Stour Vale Benefice

Lent 2021

(Stour Vale Walk of Witness – Good Friday 2019)

Reflections

for the journey

Lent 2021 Reflections for the journey

Even with light and hope ahead of us, the weeks of Lent will remain

restricted and the possibility of meeting together remote.

Beginning on Ash Wednesday, this little home-produced booklet is offered

for personal use through the weeks of the season, and we hope you can find

a few minutes each day to sit and ponder on the thought for the day, a

related photo, and the Bible verse, and perhaps see where they lead you in

your own reflections. Each week of Lent will take a particular theme.

As St Benedict promises in his famous monastic Rule, we offer “nothing

harsh, nothing burdensome”, but something that can be slipped into your

daily routine, and will hopefully give you some reflection as we journey

towards that greater light – the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

our companion on this and all our journeys.

Contents

Ash Wednesday – Saturday Preparation for the journey

Week 1 (Sunday to Saturday) Contemplation

Week 2 (Sunday to Saturday) Calling

Week 3 (Sunday to Saturday) Being Human

Week 4 (Sunday to Saturday) The hope around us

Week 5 (Sunday to Saturday) The story of a lifetime

Palm Sunday – Easter Day From darkness to light

All photos © Barbara Priest

Preparation for the Journey

Ash Wednesday

As always, we begin our Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday when, in normal

circumstances, we would meet in church to be marked with a cross made from

the ash of the previous year’s palm crosses. This ash cross reminds us of our

mortality; in the words of the priest, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you

shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.” We then go on our way,

marked with Christ’s forgiveness and ready to begin our journey of reflection

through Lent.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made and forgive the sins

of all who are penitent: create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we,

worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may receive from

you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ your

Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,

now and forever.

Collect for Ash Wednesday

Thursday

Lent is often likened to a journey or pilgrimage, as we take time to reflect on

ourselves and our lives. Walks can lead us onto unexpected or even unpromising

paths but, just when we think we are on the road to nowhere, we emerge to find a

glorious vista laid out before us. And, of course, we remember that we always

walk with a friend.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3. 5-6

Friday

Journeys can be difficult and challenging, and someone else’s path will always

look better, easier, more beautiful. But, like the pilgrims of old, we are urged to

stay strong and determined – the prize will be worth the effort and we are in

good company from one who is used to travelling tough roads.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil;

for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23. 4

Saturday

We mentioned pilgrims yesterday and the fact that we never travel alone. Long

pilgrimages often involved carrying your worldly goods from one stopping place

to the next and, those goods would seem heavier with each mile. But Jesus offers

to carry our burdens for us if only we let him. So, as we begin our journey in

earnest, let us look to Jesus, our companion who is always willing

to take on our heavy loads.

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;

for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 11. 28-30

First Week of Lent : Contemplation

Sunday

As we enter our first full week of Lent we try to clear away the stresses of modern

life that call us away from God. And so we will be reflecting on ways to adopt

silence and contemplation – that inner pool of calm and peace. Rumi, the 13th

century Persian poet says: “Listen to silence – it has so much to say”

He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”

For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

Mark 6. 31

Monday

Silence is not silent! Simon & Garfunkel wrote a song about the sound of silence,

and Fr Christopher Jamison often asked groups of retreatants at Worth Abbey –

“can you hear the silence?” Once upon a time when I was at school, we were taken

into the playground with notepad and pen and asked to write down every sound

we could here. Why not try that in your garden today?

Be still, and know that I am God

Psalm 46. 10

Tuesday

Snow can have a magical effect. Creating a unique and ethereal light, snow covers

everything in a soft white blanket and with it comes an equally ethereal silence.

Think back to the last time you experienced a good covering of snow. Were you

aware of that special light it reflected? Could you hear its silence?

Snow treats everyone and everything equally – all are covered, all are protected.

But deep below the blanketed earth, life is still stirring as new growth

prepares for spring.

For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.

Psalm 62. 5

Wednesday

We all have special things that help us to find that quiet place. It can be a

fragrance; perhaps of a particular flower or the smell of rain or newly mown

grass. It can be something you focus on; a candle, icon or other object. It can be a

particular place; a wide landscape, the sea or a favourite sacred space. Whatever

takes you there, cherish it and return to it often. Let it guide you into God’s

presence where you can sit together as companions.

In the morning, while it was still very dark,

he got up and went out to a deserted place,

and there he prayed.

