image used with kind permission of Judith Tutin

Information

Reading John 17:1-5

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,  since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.  And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.  I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.  So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

Reflection

Simply gaze in wonder and marvel through this painting. Here the resplendent glory of God’s presence comes to us through the birth of baby Jesus, with his family around him and visitors gazing on. Here is God’s presence most glorious through Jesus’ death on the cross.  Yet there is so much more, with the image of Almighty God’s loving arms coming from heaven to embrace the dying son. It is shocking, unbelievable, beyond our understanding – that God’s presence, Loveful   (I am beyond worrying about making words up), for as the hymn writer says, “I scarce can take it in,” that all the Love that is God in heaven, is now with us all the time in our lives.

That glimpse of Almighty God embracing Jesus is called Mercy Seat for a reason – for that is the name given to the cover over the Ark of the Covenant, which held the tablets of God’s Word. The people saw this as the holy of holies, earthly home of Almighty God. It was covered with shining gold. Only few of the few could enter the holy place of God’s presence. Yet now we have Jesus, from heaven he came – with that same amazing glorious love of God but now offered to all and always. Jesus loves you so much, accepting you completely, forgiving you completely, and giving himself completely that you may live in the glory of God’s love forever.

And of that mercy seat, the writer of Hebrews wrote “Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now”.Hebrews 9:5. I love that he runs out of words, or it is too urgent to discuss. Simply now is the time to gaze on Jesus, and see the glory of God’s love for you and believe.

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:14)

Prayer

Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heav’n to earth come down,
fix in us Thy humble dwelling; all Thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love Thou art;
visit us with Thy salvation; enter every trembling heart.

Come, Almighty to deliver; let us all Thy life receive;
suddenly return and never, nevermore Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing, serve Thee as Thy hosts above;
pray, and praise Thee without ceasing, glory in Thy perfect love.
 

(by Charles Wesley)

Information

White Crucifixion is the first in Marc Chagall’s series of compositions that feature Jesus as a Jewish martyr and dramatically call attention to the persecution and suffering of Jews in 1930s Germany at the hands of the Nazis.  The work is startling as the crucifixion, often seen by the Jewish people as a symbol of oppression, is instead being used to represent their suffering.  Chagall stressed Jesus’ religious identity by depicting him and the biblical figures above him in traditional Jewish garments. The surrounding images show the devastation of pogroms, violent attacks against Jewish communities often organised or sanctioned by local governments. Combining the Crucifixion with contemporary events, Chagall’s painting links the martyred Jesus with the Jewish people being persecuted across Europe and implicitly compares the Nazis with Jesus’s tormentors.

Reading  Isaiah 52: 13 – 15

See, my servant shall prosper;
    he shall be exalted and lifted up,
    and shall be very high.
Just as there were many who were astonished at him
    —so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
    and his form beyond that of mortals—
so he shall startle many nations;
    kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
    and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.

Reflection

Christians are surprised when they realise Jewish people don’t read Jesus into Isaiah’s Suffering Servant poems.  Jewish commentators have seen the Suffering Servant as Isaiah himself, Jeremiah, the Messiah who is yet to come, or as a representation of the Jewish people.  

We are similarly surprised when we look at Marc Chagall’s White Crucifixion.  Chagall was raised as an Orthodox Jew, knew his Bible, and chose to portray Jesus as one persecuted Jew amongst many.  Jesus’ modesty is preserved with a tallilth – a Jewish prayer shawl;  a menorah is placed at his feet, a head cloth, not a crown of thorns, on his head. Biblical figures weep instead of angels and, instead of disciples watching on helplessly,  Chagall surrounds the Cross with images of pogrom and persecution.  Painting this in the aftermath of the German State’s wrecking of Jewish businesses in 1938, Chagall was all too well aware of the power of hatred – the hatred that sent Jesus to the Cross and millions of Jews to the gas chambers.  

Here the Cross is seen as what it was – an instrument of torture and oppression designed to instil fear and compliance into subjugated people.  A punishment too cruel and agonising to use on Roman citizens, a method designed to prolong the agony of death, and to ensure the conquered didn’t rise up.  What we are accustomed to see as a symbol of victory (or to ignore in favour of an empty Cross) is, in fact, a symbol of imperial violence.  

I was once asked what is beautiful about the Cross and struggled to answer seeing it only as a symbol of hatred, degradation, torture, and oppression.  Yet I’m drawn to crucifixes and images of crucifixion as they remind me of what the powers that seek to rule this world will do to those who oppose them.  Beauty and victory are found in the empty tomb; the Cross reminds us of battles still to be won even if the final victory is assured.

