April 2022

Easter 2 Year C 2022

I would guess that most of you have played the game known as Chinese Whispers, a game in which a message is passed on in whispers and gets seriously distorted by the time it reaches the last person in the line. The whole enjoyment comes from the comical distortions that result. There’s a famous example, which will only make complete sense to those of you who remember pre-decimal currency, in which the original message was “Send reinforcements, I’m going to advance” and the final version was “Send three and fourpence, I’m going to a dance.”...

Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has arisen (Luke 24: 5).

Many years ago - when credit cards and mobile phones were uncommon - I travelled with a friend from Cairo to Jerusalem by bus. We wanted to be there in time for Easter. It was an adventure. A trip into the unknown.  I still remember the excitement of getting up at early dawn and walking to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Easter Day where many other pilgrims and tourists had gathered. The memory of the empty tomb, the...

The Passion Gospel: Luke 22:14-23:56

The Institution of the Lord’s Supper

14 When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. ¹⁵He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ ¹⁷Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; ¹⁸for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of...

This week, we celebrate passion – the passion of Christ for us, God’s people. A passion that took Jesus to the cross, to prove the love of God, for his creation.

Although, this week commemorates Jesus’ passion the Gospel reading we have just heard makes reference to the passion and zeal of others. In the Gospel reading we see Mary’s love of Jesus driving her to anoint his feet as an act of devotion, passion and friendship. John also contrasts Mary’s unselfish love with the passion of Judas for money and dishonesty. All Judas is concerned about is how much...