Mark 1. 35

Thursday

A well-used method of contemplation is Lectio Divina, where we read a passage

from the Bible or other work very slowly and see whether a particular word or

phrase speaks to us. We then read the passage a few more times and spend time

contemplating what that word or phrase might be saying to us in the silences in

between. They will often speak to you about where you are and how you feel now,

and different words or phrases will strike you in the same passage on different

occasions. It is a lovely way to really delve into our spiritual writings. Why not

use this method to read a passage that you think you know well and see what it

says to you today.

.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him

not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people

John 1. 1-4

Friday

Julian contemplative groups take their lead from Julian of Norwich, the 14th

century anchoress who spent much of her life in a small cell attached to St Julian's

Church in the city. Unusually for the time, she wrote down her visions in a book

which has now become one of the most famous mystical writings of all time and

includes the much-loved words, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all

manner of thing shall be well.” Perhaps spend some time today sitting in a

quiet place and pondering on those words.

Would you know your Lord's meaning in this thing?

Know it well, love was his meaning. Who showed it to you? Love. What did he show you? Love. Why did he show it? For love.

Julian of Norwich

Saturday

Many of us struggle with prayer from time to time and so we complete this week with encouragement that, even if it seems like nothing is happening and we are about to give up, something will offer a glimpse of glory to encourage us on. At

the end of the day, think back to anything, even something as tiny as a raindrop on a flower, that, for a second, brought you a lifting of the spirit or a

sense of wonder.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:13

Second Week of Lent : Calling

Sunday

This week we look at our calling. This isn’t just something for ordained or licensed ministers. We all have a ministry – a calling to be something that God

only wants from us. Finding it can be a smooth road, a rocky road, a clear road, a hidden road, but at some point, in God’s time, he will make his way known to us.

And sometime, like the wise men who visit Jesus, we have to be prepared to unexpectedly travel “by another road.”

Rumi says: What in your life is calling you, when all the noise is silenced, the

meetings adjourned, the lists laid aside, and the wild iris blooms by itself in the dark forest… what still pulls on your soul?

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth;

and he said to him, “Follow me”.

Matthew 9. 9

Monday

God has something for all of us to do or be, and we can be sure it will be revealed when the time is right. John Henry Newman, the English theologian and poet

wrote about his certainty that, whatever happened in his life, God had something unique for him to do, saying, “God has created me to do him some definite service.

He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another.” And if things don’t seem to be going quite as we would expect, Newman assures us that

“still, he knows what he is about.”

And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left,

your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Isaiah 30. 21

Tuesday

Not all callings and vocations are comfortable and we are sometimes challenged in the purpose we find we are meant for. There is a poem by Charlotte Mew called

The Call which captures that cold shiver that can come from being drawn out of our comfort zone and out onto a path whose purpose has yet to reveal itself. She

concludes that, “we must go, though yet we do not know who called, or what marks we shall leave upon the snow.”

Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Luke 9. 23

Wednesday

The age of sat-nav has got many of us out of the habit of being able to read maps.

Now, we just press a few buttons and go where the mechanical voice tells us – for

good or ill! But the walkers amongst us will know that sometimes, even the old

and trusted maps don’t work. Boundaries have changed, paths have been moved,

hedgerows have become overgrown and hide the way. So maybe Lent is the time

to throw the old maps away and set out, as many ancient pilgrims did, into the

dark of an unknown road. For then we will see the stars.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to observe your righteous ordinances

Psalm 119. 105-106

Thursday

What we actually do might not be a calling. Sometimes we are just required to be

a portal in which to find God and deepen our relationship with him. Poet, Mary

Oliver id that through her love of nature. She would spend hours walking through

her nearby woods, hiding pencils in tree hollows in case she was inspired to write

while meandering along the paths. Her connection to the natural world ran deep

and acted as the source and life blood of her faith and knowledge of God. As one

of her poems tells us, she sees her work in the world as

“mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.”

My beloved speaks and says to me: ‘Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth;

the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land.

Song of Solomon 2. 10-12

Friday

Joyce Rupp wrote a book called “Walk in a relaxed manner”. It is her journal of

life lessons learnt as she walked the Camino to Santiago de Compostela. In it, she

reflects on the thousands of pilgrims that have trodden that road before her, and

the spiritual awareness that they leave in their footsteps. And Joyce suggests that

we do not have to go on an official pilgrim trail to deepen our spiritual lives – we

all have a camino, “a road of life” that enriches us through the interaction with

the people and places we meet on our way, confirming, yet again, that we

do not travel alone but in the spirit of those who go before us.

They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us

while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’

Luke 24. 32

Saturday

As we reach the end of our week reflecting on our calling, we find comfort in the

knowledge that each call is embraced by the deep love of God. D.H. Lawrence is

not generally known for his poetry, but he wrote one called Pax about just this,

likening the feeling to a cat comfortably asleep in a warm chair. Why not sit in

your favourite chair, close your eyes and imagine feeling that sense of warmth.

Whoever does not love does not know God,

for God is love.

1 John 4. 8

Third Week of Lent : Being Human

Sunday

We begin our third week of Lent with an exploration of being human. Our lives as

human beings are embedded in relationships: family, friends, those who teach

and inspire us, who listen to us and laugh with us, those special people who travel

with us for a while and leave their footprints on our hearts. The necessary need

to be isolated during the pandemic has proved, beyond doubt, that we are made

to be together and these last months have been, to varying degrees, hard for us

all on that front. Our reflections for this week look at our interactions with

people, what it is to be with others and care about them, the memories that

enrich us as we grow older, and our relationship with the One who is always with

us Henry James wrote: “Three things in human life are important:

the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.

Love is patient; love is kind;

love is not envious or boastful or arrogant

1 Corinthians 13. 4

Monday

A ‘rule of life’ may seem to be quite an alarming thing but, as St Benedict said, most offer “nothing harsh, northing burdensome”, but simply point us on the road to loving God, our neighbours and ourselves. Our reflection photo today is one of

the prayer stones I discovered by Kilve church in Somerset last autumn and something as simple as that can be valuable rule of life in which

we can live God’s message.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you,

along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:31-32

Tuesday

I wrote a poem during the first lockdown about the loss of greeting close friends

and family with our usual hug, which became more painful as the months rolled

by. The poem, which was printed in our newsletter, reminded me that, although

we were lamenting the absence of human hugs, we take comfort in the fact that

we are all continually hugged by God. Hildegard of Bingen once wrote, “God hugs

you. You are encircled by the mystery that is God”, and the words of the Compline

psalm No.91 below served as my inspiration.

Under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

Psalm 91. 4

Wednesday

The animal world teaches us much about life too, and about being ‘family’. Even

in the wild, which depicts nature in both its beauty and its rawness, the loyalty

and love of relationships can be observed in amazing ways. Those of us that have

dogs in our family will especially know that unconditional loyalty of love that we

do little to deserve. But, as has often been noted, DOG is simply GOD spelt

backwards, and maybe that is why they offer us so many mirror images of

God’s love and loyalty.

And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

John 1. 16

Thursday

There is a lovely piece of writing by Kim Stafford which illustrates the blessing of

friendship. Amongst the hot, bustling backdrop of the Arabian marketplace, two

men “step into the bright halo of friendship”. So today, spend a moment or two

thinking of those who offer you friendship, not telling you what to do but simply

letting you be who you are and still loving you for it. And then take those

thoughts to the friend we have in God, who constantly runs towards us with

arms open wide.

I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything

that I have heard from my Father.

John 15. 15

Friday

Many of us hold memories of the habits of loved ones and often see them in the

faces of others. My Dad used to recognise his own brother as he watched my

sister meticulously scrape off the skin from her rice pudding. And it never snows

without me joyfully saying “It’s snowing, said Harold Hare”, echoing the words

Dad always used; a quote from one of our childhood storybooks. Where do you

see similar recognition of someone no longer with you -

these blessed mirrors from God?

Now I commend you because you remember me in everything

and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.

1 Corinthians 11:2

Saturday

We all have times when we feel alone and uncertain, when dreams seem dashed

and the mundane seems to crowd in over us. That’s life, in all its joys and

sorrows, peaks and troughs. But we are never left on the side-lines. When the

time is right, we will see a hand outstretched as God asks, as write Joyce Rupp

says, “May I have this dance”, and life begins anew. Think today about when you

have seen God take your hand, lift you up and guide to towards something new.

The Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and

forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that

were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

Ezekiel 37. 1-3

Fourth Week of Lent : The hope around us

Sunday

Despite the pandemic and the loss of many things we hold dear, this time has also

seen us reconnect with the hope that is all around us, not least in the natural

world. The song of the birds, the cloud patterns, the individual beauties of the

changing seasons and, prominent now, the new life of spring emerging from the

sleep of winter. The earth is to be cherished and we are all to take our part as

stewards of God’s creation. As J Patrick Lewis says in one of his poems, “Make the

Earth your companion, walk lightly on it, as other creatures do.”

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;

for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.

Psalm 24. 1-2

Monday

Many writers tell us how we need to pay attention to what the natural world is

telling us. The watch word here is ‘listen’ and what better way to connect with

creation than by taking time to really listen to our birds. Perhaps get up earlier

one day to listen to the dawn chorus - nature’s Matins!

But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,

they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,

they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40.31

Tuesday

Our gardens will be bursting into life now, as well as the wild flowers in our

woods and meadows. Winter is a necessary rest period for plant life, when they

take time to renew their resources, allowing them to bloom again in spring. Why

not take their lead and make a few moments to rest each day, allowing yourself to

be refreshed and renewed by God.

Consider the lilies, how they grow:

they neither toil nor spin;

yet I tell you,

even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

Luke 12. 27

Wednesday

Glimpses of God can appear to uplift even the most gloomy of days; in a smile to a

tired shop assistant, a “thank you” to someone on the phone, or the discovery that

you are in someone’s prayers. Showing kindness to strangers is as important as

showing kindness to friends. Whose day might you brighten?

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,

for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 13. 2

Thursday

There is a Jesuit practice of gratefulness known as the Examen when, at the end

of each day, we think about three things that have happened for which we are

thankful. It can be a big event or something that only lasted a second or two. But

all are worthy of our thanks and praise. What would be on your list today?

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts

and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4. 7

Friday

Sometimes we can be impatient for results, whether for ourselves or the world.

We long for things to get better, to make a difference, and we can lose hope in our

own dreams too. “God’s time, not our time” is a phrase often used. Jesuit priest

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote, ““Above all, trust in the slow work of God. Only

God could say what this new Spirit gradually forming in you will be.” Retreat

leader, Brian Draper compares this to God’s Spirit hovering over the water before

creation and suggests that like that Spirit, we are

“part of a gentle unfolding of a masterpiece.”

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,

the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep,

while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

Genesis 1. 1-2

Saturday

To close this week of hope around us, we look to the trees. These tall noble beings

have so much to teach us. They take life slowly. They accept the changes of the

seasons as part of the natural progression of things. They bury their roots deep

into the ground for the goodness they need to flourish, but they stretch up

towards the light and reflect that light for our benefit. Why not spend time among

the trees today, or sit under a tree in your garden. Soak up their peace and

life-giving energy.

They are like trees planted by streams of water,

which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.

In all that they do, they prosper.

Psalm 1. 3

Fifth Week of Lent : The story of a lifetime

Sunday

For our fifth week of Lent we turn to Jesus himself and his life from birth to the

events of Holy Week, which we will focus on next week. Our church liturgy is very

good at putting the life of Jesus into separate little boxes. We celebrate Christmas

as a comfortable story but forget that this small vulnerable life is, exactly that –

vulnerable – and trials are to come. This week we spend time thinking about the

whole of Jesus’ life and ministry, taking assurance from poet, Madeleine l’Engle

who observes in her poem First Coming, that “He did not wait for the perfect time,

he came when the need was deep and great.”

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not

know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.

John 1. 10-11

Monday

Because Joseph was a carpenter, it is assumed that Jesus would have helped in

the Nazareth workshop in his younger years. Jesus would have had carpenter’s

hands, a little rough and used to the feel of wood, hammer and nails. Maybe today

we can think about these early days and ponder on their reflection of the wood,

hammer and nails that were to come.

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses

and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?”

And they took offense at him.

Mark 6. 3

Tuesday

Mary had accepted without question her part in bringing Jesus into the world, but

did she know what was to come? She certainly knew who her baby was but did

Simeon’s words to her in the temple come as a shock or just confirm what she

already knew in her heart? Perhaps spend a few moments today thinking about

Mary and her courage.

“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.”

Luke 2. 34-35

Wednesday

Jesus spent a lot of his ministry with people who were cast aside by society; the

unclean, the diseased, the down and outs, those with less than perfect lives – the

same people we might look down upon today. Let’s include in our prayers today

those less fortunate than ourselves, particularly in our surrounding towns.

And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were

sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he

heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’

For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” Matthew 9. 10-13

Thursday

Jesus calmed many storms in his ministry – real and imagined. We recall how

horrified his disciples were to find him asleep on a cushion in the stern of their

boat while a sea storm raged around them. But he then awoke and calmed both

wind and waves with just a few words. Today, let us remember that in our storms

of life – real and imagined – Jesus is there as our cushion. We can lean on him and

know that he will calm our wind and waves.

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!’

Mark 4. 38-39

Friday

John’s Gospel speaks of Mary standing near the cross as Jesus was crucified. We

can only imagine how heart wrenching that must have been for her, and perhaps

how helpless she felt. But sometimes all we can do to help another is to stand

nearby, so that they can feel they are not alone. Is there someone you can

stand with?

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister,

Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

John 19. 25

Saturday

We close this week with another link which brings the life of Jesus’ full circle. Do

you remember the exotic “wise men from the East” who visited Jesus as a child?

They brought very particular gifts that foretold the life to come: gold for a king,

frankincense to anoint him, and myrrh for his burial. What would your gift be?

On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down

and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of

gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 2. 11

Holy Week : From darkness to light

Sunday

It is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week and the celebration of Jesus’ entry

into Jerusalem. What an occasion it must have been; noisy crowds lining the road

and shouting “hosanna”, palm branches being waved in the air and laid on the

ground, the busyness of the city gates. And, amidst it all, a shy, obedient animal

makes his way through the noise and clamour, carrying his gentle cargo.

What must he have thought?

Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt,

they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.

Luke 19. 35-37

Monday

It is rare to see Jesus consumed by anger but his actions against the money

changers and stall holders in the temple is one occasion. But this was not the first

occasion Jesus had created a stir in the Temple. There was a whole experience of

that building to be told: from being brought to Simeon as an infant, running off

there as a young boy in search of his heavenly Father, and today, shaming those

who use the temple as a base for commerce rather than love. And, in a few days’

time, Jesus’ death on the cross would affect the Temple once more, by causing its

sacred curtain to be torn in two, removing the barrier

between God and ourselves.

Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the

temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who

sold doves. He said to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer”;

but you are making it a den of robbers.’

Matthew 21. 12-13

Tuesday

It is good to know that Jesus had friends he could escape to when he needed to

rest. The nearby village of Bethany held one such family; Martha and Mary,

together with their brother Lazurus. The sisters are usually offered as an “either

or” - the busy bustling Martha or the contemplative Mary. But we actually need

both sisters in our life, for there are times to be active in our Christian mission

and times when we need to sit with God and listen.

So let us embrace both sisters in our lives.

There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served.

John 12. 2

Wednesday

In the midst of all the anguish, horror and pain of this week is a garden. And in

that garden is, for a while, peace. Jesus takes his disciples to Gethsemane but,

while he prays, despite his pleading with them to watch with him, they sleep. Will

we go into the garden and watch with him, knowing that it was part of how events

needed to unfold?

Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter,

‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour?

Matthew 26. 40

Maundy Thursday

Today we often focus mainly on the meal in that upper room, but there is an ever

more intimate and loving act in that place: Jesus takes a bowl of water and a

towel and washes his disciples’ sand-covered feet. And, by allowing this personal

act of servanthood, both they and we find, in the words of Malcolm Guite,

“the God of love is kneeling at our feet”

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet

and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

John 13. 4-5

Good Friday

We reach Good Friday and a sequence of events we find hard to imagine. The

cruelty, the torment, the injustice, the pain, the darkness….and in the centre of it

all, a peaceful, loving, innocent man – a peaceful, loving innocent God. Take a few

minutes to focus on this photograph today, and remember what Jesus was

prepared to do.

Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw

the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said,

‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’

Matthew 27. 54

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday: a day of quiet, a day of waiting. But, while all creation waits,

something is stirring behind the stone. Spend a few moments today sitting

quietly. Close your eyes and imagine what is happening inside the tomb.

Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there

was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish

day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

John 19. 41-42

Easter Day

Easter morning. It is still dark and Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb. To her

horror, she finds the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. Dawn breaks, and

the gardener arrives to start a new day’s work: a day of sowing, tending and

nurturing, encouraging new life to open, blossom and flourish.

Surely he will help her……

I have seen the Lord

John 20.18