Friends

In my teens I became increasingly short-sighted and, as is often the case, was unaware of it for quite a while. Eventually, I had my eyes tested and was given glasses. It was an extraordinary experience to have 20/20 vision for the first time in years. Spooky looking trees and corners turned out to be perfectly ordinary, and the fellow teen who I had fancied from afar for ages turned out not to be as utterly gorgeous as I had imagined (albeit with very good bone structure!) It was both wonderful and slightly disappointing to see the world as it really is.

When we read the Easter story, particularly those of us who have stayed with it throughout the Christian year and starting with Advent have prepared ourselves for the coming of God as a baby, been witnesses of Simeon’s response in the temple, rushed back to Jerusalem in fear when Jesus was lost at 13, observed the first miracles, heard the teaching and journeyed to the foot of the cross, we see how obvious it is that Jesus would rise. We may even feel rather frustrated with those first disciples, who didn’t get it, or certainly not until they saw it. If those are our feelings, we should perhaps be kinder. We all have 20/20 vision in hindsight, and only by resurrection hindsight do we behold Christ’s glory.

As we look back over the long sweep since Christmas, and as we look forward to Pentecost and Ordinary Time, we can see clearly that the only possible outcome of the death of the Son of God was resurrection. Faced with this truth, what then do we do with it? Soldier on, believe in “pie in the sky when you die” and don’t make a fuss, because it will all be better when we get to glory, was once the answer. But it isn’t a good enough answer for most people now. Instead, there is something about allowing the story to change us and in so doing to encourage us to move our little bit of the world closer to Heaven. To behave more like Christ, to notice and respond to need, to try to hear his word over the noisiness of twenty-first century life is our call. We are told in the Gospel of John 1:12 “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” A frustration of motherhood is that we carry our child for 9 months, not all of them easy, only to be told for at least as long afterwards “Don’t they look like their Dad?” We too should carry the family marks. We too should have people look at us and say, “Aren’t they like the Father? Can’t you see that this is a sibling of Jesus?

God bless,

Vicci

The Stations of the Cross on Holy Saturday:

This was a wonderful, peaceful and thought-provoking event and if you were unable to attend then please follow the link below to view photographs on our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064930801235

or visit the Thames Valley Circuit website to view photos in the “Gallery”section: