He is risen!

Happy Easter friends, as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, may you know the hope embedded in this day, today and always.

When Jesus walked out of the tomb, early on that first Easter, I wonder how he felt? A new day, moving in his new Resurrection body, Jesus had been involved in a cosmic battle that changed everything irrevocably forever. And yet he came back to a place and time, a world where it appeared nothing much had changed. There was still death, tears, poverty, pettiness and downright evil in the world around him. I imagine the resurrected Jesus must have been able to see the bigger picture better than we can, knowing that there was real truth and real victory and real hope even as the world moved on.

The thing that struck me this Easter time was the way that Jesus dealt so generously with individuals – taking time for them – from asking his disciple to care for his mother while hanging on the cross to reintroducing himself to Mary Magdalene in the garden, Jesus worked on an individual level, touching people where they were.

There’s a story about a little girl on a beach full of stranded starfish, throwing them back into the sea one by one, because each effort she puts in makes a huge difference to the starfish concerned.

Jesus asks us to do the same. Every time we do something for ‘the least of my brothers and sisters’ we do it for him. The big picture is often to big and too hard; few of us can effect change on a global scale. We cannot address climate change, but each time we walk instead of drive, or fill our reusable water bottle from the tap instead of buying another plastic bottle we make a tiny difference. We cannot remove global poverty, but sponsoring a child the the two thirds world or giving a sandwich to a homeless person makes a little bit of positive difference, not only to the recipient, but to the people around them, which may have more impact than we ever dream. It also leaves a trail of breadcrumbs for others to follow.

Maybe the little girl on the beach came with her family, who could also pick up starfish, and be seen by others on the beach who could follow their example, and suddenly the impact is multiplied.

Jesus simplified the commandments down to two main principles: Love God with all of you, and love your neighbour as yourself. Sometimes loving God seems a difficult, distant thing, and on those days starting with loving your neighbour can bring you back to God through simple acts of kindness, learning from Jesus’ example.

Jesus didn’t just make a way for us through the cross. He also set down a way for us to live, day by day, until he comes again, when we will finally see the big picture and his Kingdom is ushered in, in its glorious entirety.

Jesus is risen! Hallelujah!

A joined up story

One of my favourite verses in the Bible is in Mark’s gospel describing Jesus “He has done everything well” (Mark 7:37). The people were referring to the healing Jesus was doing in their area, but this was only a small reflection of the complex and beautiful pattern of God’s Kingdom.

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday, when Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem on a colt, lauded by the people, cheered and praised as they spread their coats on the road and waved palm branches. What a scene! Such a spectacle! It must have drawn crowds from the sheer noise and exuberance of the celebration. People welcoming their King! Even if half of them didn’t really know what they were there for, inevitably celebrating crowds attract others, (you only have to see the streets of a city when their football team wins a trophy – far more gather for the parade than ever visit the stadium).

What must it have been like for Jesus? Finally people seemed to have caught on that he was the Messiah and were celebrating. The atmosphere was up, the praises were ringing out, it would have been easy for the man Jesus to be carried away with the celebrity status he was being granted at that moment.

But Jesus was well prepared. His time in the desert trained him, his regular get together with his Father grew him and he knew exactly what he was doing on Palm Sunday as he rides into the city. This was the fulfilment of prophecy written long ago, preparing Israel for his coming. He had already told Satan during his temptation that he didn’t need the adoration of others, that his relationship with God was paramount. He knew who he was and is, and what he had to do.

So much so that when he is criticised by the Pharisees he tells them “if they [the disciples] keep quiet, the stones will cry out”. Jesus knew exactly his place in the universe. Creation recognised him even as the Pharisees were blind.

Dallas Willard writes about “off the spot training” meaning the preparation we can do in our lives so that when the moment comes we can bring that training to the fore. It applies to medics, athletes and anyone who needs to perform under pressure, and it applies to us as believers. Peter was still in training as he betrayed Jesus, he was not yet will enough prepared to act under intense pressure, yet he persevered and became someone who could act “on the spot” in ways that glorified God over and over as we see in the book of Acts.

If Jesus needed to spend time preparing and being with his Father, how much more do we need that same discipline and nurturing?

As the Bible is an arc of God’s love for creation and the fulfilling of his plans, so each story is never a stand alone message, but is woven into the bigger picture, a properly joined up story of God’s plan to bring us into his Kingdom.

“Behold, he does all things well.”

Real Alcazar, Seville