Prayer

Lord by your Cross
and Resurrection 
You have set us free.
Help us to free others.
Amen.

 
Today’s service is led by the Revd Andy Braunston

 
 Welcome

Hello and welcome to worship.  In these joyful days of Eastertide we think of those early stories of disciples learning to form new communities; a scared community transformed by Jesus’ presence, a united community learning to share what they had to make a difference, a new community embodying ancient poetry about the fragrance of harmony.  We gather today, in churches and around screens as a dispersed but loving community.  United in our love of the Risen Lord and our desire to serve him all our days long.  My name is Andy Braunston and I’m delighted to lead worship for you today.  I am the United Reformed Church’s Minister for Digital Worship and I live up in Orkney, a close knit community of people with a wide range of jobs, backgrounds and attitudes.  As God’s people, united around the Empty Tomb let’s worship together:

Call To Worship

Christ is risen, alleluia!  Christ is risen indeed, alleluia!

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendour!
Christ has conquered! Jesus Christ our King is risen!
Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!

Rejoice, O Mother Church!
The risen Saviour shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!

Hymn     Now the Green Blade Riseth
John Macleod Campbell 1872 – 1958  © Oxford University Press  Sung by the Beyond the Walls Choir.  OneLicence

Now the green blade rises, from the buried grain,
wheat that in dark earth many days has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again like wheat arising green.

In the grave they laid Him, Love by hatred slain,
thinking that He never would awake again,
laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again like wheat arising green.
 
Forth He came at Easter, like the risen grain,
He who for three days in the grave had lain;
Raised from the dead my living Lord is seen:
Love is come again like wheat that arising green.

When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,
Your touch can call us back to life again,
fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again like wheat arising green.

Prayers of Approach, Confession, and Forgiveness

We bring you our prayers and praises, 
O Most High, in these days of joy;
nature springs to life, plants start to flower,
animals enjoy warmer and longer days,
and we remember your saving actions,
bringing life from death, light from gloom.

We praise you, Risen Lord Jesus,
for your love which overcame death,
for your life which shows us how to live,
for your touch which calls us back to life
when all seems wintry, desolate, and painful.

In these days of joy, Most Holy Spirit,
remind us always to turn around 
and follow where you call;
may your love remind us to build up and not tear down community,
to strengthen not weaken discipleship,
to serve and not to seek to be served.

For the times, O God, when we’ve turned away from you,
we repent, and ask for time to change;
for the times, O God, when we’ve denied the power of your love,
we repent and ask for time to change;
for the times, O God, when we’ve despaired,
we repent and ask for time to change.

pause

God, the Source of all mercy 
and has reconciled the world to Himself,
through the life, love, death, and new life of Jesus Christ.
God, the Holy Spirit has come amongst us for the forgiveness of sins.  
Through the ministry of the community of the Church,
we receive pardon and peace,
and become a place where forgiveness is key to our life together.
Accept, then the forgiveness you are offered, forgive others,
and find the courage to forgive yourself.  Amen.

Introduction

We think today about the different communities that are described in our readings: the exciting, unified and energetic early Church and the traumatised disciples who lock themselves away for fear of the authorities.  We think too of the short Psalm 133 which extols unity as a sign of God’s blessing.  Let’s pray as we listen for God’s word.  

Prayer for Illumination

Let us be, O Spirit, of one heart and mind,
that as we hear the Word read and proclaimed,
we may be words which tell of the Word,
Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.  Amen.

Reading     Acts 4:32-35

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.  With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

Hymn     Behold How Pleasant/ Miren qué buen (Psalm 133) 
Pablo Sosa ©1972  Sung by Christina Cichos, Bryn Nixon, instrumentation, Pacific Spirit United Church, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Behold how pleasant, how good it is!
Behold how pleasant, how good it is!

How pleasant and harmonious 
when God’s people are together:
fragrant as precious oil
when running fresh on Aaron’s beard

Behold how pleasant, how good it is!
Behold how pleasant, how good it is!

How pleasant and harmonious
when God’s people are together:
fresh like the morning dew
that falls on Zion’s holy hill.

Behold how pleasant, how good it is!
Behold how pleasant, how good it is!

How pleasant and harmonious 
when God’s people are together:
there is where God bestows 
the blessing, life forevermore.

