APRIL 2013 Vol. 35 No. 4

Dear Friends

The first day of this month, the day after Easter Sunday, is April Fool’s Day.  Over  the years there have been some clever hoaxes on 1st April that have duped many people.  A classic that a lot of people still remember was a feature on the BBC television programme Panorama broadcast on 1st April 1957.  The show’s presenter, Richard Dimbleby, reported on a bumper spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland. Last year Palm Sunday fell on 1st April and Radio 4 featured an item about donkey rustling.  Listeners were told that many churches, unable to hire donkeys, were using llamas instead for their Palm Sunday processions. 

Some people think that the Christian Gospel is a hoax and we who believe it are fools. We claim that Jesus Christ, who was crucified, was raised to life again.  This is an amazing claim and it’s hardly surprising if some people find it hard to believe.  There have been plenty of attempts to explain why the tomb where Jesus’ body was laid was found to be empty on the first Easter Sunday. The Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John describe appearances of Jesus to many of his followers, convincing them that he was alive.  In the Easter season we read some of those stories in church as we celebrate the resurrection. Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven, returning to God the Father. The Church celebrates Ascension Day on 9th May.  Then at Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to the disciples filling them with power to proclaim the good news of Jesus who had overcome death and who offers us the gift of eternal life. Pentecost (Whit Sunday) is celebrated this year on 19th May.

Saul of Tarsus (better known to us now at St. Paul) was one who rejected the Gospel message and who persecuted followers of Jesus. Then one day as he was travelling to Damascus a blinding light flashed from the sky, and he heard the voice of Jesus speaking to him.  His life was turned right around and he became totally committed to winning others for Jesus.  In the New Testament we have some of Paul’s letters.  In one of them he wrote, “The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  That’s in the First Letter to the Corinthians Chapter 1 verse 18.  Paul has more to say about foolishness and wisdom in the verses which follow.

People have different experiences of coming to faith in Jesus Christ, mostly in a less dramatic way than Paul.  Many people are convinced of the truth of the Gospel message, foolish though it may seem in the eyes of the world. There is evidence for the truth of the message in the difference Jesus still makes in people’s lives today.  We cannot prove that the Gospel message is true, but neither can anyone prove that it is false. It is a matter of faith and of accepting that what may look foolish in some people’s eyes is, in fact, true wisdom. 

With my love and prayers

Glynis Hetherington

MARCH 2013 Vol. 35 No. 3

Dear Friends

At the beginning of February fifty-four people of all ages from three to eighty-something enjoyed a parish holiday weekend at Willersley Castle in Cromford, Derbyshire.  That was the weekend when the Church celebrated the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, sometimes known as Candlemas.  That’s not such a well known festival as Christmas and Easter, but it is a pivotal moment in the Church’s year.  At Willersley we were given two helpful ways to think about this. During our Saturday evening service Janet Gorick likened it to an elbow, with the upper part of the arm representing Christmas and Epiphany, and the lower part representing the time leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  On the Sunday we celebrated Holy Communion, with chairs arranged in a circle.  Pat Edwards asked us all to stand facing outwards, looking back to Christmas, and singing a verse of Away in a Manager.  Then we turned around to face the centre, and to focus on what is coming next.  I thought  these ideas were worth sharing, in the hope that they will be helpful during Lent and as we prepare to move through Holy Week towards the joyful celebration of Easter.

If Candlemas is a pivotal moment in the Church’s year, then the coming of Jesus Christ to share our human life is a pivotal moment in the history of the world.  From the perspective of his birth, his life, his death and resurrection, we discover, in the Old Testament, signposts which point to Jesus, and we find parallels in the story of the Hebrew people which resonate with our own faith story.  Of huge significance is the Passover, God’s great saving act in delivering the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and, through Moses, leading them towards the promised land.  It was Passover time when Jesus shared the Last Supper with his friends, and gave new meaning to the breaking of bread and pouring of wine, which he spoke of as his body and his blood.   Christians believe that through his death on a cross all may be delivered from slavery to sin and self and receive the gift of eternal life.  We, too, are on a journey towards our promised land.  We look back to the events of Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter, and we look forward to the day when Jesus Christ shall return and everything will be made new.

That’s a brief summary of the ‘big picture’. On a smaller, personal scale, the Christian year mirrors our own lives. The seasons of the Church’s year will not always coincide with how we feel.  For instance it is possible to be utterly dejected at Christmas and to be full of contentment and joy during the penitential season of Lent.  The point is that, during the Church’s year, all the highs and lows of human life are reflected, as indeed they are during public worship, which includes penitence and praise, prayers for those who suffer, and thanksgiving for God’s blessings. For those who have felt the anguish of Good Friday there will be great joy in celebrating the resurrection and the gift of new life on Easter Day.

With love and prayers a joyful and blessed Easter

Glynis Hetherington