierre ferment l’entrée du sépulcre avait été ôtée de devant l’ouverture.

Elle courut prévenir Simon Pierre et l’autre disciple, celui que Jésus aimait qu’on a enlève le Seigneur de la tombe, et qu’ils n’avaient pas aucune idée.

Pierre sortit et l’autre disciple se rendirent tous deux au tombeau, et ils ont vu seulement les linges.

Marie était triste, elle n’avait pas compris que Jésus était ressuscité,

Sur verset 9, ils n’avaient pas compris que Jésus devait ressusciter parmi les morts, alors que Jésus les parler à plusieurs reprises à propos de sa résurrection.

Les deux disciples retournèrent chez eux, mais Marie restant dans le tombeau en pleurant.

Elle se pencha encore vers le tombeau et vit deux Anges vêtus de blanc, qui l’a demandé,

Femme pourquoi pleure tu ? on a enlevé mon Seigneur, je ne sais pas où on l’a mis, en disant cela elle se retourna, et vit Jésus, qui se tenait là, mais elle ne le reconnaissant pas

Jésus demanda à Marie, Pourquoi pleure-tu ?

Qui cherches tu ?

Elle a pensé que c’était un gardien du jardin, et dit si c’est toi qui l’as emporté dis-moi où tu l’as mis

Jésus lui dit : Marie, elle se tourna vers lui, et s’écria Rabbouni (Maitre) ne me retiens pas, lui dit Jésus, car je ne suis pas encore monté, va trouver mes frères et dis-les que je monte vers mon père qui est aussi leur père, vers mon Dieu qui est votre Dieu

Ce chapitre nous apprend beaucoup de choses.

Dieu peut nous révéler de choses, mais nous ne les retenons pas,

Les disciples et même Marie n’avaient pas compris que Jésus devrait ressusciter.

Marie est allé chercher Jésus là où il n’était pas.

 C’est une grande leçon pour nous les chrétiens, quand nous nous trouvons devant des difficultés dans nos vies, nous commençons à nous demander où est Jésus que nous avons lu dans la bible,

Qu’on nous ait dit à l’Eglise, nous restons dans la tristesse en se demandant comment nous pouvons échapper cette situation.

Il y a beaucoup des gens qui mènent cette vie ressemblant à être dans le tombeau.

Beaucoup sont comme Marie, elle a pleuré, elle a pleuré, et même que Jésus arriva, ne le reconnaissant pas, quand nous sommes dans la tristesse, on devient comme des aveugles, pas de foi, pas d’espoir, alors que Jésus est tout près de nous mais on ne le voit pas, on ne l’entend pas.

Jésus demande pour quoi pleure tu Frieda, Jane, Marie, Gloria etc… ?

Met ton non, et écoute la voix de Jésus qui te demande pourquoi pleure-tu ?

Il arrive des moments que tu n’arrives pas à prier, ni de chanter, et c’est là où Marie est arrivé malgré qu’elle aimât beaucoup son Seigneur.

Avant Marie pensait que c’est un gardien, mais quand Jésus l’appela, ses yeux sont ouverts,

Une autre leçon que nous pouvons tirer dans ce chapitre

« Ne néglige pas les gens, puisque Dieu peut utiliser quelqu’un qui ressemble à un gardien de forêt, ou un enfant, ou un ouvrier de la maison. »

Jésus n’est pas dans le tombeau, sortons de là pour aller annoncer la bonne nouvelle que Jésus est ressuscité, allons au Malawi, Rwanda, Australie, Amérique etc… sortons dans le tombeau, les années que nous avons passé là-dedans sont suffisant.

Dieu essuis nos larmes, Seigneur, comme tu l’as fait pour Marie, et envoie nous partout pour annoncer la bonne nouvelle.

Amen.

Freida Mukanyangezi

"The Resurrected Christ Appearing to Mary Magdelene in the Garden", ca. 1500–1520, South Netherlandish, wool warp - wool, silk, and gilt wefts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Cloisters Collection, 1956, www.metmuseum.org

Saturday 20 April, Easter Eve - New life for dead trees/Nieuw leven voor dode bomen

Job 14:1-14    Psalm 31.1-4, 15-16   1 Peter 4.1-8   Matthew 27.57- 66

Job 14.1-14   Psaume 31.1-4, 15-16   1 Pierre 4.1-8   Matthieu 27.57-66

‘For there is hope for a tree,

if it is cut down, that it will sprout again,

and that its shoots will not cease.’