Behold how pleasant, how good it is!
Behold how pleasant, how good it is!
(repeat) 

Reading     St John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Sermon

Our readings this week address trauma and joy; unity and giving, grace and mystery – and that odd Psalm about Aaron’s beard!  All our readings are about community and have much they can offer us.

Our Gospel reading has the disciples gathered in fear and despondency.  They’d lost their Lord to political manoeuvres, an unjust hurried trial, dreadful torture, and an excruciating death.  The men had all run off but now, together they were locked in together for fear of the authorities.  I wonder if they felt guilt for not standing up for Jesus.  I wonder if they felt despair not knowing what was to happen next.  I wonder how they felt about Judas, once at the centre of their community as treasurer, no longer with them after his own despair led to suicide.  I wonder how they felt about Peter denying even knowing Jesus – I wonder how Peter felt.  Did they bicker?  Did they stick together as there was nowhere else to go?  The Gospel writer lets us wonder about the state they were in but without much ado Jesus appears, standing among them, bidding them peace.  I expect peace was the last reaction that was had as they realised who was with them.  Excitement, joy, denial, tears, confession maybe but probably not peace!  In fact, Jesus has to tell them “peace” twice and has to show them his hands and his side – I think they probably didn’t believe it was him.  After a bit of peace descending Jesus commissioned then to forgive by breathing the Holy Spirit upon them.  Then we’re taken to poor Thomas who hadn’t been present for this peaceful commissioning.  A bit more trauma for Thomas feeling excluded and so another appearance is given.  

We can relate to this shattered community.  We know what trauma is; we know what fear is.  Over Covid so much was lost in our society and in our churches; the tender bonds that hold us were strained with not being able to meet; those who managed to provide worship by Zoom, recordings, phone messages and printed orders did so much to help a community navigate national traumas – the anger felt at parties in Downing Street is a sign of the depth of the trauma we experienced.  We remember funerals being pared down to the minimum, missed hospital check-ups leading to problems later, infections out of control in nursing homes. It’s a trauma that’s still fresh in our minds and our experience.  We have, however, other traumas too.  In our lifetimes we’ve seen the decline of the Church from being a significant institution in our society to something marginal and ignored.  We realise that social trends have engulfed us, and whilst society wonders about spirituality we’ve squandered a lot of our time debating things that society has already made its mind up about.  Many congregations struggle to keep their numbers stable (a form of church growth) in the face of decline and death.  There’s a trauma here in seeing a church we love decline and a puzzle at why people are less interested in religion than they used to be.  We need Jesus giving us peace just as those first disciples did.

Then there’s the reading from Acts; oddly being read first in the Lectionary order in place of the usual Old Testament text.  It relays what’s happened to the community of the Church after Pentecost.  We don’t know how much time has passed since the events in John’s Gospel but here is a community which is no longer afraid.  Here is a community that knows what it’s about.  Here is a community of “one heart and soul” where goods and lives were shared. Here is a community where people could testify to the power of Jesus’ resurrection.  Here is a community where the weaker members in need were helped.  Here is a community where the peace of Christ has both taken root and energised them in unity, proclamation, and compassion.  Here is a community which is growing.  Here is a community which lives out the words of the short Psalm 133 which sees how good and pleasant it is for kindred to live together in unity.  

Can we relate to this vision of community?  Can we see the joy that comes from unity?  Of course, unity is part of our DNA in the URC with differing traditions coming together and with our commitment now to ecumenical relationships.  We know how good it feels when a congregation agree on and deliver a project – helping at the foodbank, providing an after-school club, welcoming asylum seekers (and getting castigated in the press for it!)  When projects work well they can unleash energy and even draw people into the life of the Church.  We may not have images of oil on beards as a sign of joy, but we can certainly appreciate the gift of unity – especially after a period of discord.   

I wonder if our local congregations tend more to the first community we thought about – the fearful traumatised disciples or the second, the mission centred confident early Church.  Of course, these were not essentially different communities; the first leads to the second.  That mysterious encounter with the Risen Lord led the traumatised, bickering, guilt ridden disciples into the unified, confident, community of proclamation that changed the world.

In our congregations we have choices arising from our mysterious encounters with the Risen Jesus.

