Minister’s letter – April newsletter
Dear friends,
“Alleluia! Christ is risen!” “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
This joyful shout of acclamation starts our Easter morning service. These are words of praise and also of faith because they declare our belief in a risen Saviour. The cross is empty and the tomb deserted – no wonder we rejoice!
When Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ was released in 2004 I went with friends to see it at the cinema. I expect many of you did too. The violence of some of the scenes was, undoubtedly, very upsetting. I have no idea whether it was humanly possible for a person to survive such a flogging as the film portrayed, but we do know that the Roman method of execution by crucifixion was barbaric and a form of torture. It certainly caused us to reflect on what Jesus went through and to give the events of Good Friday their due.
The resurrection scene, by contrast, was beautifully understated. We saw a black screen and heard the sound of a heavy stone being rolled back as a crescent of light appeared and gradually banished the darkness of the tomb. The camera panned around and we glimpsed a movement as the grave clothes crumpled into folds as if suddenly empty of what had been contained in them. Then, through the dusty dimness, we saw the figure of Jesus standing in the corner. Sideways on, our eyes travelled down his body and rested on the holes on his hands. Slowly and purposefully he moved towards the sunlight and the world beyond the tomb.
The cinema was silent when the film finished and we filed out as if at a funeral. The shock of Christ’s Passion was still with us and the joy of his resurrection had not yet sunk in. Then the person in front of me turned to his friend and said, “I believe they’re going to make a sequel.”
Although we laughed about the comment, his words stayed with me because of course, in Christian terms, there has been a sequel. It is told in the Book of Acts and in the epistles we find recorded in our New Testament. More than that, it is a sequel that is ongoing. WE are part of it.
When the women came to the tomb on that first Easter morning and found it empty, they were told, “He is not here for he is risen, just as he said.” They ran back to tell the disciples. They were the first witnesses to the resurrection – but they weren’t the last. WE are part of that long line of witnesses. WE continue to tell the Gospel message of hope, joy and, above all else, love. It’s not a message to be shut away in a dark and dusty place. Jesus walked out of just such a place that the world might hear the message and discover its wonder. We must do likewise.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
With every blessing of Easter,
Sharon
Picture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAG7jC_FaxU