There seems to be a theme throughout the Bible of death and darkness coming before transformation and new life. Things seem to reach rock bottom before the most unexpected new hope springs up. This is the wandering in the wilderness before the Promised Land; the time of tribulation and birth pains before the new creation; the execution, death, and burial of Jesus before his glorious resurrection. Following that pattern of darkness before the dawn, in Lent we have been invited to put to death our earthly nature and self-will in order to make way for our truer and fuller life which Paul says is ‘hidden with Christ in God’.

It may be that this Lenten period of loss and tribulation has come to us unwanted and uninvited. We find ourselves wandering in the wilderness, or lying in the tomb, wishing for new life. That Easter Saturday experience is so much part of our Christian lives, and it is a place where the Christian hope is least looked for or expected. What disciple would think to hope when Jesus lay dead in a tomb? And yet there was hope, of the most unexpected sort. Easter morning was just on the horizon.

The message of Christ on Easter Saturday to us in the tomb is that we will yet have life, even as Christ had life, if we abide in him.

‘Voor een boom die omgehakt wordt, is er hoop.

Hij gaat weer groeien, hij krijgt nieuwe takken.’

Lloyd Brown

(Lloyd was formerly an intern at our church. He is now living and working in Leuven.)

"Job's Evil Dreams" by William Blake, 1757-1827, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN, http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55472 [retrieved April 15, 2019], original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blake_Book_of_Job_Linell_set_13.jpg.

Friday 19 April, Good Friday - When I survey the wondrous cross

John 19.38-42  Psalm 69   Genesis 22.1-18   Colossians 1.18-23 

Jean 19.38-42  Psaume 69  Genèse 22.1-18   Colossiens 1.18-23

19.38 Après cela, Joseph d’Arimathée, qui était disciple de Jésus, mais en secret par crainte des Juifs, demanda à Pilate la permission de prendre le corps de Jésus. (NEG 1979)

19.38 Na deze gebeurtenissen vroeg Jozef van Arimathea aan Pilatus of hij Jezusʼ lichaam mocht wegnemen. Pilatus vond het goed. Deze Jozef was een leerling van Jezus. Maar hij had er niet voor durven uitkomen, omdat hij bang was voor de Joden. (Het Boek)

Secret no more.

On this Good Friday we will ‘survey the wondrous cross’ with Joseph of Arimathea, 'who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews' (John 19.38). How many of us are secret disciples? In Joseph's case, I do not think this is a heavy condemnatory note, it merely states the fact about the reality of Joseph situation up to this point. However, Joseph did not stay a ‘secret disciple’ much longer, as he asked the Roman governor for the body of Jesus. Joseph’s secret was no more and the description 'secret disciple' becomes ironic. Joseph's courage and giving honour to Jesus would become known quickly and would be narrated in the best-sold book in world history. Joseph provided a virginal tomb for the One conceived in the virginal womb. Joseph did a beautiful thing for the Lord by putting him there. The Living God did an even more beautiful thing by not leaving him there…., but for that you have to come back to this place ‘on the third day’.

For all secret disciples, as we ’survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of Glory died', let us reflect on the secret disciple who was no more. Let us give of ourselves as he did: Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

Paul Vrolijk

PS: Alongside this meditation you might want to listen to the hymn ‘When I survey the wondrous cross’ (on-line) or sing it in church this afternoon.

A good recording can be found at

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDkuxEIcpdI

"Joseph of Arimathea watches as Roman soldiers roll a stone in front of Christ's tomb" by https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/58/4a/7d1b742165fe1c4884c7e9c903d3.jpgGallery: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/L0060773.html, Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-30): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/cgzcs3tc CC-BY-4.0, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36216666

Thursday 18 April, Maundy Thursday - Unless I wash you, you have no part with me

Psalm 42  Leviticus 16.2-24  Ephesians 2.11-18    Luke 23.1-25
Psaume 42 Lévitique 16.2-24 Ephésiens 2.11-18   Luc 23.1-25

John 13.1-17, 31b-35  Jean 13.1-17, 31b-35

Unless I wash you, you have no part with me

It is the tradition in many churches on Maundy Thursday to do ‘foot washing’ as part of the service. In the churches I have been part of, it is actually quite often difficult to find the volunteers who are willing to produce their feet to be washed – Yet, it can be a very profound and moving experience; both for the recipient and the one kneeling doing the washing.