• We can choose to be dominated by the traumas of our age or choose to proclaim the new life in Christ that brings peace.
• We can choose to bicker, give into guilt and recrimination when things go wrong, or to be united in our purpose.
• We can hoard what we have for the rainy day that never comes or share with those in need.
• We can tear down our communities with arguments about inconsequential stuff or build them up with a focus on the needs around us.
• We can stay fearful in the face of decline, or become confident in our unity and our belief that God hasn’t finished with us yet.
• We can have a false unity where we’re only focused on the needs of our members, or use that God-give unity to serve those outside of the Church.

As we meet the Lord in the proclaimed word, the quiet places, the hymns and songs we sing, in each other and in the bread and wine where we’re fed by His own had, let’s not only breath in His peace but share it.  

This Eastertide let’s decide to change; to turn away from the understandable fears and traumas that beset our congregations, and our common life together in society, and, instead, choose to serve.

This Eastertide let’s welcome the peace that Jesus brings to us in our fears and insecurities and reach out to heal the wounded.

This Eastertide let’s set aside our petty divisions and unite in a common purpose to proclaim the good news of the Risen Jesus who heals, brings peace, and reminds us that we are blessed to be a blessing to others.

Let’s pray

Risen Lord Jesus,
bring us your peace as we touch you in this place;
open our eyes to see you in each other,
our ears to hear you in the proclaimed Word,
our hearts as we taste you in bread and wine,
and fill our senses as we smell you in the poor and forsaken,
that your peace will both unite and disturb us,
that like the disciples of old 
we might proclaim and embody your saving love.  Amen.

Hymn     Christ Has Risen While Earth Slumbers  
John L Bell and Graham Maule © 1988, WGRG c/o Iona Community, GIA Publication Sung by the Grosse Pointe Memorial Church (Michigan) Virtual Choir and used with their kind permission.  OneLicence

Christ has risen while earth slumbers, 
Christ has risen where hope died,
as he said and as he promised, 
as we doubted and denied.
Let the Moon embrace the blessing; 
let the Sun sustain the cheer;
let the world confirm the rumour: 
Christ is risen, God is here!

Christ has risen for the people 
whom he died to love and save;
Christ has risen for the women 
bringing flowers to grace his grave.
Christ has risen for disciples 
huddled in an upstairs room.
He whose word inspired creation 
can’t be silenced by the tomb.

Christ has risen and forever 
lives to challenge and to change  
all whose lives are messed or mangled, 
all who find religion strange.  
Christ is risen, Christ is present 
making us what he has been  – 
evidence of transformation 
in which God is known and seen. 

Affirmation of Faith     (based on 1 John 1: 1-2:2)

We declare what was known from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our own hearts: Jesus is risen!

We declare that abundant life is revealed, and we have seen it, experienced it, and lived it for: Jesus is risen!

We declare that we have fellowship with God, the Source of all life, the risen Lord, and the Holy Spirit who calls us to unity for: Jesus is risen!

We declare that in this fellowship with God there is no obscurity, and we are called to live in the light for: Jesus is risen!

We declare that, when we wander back into the gloom, the One who loved, lived and died for us and for the world, forgives and calls us home for: Jesus is risen!  
Amen!

Intercessions

O Holy Trinity,  the dance of Your love 
gives a pattern for our lives and communities.
In the love that flows within You and out to all creation,
we find our dignity, explore our unity, and proclaim abundant life.
Listen to us now as we bring our prayers for our world to You.

We pray for communities devastated by war, division, and conflict,
where bombs are heard more than laughter,
where evil preys on women and children,
where men find hope in hatred,
and where blood, not oil, flows from beards.

pause

We pray for communities living with trauma,
where the pandemic still bites,
where religious and ethnic diversity is used as a weapon,
where fear divides and conquers,
where poverty kills and where lies attack truth.

pause

We pray for peace, the peace that the Risen Lord brings,
the peace which disturbs as much as it comforts,
the peace which makes us look out from our own pain,
to the mission fields before us.

pause

In the silence of our hearts we bring to You, O Trinity of love, 
those we love and worry about and who are in any kind of need…

longer pause

We join our prayers together, O God, as we pray as Jesus taught saying

Our Father…

Offertory

Many things are needed to build communities and to allow them to flourish – open hearts, time, love, forbearance, honesty, and an attitude of generous giving.  We give of our time, talents, and treasure to build communities and, sometimes, we must give without counting the cost. The charities and causes we wish to support suffer from the cost of living crisis as do our congregations.  Jesus’ peace allows us to relax and not worry but doesn’t absolve us of the need to give.  So now, in this service we give thanks for all that is given to build up our churches.  

Eternal God,
before the ages You yearned with love
and brought creation into being.
You gave of Yourself,
eventually giving Yourself to die for us.
You give us Your peace
a disturbing peace which drives us to mission.
Bless now these gifts, 
small tokens of our gratitude,
that all we give will build your Realm. Amen. 

Hymn     Eat This Bread and Never Hunger  
Daniel Charles Damon © 1993 Hope Publishing Company performed by the Chancel Choir of Trinity United Church, Kitchener, Ontario Canada and used with their kind permission.  OneLicence

Eat this bread and never hunger,
drink this cup and never thirst;
Christ invites us to the table 
where the last become the first.

Asking for a cup of water, 
Jesus touched forbidden ground;
and the woman, with a question, 
told the world what she had found.

Walking down a desert highway, 
Jesus healed a man born blind;
soon the man became a witness 
to the truth we seek and find.

Weeping for his friend at graveside,
Jesus felt the pain of death;
yet he knew God’s power to waken: 
living water, living breath.
 
Holy Communion

God is here!            God’s Spirit is with us!
Lift up your hearts   we lift them up to God!
Let us give God our thanks and praise!    
It is our duty and our joy to worship God!

Living God, out of chaos and darkness
your creative word called light into being and life in all its fulness.
Though in the garden we chose to disobey you
and death entered our world
you are the bringer of life from the places of death.
You saved Noah and his family from the Flood
and passed over the children of Israel
when death struck the firstborn of Egypt.
You led your people out from slavery in Egypt and exile in Babylon.
You saved Jonah from the belly of the whale 
and Daniel from the lions’ den.
By your power Sarah and Hannah brought forth sons
and Ruth the stranger became the mother of kings.

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendour!
Christ has conquered! Jesus Christ our King is risen!
Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes for ever!
Rejoice, O Mother Church!
The risen Saviour shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!

Therefore, with all your people in heaven and on earth
we sing the triumphant hymn of your glory:

Sanctus
From the St Anne Mass by James MacMillan
Sung by Moira Docherty of Queen’s Cross Church, Aberdeen.

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory. 
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 
Hosanna in the highest.

Born on a dark night,  during his life on earth
the light of your Son’s presence brought hope to the lost
and healing to the sick.
He preached good news to the poor and ate with sinners.
For this he was pursued to the death.
For this, the Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed
took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said:

‘This is my body which is broken for you.
Do this is remembrance of me.’

In the same way he took the cup also after supper, saying:
‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.’

Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:

Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

We praise you that the darkness could not hold him
for he was raised at dawn to bring new life to the world.
By his power sin is purged,
innocence restored to the fallen, joy to the mourners;
hatred is vanquished, tyranny laid low;
harmony reigns, heaven and earth are united
and humanity is reconciled with God.

The Morning Star has risen, never again to set.
His light is become our light; his Spirit is ours;
may our lives shine with the radiance of his glory
and this bread and wine lead us to the feasting of the Kingdom,
where we shall be raised up to see him face to face,
in the glory of the blessed Trinity, through all ages. Amen.

Music for Communion     Holy Gifts for Holy People  
Stephen Dean © 1994 OCP Publications OneLicence.

Post Communion Prayer

God of all hope,
We bless and thank You for nourishing us with Christ, the bread of life.
Help us to live free from all desires 
for anything else that promises to satisfy.
Strengthen us now to offer this bread to all who hunger.
Through Jesus Christ, the Living Bread, we pray, Amen.

Hymn     The Day of Resurrection
St. John of Damascus (675-754)  Translator: J. M. Neale Public Domain.  Sung by The Cathedral Choir, Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York, Samuel Kuffuor-Afriyie, organ
 
The day of resurrection! Earth, tell it out abroad;
the Passover of gladness, the Passover of God.
From death to life eternal, from earth unto the sky,
our Christ hath brought us over, with hymns of victory.

Our hearts be pure from evil, that we may see aright
the Lord in rays eternal of resurrection light;
and listening to his accents, may hear, so calm and plain,
his own “All hail!” and, hearing, may raise the victor strain.

Now let the heavens be joyful! Let earth the song begin!
The round world keep high triumph, and all that is therein!
Let all things seen and unseen their notes in gladness blend,
for Christ the Lord is risen, our joy that hath no end.

Blessing

May the One who calls us to unity,
the One who brings us disturbing peace,
the One who drives us serve
enable you to build community, heal wounds, 
and show love in action,
and the blessing of Almighty God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
be with you, and all whom you love
now and always, Amen.
 

Information

Dali  was inspired to paint The Ascension of Christ by a “cosmic dream’ that he had in 1950, some eight years before the painting was completed.  The vivid colours of his dream led to the painting of the nucleus of an atom as both the background to the painting and as a symbol of Christ’s spirit.  Jesus’ feet point towards us drawing our eyes up to the centre of the atom – which looks rather like a sunflower.  Jesus’ face isn’t visible  – often the case in Dali’s paintings of him.  A figure above Christ has a face wet with tears.  The triangle formed by Christ’s feet and outstretched arms is reminiscent of his more famous depiction of Christ of St John of the Cross based on sketches by the Spanish mystic. 

Reading Colossians 3: 1-3

You have come out of the grave with Jesus, so make sure you enjoy his new life. You can share his special relationship with God. Don’t get bogged down in trivial matters. Since your experience of death and rebirth, your life is one with the ongoing life of God. When the curtain goes back to reveal the reality behind everything, Jesus will be seen as the key to life, and you’ll be there, in his company.

Reflection

Growing up in Glasgow, when visiting the Kelvingrove Art Galleries I was always fascinated by the Dali painting Christ of St John of the Cross. In those days, it was hung so that it could be glimpsed at a distance along the long vista of the upstairs balcony, drawing the eyes and feet towards it. Nowadays, one of the first things I see at home each day is the print hanging on my bedroom wall.

The contrast between that picture and this Ascension, which was painted some seven years later, is striking. The crucifixion floats against a dark, empty background above a serene landscape. The ascension seems to show Christ floating backwards into the glowing sunburst of an atom surrounded by what seem to be burning clouds. Christ’s crucified body is knotted in agony. His ascended body is smooth and unmarked, although his claw-like hands echo those nailed to the cross. His unseen eyes look up to the dove of the Spirit and the tears running down his wife’s face.

Both paintings were done in the era when memory of the destruction wrought by nuclear weapons was raw. Dali was deeply affected by these events and expressed the fear he felt about the explosions in his art.1) The moral dilemmas of those times have been depicted in the recent film Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures).

As I contemplate the two images side by side on the screen and read the words of Paul in Colossians, I see a depiction of the non-trivial journey from the grave to rebirth, with rebirth not yet complete. The hands of Christ reach out to grasp us into his company but indicate his exasperation that we have not yet been able to live in peace with one another as long as the threat of nuclear annihilation remains present.

Prayer

Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth;
lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust;
lead me from hate to love, from war to peace.
Let peace fill our heart, our world, our universe.
Peace, peace, peace.

1)     https://www.salvador-dali.org/media/upload/pdf/salvador-dali-and-science_1409308040.pdf
 

Information

Currently a California resident, Dr He Qi Studied at Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing Art Institute in China and Hamburg Art Institute in Germany.  He has been an Artist-in-Residence at Fuller Theological Seminary (CA) and is Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Art Institute of RUC (Renmin University of China,Beijing)  He was the first among Mainland Chinese to earn a Ph.D. in Religious art after the Revolution(1992). He also received his Honorary Doctor Degree from Australia Catholic University in Melbourne (May, 2011). He is also a member of the China Art Association.  He Qi’s art is seen as a reinterpretation of sacred art within an ancient Chinese art idiom. Chinese religious art, being an expression of Buddhism, was historically typified as a tranquil and utopian portrayal of nature, often painted with black ink and water. He Qi is influenced by the simple and beautiful artwork of the people in rural China.  Within that framework, he seeks to redefine the relationship between people and spirituality with bold colours, embellished shapes and thick strokes. His work is a blend of Chinese folk art and traditional painting technique with the iconography of the Western Middle Ages and Modern Art.  Peace Be Still is  one of his most well-known artworks.  It’s  been featured in the New York times in an article called  Searching for a Jesus Who looks like Me. 

Reading  St Mark 4: 35 – 41

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’  And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’  He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.  He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’  And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

Reflection

When you read this story, what do you picture in your mind? I imagine a boat on the Sea of Galilee. Why do I not think of fishers working off our own coast? Or of the many storms that have lashed our islands? Such images are readily available.

