He’s Not Here Anymore

•April 5, 2015 • 2 Comments

I had to go
to the place they’d laid him.
I had to go
and continue the task,
to honour
in death
the one we loved so much.

I came,
dragging my cares,
my fears,
my worries.
Wondering,
questioning;
as much about practicalities
as huge theological questions.
The kind of things you worry about,
to stop you worrying about the really huge questions.

But when we got there
our confusion turned to panic.
Someone had moved the stone,
that huge rock
rolled right away.
how could anyone have budged that?
It was the final stopper
on all Jesus had been,
the seal on all he had promised.

The end had come.
We had to face it.

And yet
it had gone.
moved.
No longer a barrier.

Left behind was
the message,
he’s not here.

It isn’t over,
this isn’t the end.
God has had the final word.

Jesus is alive.

What next?
Who knows,
but Jesus remains with us
God in him.
God taking us
on this journey
on
into life,
hope,
power.

Into life where there was death,
hope where there was despair,
freedom where there things were held down,
power where there was powerlessness.

He isn’t here anymore,
he has risen.

Mark 16:1-8 (CEV)

Jesus Is Alive

16 After the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James bought some spices to put on Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just as the sun was coming up, they went to the tomb. 3 On their way, they were asking one another, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance for us?” 4 But when they looked, they saw that the stone had already been rolled away. And it was a huge stone!

5 The women went into the tomb, and on the right side they saw a young man in a white robe sitting there. They were alarmed.

6 The man said, “Don’t be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who was nailed to a cross. God has raised him to life, and he isn’t here. You can see the place where they put his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, and especially Peter, that he will go ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.”

8 When the women ran from the tomb, they were confused and shaking all over. They were too afraid to tell anyone what had happened.

Posted in bible, Easter, faith, God, hope, Jesus, Lectionary, life, Religion, theology
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Gone, But Not Forgotten

•April 4, 2015 • Leave a Comment

I wanted to do this for him,
it was something I could do,
possibly the last thing.

He meant something to me.

Now was the time to come out of the shadows,
be bold,
make a stand
and do what I can.

What do I have to offer to Jesus now,
but my tomb,
my place of death

after all,
he gave his death
for mine.

We prepared his body,
laid it to rest.

And now we wait
for what next,
in our pain,
our questions,
our anger,
our frustration.

What next Lord?

You have brought us on this journey,
now we are left here.

Where now?
What now?
How now?

John 19:38-42 (CEV)

Jesus Is Buried

38 Joseph from Arimathea was one of Jesus’ disciples. He had kept it secret though, because he was afraid of the Jewish leaders. But now he asked Pilate to let him have Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission, and Joseph took it down from the cross.

39 Nicodemus also came with about seventy-five pounds of spices made from myrrh and aloes. This was the same Nicodemus who had visited Jesus one night. 40 The two men wrapped the body in a linen cloth, together with the spices, which was how the Jewish people buried their dead. 41 In the place where Jesus had been nailed to a cross, there was a garden with a tomb that had never been used. 42 The tomb was nearby, and since it was the time to prepare for the Sabbath, they were in a hurry to put Jesus’ body there.

Posted in bible, faith, God, Jesus, Religion, theology
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All Done

•April 3, 2015 • Leave a Comment

It is done.
I can do no more.
I have given my all,
my life,
all that I am.

Given it to you.

Given it for you.

Given to all.

Given for all.

Lord,
as I look on your all,
your sacrifice,
your offering,
your giving
I stand in awe,
in worship,
in feeling unworthy
and incapable
of living up to it.

But you call me to you,
and you call me to follow,
to live,
to love,
to be
in your love
and in your name.

I kneel at your cross
and ask
that as your life flows from you,
it flows in and through me,
that I may
show some spark of you
in this world.

Only through you

John 19: 28-37 (CEV)

The Death of Jesus

28 Jesus knew that he had now finished his work. And in order to make the Scriptures come true, he said, “I am thirsty!” 29 A jar of cheap wine was there. Someone then soaked a sponge with the wine and held it up to Jesus’ mouth on the stem of a hyssop plant. 30 After Jesus drank the wine, he said, “Everything is done!” He bowed his head and died.

A Spear Is Stuck in Jesus’ Side

31 The next day would be both a Sabbath and the Passover. It was a special day for the Jewish people, and they did not want the bodies to stay on the crosses during that day. So they asked Pilate to break the men’s legs and take their bodies down. 32 The soldiers first broke the legs of the other two men who were nailed there. 33 But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, and they did not break his legs.

34 One of the soldiers stuck his spear into Jesus’ side, and blood and water came out. 35 We know this is true, because it was told by someone who saw it happen. Now you can have faith too. 36 All this happened so that the Scriptures would come true, which say, “No bone of his body will be broken” 37 and, “They will see the one in whose side they stuck a spear.”

Posted in bible, faith, God, Good Friday, hope, Jesus, lent, Religion, theology
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