At theological college, John Bell from the Iona community led our service one Maundy Thursday – A friend of mine was the volunteer to have her feet washed – She described it afterwards as ‘simply extraordinary’ and was moved to paint the experience in the 24 hours silence which followed: The painting was stunning, it was worship, and it spoke to our spirits of what it was that Jesus had done for us.

Jesus knelt and washed his disciples feet – In doing so he caressed them, loved them and served them in the most humble of ways and told them to go and do likewise. Less than 24 hours later he hung lifeless on the cross  – the memory of his touch on their feet would have been fresh in the minds – He had made them clean, but what had they done for Him?

In 2014, Pope Francis  broke with all previous tradition , abandoning the celebration of the Maundy Thursday service in a grand basilica, instead choosing to hold it in the Casa del Marmo prison for young offenders on the outskirts of Rome. I often wonder what impact it had on the lives of whose feet he washed and kissed that day. This famous man of God, revered by Roman Catholics across the world, kneeling at their feet following the actions of his Lord and master. Were they touched by the love, acceptance  and forgiveness that comes through Christ that day? Did they glimpse the hope of the resurrection that Easter and go onto live differently as a result?

Being touched by the love of Jesus through the events of Holy week can have a profound effect on our Christian life – So don’t be reluctant and draw back, but enter into the story as fully as you can.

Fiona Simon

Painting of the Foot Washing - Santa Maria del Mar - Barcelona, by © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31409160

Wednesday 17 April, Wednesday of Holy Week - God’s Word

Jeremiah11.18-20 & Psalm 102 & Luke 22.54-71 Revelation 14.18-15.4

Jérémie 11.1-20 & Psaume 102 & Luc 22.54- 71   Apocalypse 14.18-15.4

God’s Word

God's Word has been important in my faith journey. I came to faith in my thirties through the faithful preaching of Colin Bennetts, then Vicar of  St Andrew's, Linton Road, north Oxford. It was Colin, who became a good friend to Susie and me, who nudged me towards ordination. A few years later, I was privileged to work with Dennis Lennon, then Rector of St Thomas's, Glasgow Road, Edinburgh. Dennis was the best preacher week-in, week-out that I ever heard.

The tradition in which I came to faith places a high value on daily Bible reading and a daily Quiet Time. Preferably early in the day. But for many of us it is not something that we find easy. Sometimes the prescribed passage is too familiar, and sometimes it is too unfamiliar. And clergy are sometimes too quick to turn the reading(s) into sermon notes rather than letting God speak to them (us) as individuals. Jeremiah who was familiar with rejection and suffering is aware of those who plot against him; the lamb being led to the slaughter prefigures both the passion of Jesus and the hymnody of Graham Kendrick. And in Luke the Passion Story continues. After the arrest of Jesus on the Mount of Olives by the soldiers of the Temple Guard, Peter, the strong man of Jesus's followers and undoubtedly an archdeacon in the making, is moved to betray his Lord three times.

Few of us suffer persecution on account of our faith. Here in Europe clergy and church congregations are more often ignored than persecuted. And yet we are anxious about many things: the chaos of BREXIT; the challenge of unprecedented people movements; the inexorable fact of global warming; the threat of a world choked by plastic waste. We cannot ignore these concerns in our prayers. And we stand firm with the Psalmist on the hope that God hears the prayers of the prisoners and will come in glory to rebuild his world.

Chris Martin

(Chris had three stints on the chaplaincy team at our church and led three Men’s Retreats. He currently lives, with his wife, Susie, in Edinburgh.)

"Sacrificial Lamb", at Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN, http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56622 [retrieved April 15, 2019], original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/26026077355 - Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P.

Tuesday 16 April, Tuesday of Holy Week - With His Power

Luke 22.24-53  Psalm 27   Lamentations 3.1-18   Galatians 6.11-18

Luc 22.24-53    Psaume 27 Lamentations 3.1-18  Galates 6.11-18

 I write this well in advance of Lent, and having left Christmas behind, starting to focus already on the lead-up to Christ’s passion tweaks no little bit my view of where we are in the annual cycle. Indeed, Luke 22.24-53 plunges straight into the preamble to the Easter narrative: the last supper, Jesus praying on the Mount of Olives, and Jesus’ arrest - a lot for a short meditation! But hopefully a useful one, even if most of us know these momentous events so well..

I am reflecting on what, if anything, binds the different elements together, and there are a couple of things that stand out to me.

The first is Jesus’ remarkable steadfastness in being the servant supreme: no violent rebellion against those misguided and angry authorities gathering like vultures around him. It is within his powers to change completely the course of events, but he chooses not to. He is single-minded in his devotion to the purposes of God, which as we know will take him to the point of the ultimate sacrifice.

The second thing I note by way of contrast, is the waywardness of the human condition. At the last supper, the disciples argue over who is the greatest. The disciples fall asleep as Jesus is praying on the Mount of Olives. Judas betrays Jesus with his kiss. The disciples cut off one of the high priest’s servant’s ear (wow, that’s really barbaric!). The chief priests arrest Jesus..

The contrast between the conduct of men and the conduct of Jesus has probably never been so sharp.

So what are we to make of these events? My takeaway begins with recalling that our calling as Christians is huge. Thank God (literally) that we do not have to tackle the Christian life by ourselves. The ultimate sacrifice that I have referred to already enables all of us, if we seek it, to draw on the power of God through his Holy Spirit. Without this power we are all over the place, like the disciples. With this power, we have the hope of making it.

Let’s pray that we are able to draw on the example of the Lenten Christ to spur us to noteworthy servant works of Christ, themselves a great preparation for eternal life, as foreseen by His death and resurrection.

Sue Bird

"Christ on Gethsemane" by Albrecht Altdorfer, ca. 1480-1538, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN, http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=46245 [retrieved April 15, 2019], original source: http://www.yorckproject.de.

Monday 15 April, Monday of Holy Week - The love of Jesus is a Golden Ticket

Luke 22.1-23   Psalm 41     Lamentations 1.1-12a   Colossians 1.1-18

Luc 22.1-23     Psaume  41 Lamentations 1.1-12a   Colossiens 1.18-23 

 The love of Jesus is a Golden Ticket

In this passage, I see some reasons to understand why terrible events happen in our society, especially to those who try to do good. We see in Judas’ betrayal of Jesus an act based on betrayal and corruption. Indeed this passage contains the most infamous act of betrayal in history, yet we still see betrayal, deceit and corruption happen today. Although it is not usually for silver coins today, why can’t we seem to overcome this greed that brings death?

Perhaps it’s a question of what we value. I can still remember the everlasting impact when I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) The scene when Charlie wants to sell the unique Golden Ticket to help support his family that are living in poverty. Grandpa George convinces him not to because there is plenty of money out there, but the Golden Ticket is unique. To me the love of Jesus is a Golden Ticket. For us it is unique and is beyond anything we could ever desire in our hearts and minds.

The most astonishing part of this Gospel passage is the greatness of love Jesus shows. Even though Jesus understands who is going to be betraying him that night. He still sits and shares the bread and the wine with the person who is going to betray him. Whilst making promises of how through him we can find new life.

Alle zilveren munten zijn waardeloos in vergelijking met het gouden ticket dat Jezus ons heeft gegeven.

Mark van Eker

Original golden ticket and Wonka chocolate bars from the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory displayed at ExpoSYFY, San Sebastián, Spain

By Urko Dorronsoro from Donostia - San Sebastian, Euskal Herria (Basque Country) - Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48385410

Sunday 14 April, Palm Sunday - ‘Wee de mens die hem zal uitleveren’/‘Woe to him’

Luke22.14-23.56   Psalm 31.9-16  Isaiah 50.4-9a  Philippians 2.5-11

Luc 22.14-23.36  Psaume 31.9-16   Esaïe 50.4-9 Philippiens 2.5-11

On Palm Sunday we often read the whole Passion story from beginning to end,

from the triumphant entry into Jerusalem until the crucifixion. This extract pauses at surely one of the most excruciating moments for Jesus as he sets his own imminent death in the context of the fulfilment of covenant promises enacted in the Passover meal he shares with his disciples. This is excruciating because of the presence among them of the one who will betray him. Luke has warned his readers earlier that this is coming but it is still a tense moment as the joy and friendship of a shared meal are overturned, and divine and human agency meet in a stand-off between love and treachery. Judas serves God’s ancient purpose but must also take responsibility for his own actions. And so it still goes. God has a plan and purpose for each of us, and yet we have choices to make as we go through life. Could Judas have made a different choice? I believe so. In that case the plans of God would have been fulfilled another way. Any of us who has ever made a choice or a decision we regret can surely spare a few moments today to weep for Judas, driven to despair by his act of betrayal. Conscious of the ways in which we too betray Jesus through our own wrong-headed and self-centred choices we will hopefully resist condemning him. Unlike with Peter, the denier of Jesus, we have no biblical account of a reconciliation between Judas and Jesus, but I am in no doubt that Jesus forgave him and the choice he made, as he forgives each one of us.

Suggested listening: https://youtu.be/ihxX-s5mu0M

‘Dido’s Lament (Remember me, but, ah, forget my fate)’ Henry Purcell sung by Joyce DiDonato

Jane M^cBride

Judas kissing Christ surrounded by soldiers; St Peter attacking Malchus in foreground, after Dürer

Marcantonio Raimondi (Italian, Argini (?) ca. 1480–before 1534 Bologna (?)), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Henry Walters, 1917, www.metmuseum.org

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Saturday 13 April - Psalm 23

Psalm 23   Jeremiah 25.1-14  Hebrews 13.17- 25    John 12.36b -50

Psaume 23 Jérémie 25.1-14   Hébreux 13.17- 25   Jean 12.36b -50

Consider the image above and listen to a recording of ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’, for example. (Web address  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_7_tCQyJok)

The Good Shepherd

Gottfried Eichler the Younger (German, Augsburg 1715–1770 Augsburg), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Charles and Jessie Price Gift, 2005, www.metmuseum.org

Friday 12 April - Hope of the Unseen

John 12.20–36a    Psalm 22    Jeremiah 24   Hebrews 13.1-16

Jean 12.20-36a     Psaume 22  Jérémie 24   Hébreux 13.1-16 

Today’s reading in John occurs just after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and crowds coming out to see Jesus shouting ‘hosanna’ and ‘blessed is he who comes in God’s name’. Expectations were high and in that context several Greek worshippers wanted to speak with Jesus.

Yet Jesus’ words to his disciples did not speak of some immediately triumphant revolution but instead of difficulty and above all the need to wait. Jesus instead predicts his own death by talking about a grain of wheat that needs to be buried so that it can produce fruit many times over.

For those expecting Jesus was going to do something dramatic immediately, this picture actually pointed to the opposite approach. When a seed is underground, one cannot see anything, and it seems pointless. Yet Jesus underlines that in time so much more is produced. In a separate parable Jesus spoke of a tiny mustard seed that would become one of the largest trees.

Jesus recognising his impending death then talks about how he is ‘storm-tossed’ and asks whether he should ask his father to get him out of this situation. However, he knows it  is necessary that first he must suffer so a greater good can be accomplished.

As we look at our own lives and the world, sometimes it must look like God is doing nothing and we cannot see the hidden seed. We may feel storm tossed and wanting God to get us out of a situation. However, today’s reading gives us hope of the unseen and what God is already doing out of sight, which will be so much greater and more effective as a result.

It may not be the immediate triumphant victory that was hoped for like some of those people were waiting for in Jerusalem, but in the longer run it may be so much more fruitful and glorious.

However, Jesus does not stop there and as in the message version says that we should not hold on to our lives but be ‘reckless in your love’. So maybe some of us are being challenged to step out in some way. Waiting for the unseen seed to grow does not imply we should be inactive. Indeed, the wonder of the Christian life is that whilst it is always God that produces the fruit, he requires us to step out as well.

So what does today’s reading mean for us? I would say three things: Firstly, Jesus’ death and resurrection are vital for all of us and have already produced so much fruit and continue to do so today; Secondly, some of us have faithfully planted a seed and we can know that God who has begun a good work in us will bring it to completion: and thirdly that maybe for some of us, so that the seed will grow, we need to step out in some way. However, fear not, God will show us in a gentle and loving way, if that is the case for us and will put something or someone on our heart.

Lord thank you that your death and resurrection give us hope, thank you that even if we cannot see your work, we know that you are working for our good. Please show us if there is a seed that we can plant or steps we need to take to help the seed to grow in our life. Amen.

Matt Harpur

Triumph of the Holy Name of Jesus by Gaulli, Giovanni Battista, 1639-1709, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN, http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54169 [retrieved April 6, 2019], original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IlGesu_Ceiling01.jpg.