What strikes you most? That Jesus was asleep? That his disciples thought he did not care? Do you focus on their fear? Or their awe? The answer to these questions will depend on your perspective, your upbringing, personality and what is going on for you in your life right now. Do you feel buffeted by the storms of life, metaphorical or literal? Or are you safe in the knowledge that Jesus is in the boat beside you and though he didn’t stop the storm from happening, he will calm the waters with ease?

In the time of Jesus, control of the sea was a divine characteristic. This story is a way of showing the true identity of Jesus to the disciples. The Gospel of Mark is known for having not very intelligent disciples – hints of Jesus’ divinity keep appearing, but they just don’t get it. It is vital to Mark to show that the disciples are just like us – don’t worry, if you are finding these things about Jesus hard to understand, so did they. If you are afraid, so were they. The Jesus of Mark’s Gospel is struggling with how to tell the disciples things there are no words for. So, he shows them – he calms the storm with just three words. Something only God should be able to do. And here we have art, showing, rather than telling us the story.

In He Qi’s painting, the sea is rough below, but calm above and a peace dove with an olive branch in its beak flies over Jesus’ head – a reminder perhaps of the calm after the flood and God’s forgiveness of humankind? Forgiveness of our unseeing and waywardness?

Prayer

Creator God, we give you thanks for artists who help us see your world through different eyes, who open up your Word with new interpretations and wider understanding. We thank you for Jesus, the one who sits beside us in the boat of life and calms the storms. Amen

Information

Harmonia Rosales’ does not wish to upset viewers but to balance Christian art with images of black people.  She was born in 1984 of Afro-Cuban American heritage, in Chicago.  As a child she was interested in classic art by the Old Masters.  Rosales defines herself as a womanist – a movement of black people which seeks to explore and challenging the injustices they face by leading, participating in, or supporting various social justice movements. The term was first coined by African American writer Alice Walker.  Harmonia Rosales’ work isn’t meant to challenge classic art in a technical, masterful way. Instead it wants to say that black people are there and are no less important than white folk.

Reading  St Luke 2: 33 – 35

And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed  so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

Reflection

At Christmas, it is Jesus “meek and mild” who we are reminded off. At Easter, it is Jesus as “Saviour” who comes to the forefront. Yet, who is Jesus in between? Some quiet, reserved individual or someone who was not scared to challenge perspectives?

We get very comfortable with an image of Jesus who is not controversial. We see his teaching as great life lessons, but not there to rock our steady boats. We hold fast to knowledge that Jesus loves us! But this is not who, Simeon declared, Jesus would be. Simeon told Mary that Jesus would rock everyone’s boat: he would be the making of some, and the downfall of others. This is the Jesus Mary holds in her arms in the painting by Harmonia Rosales.

Rosales’ painting is not a challenge to classic art, nor was it painted with the purpose of causing offence. 

However, with this painting, Rosales reminds us that Jesus is not just a loving, gentle guy; he came to turn tables in the temple and make us inwardly examine our lives. For some of us, being reminded of this is liberating. For others of us, it is scary because it means we need to step away from what we are comfortable with and look at our lives through a different lens.

Prayer

God of all,
you took on flesh not just to bridge a gap
or make yourself as one humanity can relate to.
You came into this world to change its thinking,
to turn perspectives upside-down,
and show us what ‘all’ really means.
As we gaze again at you in Mary’s arms,
help us see what accepting you, as Jesus our Saviour, requires.
Help us not get comfortable with one view,
but for ever examining who we are
because of who you are for us and for the world. Amen

Happy Easter!

Dear Friends,

I hope your Easter Celebrations were good and that, in these joyful 50 days of Easter you continue to reflect on the power of God seen in weakness, of healing coming from defeat and glory found in the shock of the empty tomb.  

We’ve reached the end of St Mark’s Gospel and, this morning, started a new series looking at how Jesus is depicted in art.  Christians have, since our earliest days, depicted Jesus, and often his mother, in art.  The earliest depictions of Jesus date from around 300  – at the same time some Christians grumbled that no images of Him should be used at all – a cry taken up again at the Reformation.  As we have no idea what Jesus looked like each age and culture has depicted him in ways which make him real for them.  Over the next two weeks we will see Jesus depicted as a victim of street violence in America, with His mother as African, as a Chinese fisherman, as an atom at the heart of God, as another Jewish victim of anti-semitic violence, as the child born to die, fleeing for his life to Egypt as a displaced Palestinian, in Cubist form on the Cross, as a Filipino liberator and as a Native American.  Each culture, each artist, seeks to find a way for Jesus to become real for them.  I hope as we reflect we allow Him to become real for us.  We’ve been able to buy licences for some of these pictures but, as in today’s, where we haven’t we provide a link to click on so you can see the art before reading the reflection.

Many of you asked about the Stations of the Cross and prayers that we sent out in the two weeks leading up to Holy Saturday and have asked if these are available.  We were pleased to distribute this Church of Scotland resource and you can find all the work in a booklet here.  

I have developed the Worship Notes for this coming Sunday.   I compare and contrast the frightened disciples gathered together for fear of the authorities who encountered the Risen Lord who brought them peace, and the vibrant outward focused community of the earliest Church which cast away fear and trauma in order to proclaim God’s marvellous deeds.  I suggest we can choose to move from the first type of community to the second. I include an All Age activity based on friendship bracelets, links to the URC’s Prayer Prompts for Children, and include a range of hymns and suggests some which may not be known to us but are worth learning.  This week’s intercessions have been prepared by the Revd Siân Collins.  Both of these resources can be found here.

Finally, you may have seen prayers we commissioned for Good Friday and Easter Sunday via the URC’s Social Media Channels.  Here’s a final prayer for these joyful days of Easter.
 

With every good wish

Andy

The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship
 

St Mark 16: 14 – 20

Later Jesus appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.  And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;  they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.

Reflection

In continuation from yesterday’s devotion, Jesus finally appears to the eleven and rebukes them for “their unbelief and hardness of heart” (verse 14). He then commissions them to go “into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (verse 15), with the promise that those who believe and are baptised will be saved, while those who refuse to believe will be condemned (verse 16). Signs will accompany those who proclaim the gospel, including exorcisms, speaking in tongues, snake-handling, drinking poison, and healing the sick (verses 17–18). The final verses of this longer ending describe Jesus ascending into heaven and sitting at God’s right hand (verses 19), followed by the apostles, in obedience to his command, going out and preaching everywhere, “while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs” (verse 20).

Finally, they believed. And now they were to call others to believe. They were given a commission of universal significance. This really is an extraordinary challenge for His disciples to grasp the reality of seeing Jesus again, to believe, to accept and to follow. Despite the doubts and fears, the disciples were encouraged and promised. The mandate, the message, the marks, the miracles, and the mission became their priority after encountering Jesus. Their responsibility to carry forward what Jesus began, gradually strengthened their faith and it paved a way to make impossible things possible. We are called to take risks for the sake of the gospel regardless of where we are placed and be rest assured that the resurrected Jesus is with us. 

Prayer

Resurrected Lord, your presence changes us, challenges us and provides us opportunities to share and partake in the mission. May we continue to be confident and carry on the tasks within the church and in our community. Amen. 

St Mark 16: 9 – 12

Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.  She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

Reflection

The resurrection of Jesus is at the heart of the Christian message, the foundation of our faith and belief. Sadly, the first hearers did not believe it. How can a dead person come back to life? It is impossible. Even now, it is hard to believe, however, the Bible says, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

This longer ending of Mark’s Gospel recounts Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene, who reports this appearance to the other disciples, who in turn do not believe her. Jesus then appears to two disciples “as they were walking into the country” (like the disciples on the road to Emmaus); these disciples tell the others who, again, fail to believe.

In these closing verses, there are some themes that recapitulate not only the beginning of this Gospel, but also in the end. Unbelief is one such theme. Time and again, we saw those close to Jesus failing to grasp his person and work. On several occasions, Jesus rebuked them for their unbelief. Their absence at the empty tomb testifies to their unbelief.  They were still slow to believe even after the testimony of the women. These disciples had been told repeatedly by Jesus that He would rise again. And yet, when the time came, all was forgotten, and they were found unbelieving. Time and again, their hardness of heart and lack of spiritual perception stood out. Despite eyewitness testimony of the risen Lord, their unbelief persisted.

Many a time, we too find it hard to believe the truth, our unbelief persists and hardens our thoughts and minds. Sometimes, there is so much weakness in our faith. However, the resurrection narrative is a reminder for us to learn from their unbelief. Let us cease to feel surprise when we feel doubts arising in our own heart. Our unbelieving turns to believing when our faith is firm, because, ‘faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’ 

Prayer

Lord, the resurrection of Your Son Jesus Christ has given us new life and renewed hope. Help us to live as a believing community so that we encourage others to believe in your resurrection through our words and deeds. Continue to strengthen us through the power of your resurrection. Amen.