Thursday 11 April - Out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire

Psalm 40    Jeremiah 23.9-32  Hebrews 12.14-29  John 12.12-19

Psaume 40  Jérémie 23.9-32   Hébreux 12.14- 29   Jean 12.12-19

I planned for six months; pouring over maps to mark the trail I would take. I prepared resupply boxes to be mailed to me at specific locations along the way. I packed for any condition I expected to find. I was confident and believed I was prepared for a three week adventure in the Scottish Highlands.   My sins were failing to ask for God's blessing and my own hubris in believing I was fully capable of undertaking this solo hike. Deep down I knew I was not as prepared as I should have been. I was carrying too much and my planning had been a shield of self-deceit. It was my undoing. The boggy ground of the Cape Wrath area was actually rivulets of water running everywhere. Every step was difficult and I was attempting a blind cross-country hike to connect with the section I actually had on a map. I spent one night in the lee of an old stone wall and hoped the next day would find me on the right path. The reality of my journey was struggling along a fence line through ravines and rushing burns.  I stepped on a rock without underlying support and fell, snapping my left leg bones just above the ankle.

As in Psalm 40 ,"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire.  Do not withhold your mercy from me O Lord, may your love and your truth always protect me for troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see."

I was rescued; help came from the heavens, quite literally, in the form of the Stornaway Coastguard Rescue helicopter with angels aboard; one of whom descended on a cable to hoist me up out of the mud and mire.  "May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, ‘The Lord be exalted!’"

Laura Buckner

Dykes at Cape Wrath

By Anne Burgess, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13502636

Wednesday 10 April, Lesser Festival of William Law, priest, spiritual writer, 1761 - The mission of Jesus

Matthew17.1-9    Psalm 19.7-10    1 Kings 3.6-14   2 Corinthians 2.9- 17

Matthieu 17.1-9    Psaume 19.7-10  1 Roi 3.6-14     2 Corinthiens 2.9-17

In Matthew 17, we have one of the clearest depictions of how the mission of Jesus relates to the history of Israel. The appearance of Moses and Elijah is one thing. But another detail, easy to miss, is perhaps more significant. Verse 2 says that ‘his garments became white as the light’. We note that in Daniel 7:9, the ‘Ancient of Days’, the judge of all creation who rules in favour of God’s holy people, is also depicted as having ‘garments as white as snow’. This is not the only time in the Old Testament that judgement and the purity of white appearance go together. When Jacob speaks over his 12 sons—the twelve tribes of Israel—Judah is singled out as having his garments ‘washed in wine’, and this time it is his teeth that are ‘whiter than milk’ (Gen 49:11-12). Here Judah is connected to a universal kingly, messianic figure. By depicting him as possessing this characteristic of white, Matthew is indicating that Jesus himself is this judge of all peoples that issues from one of Israel’s tribes. In the gospel of John, the significance of these images is cast in propositional form: ‘The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the son’. With this image established, Matthew then delivers the surprising bit. Having been identified with the judge of all creation, Jesus then says that he will soon suffer at the hands of the scribes of Israel. The mission of judging and restoring the world is met with opposition.

This provides an interesting perspective on temptation, one of the themes of Lent. It is well and good to consider as temptations those things that we understand as ‘bad behaviour’. But Matthew reminds us that the fundamental temptation concerns siding with the forces that oppose Jesus’ mission. Temptation, in this sense, is the refusal to suppose that the judgment of creation has already begun. Because this is precisely what Jesus’ transfiguration means. The Ancient of Days walked among us and pronounced his verdict. But how easy it is to suppose that this judgment shall occur at some point beyond the panorama of what is ours presently. Resisting temptation, then, is the imaginative posture by which we participate in the renewal of creation in the midst of a world that claims it will all happen on its own. Perhaps grasping this is why William Law, whom we commemorate today, so implacably put to us the reality of Christ’s claim on the whole of life. ‘While we are labouring after Christian perfection’, he wrote, ‘we are labouring for eternity’. During Lent, our awareness of Jesus’ mission should be heightened, as that eternal judgment of God has begun in Christ and continues to work in our lives as we open ourselves to his purposes.

Samuel Pomeroy

The Transfiguration (La transfiguration) by James Tissot - Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum; Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2006, 00.159.145_PS1.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10195995