The Lord is risen! Alleluia!

It is early morning on Sunday. The sabbath is over. Jesus’ devoted women friends have been preparing ritual spices with which to anoint the body of their beloved Master and Teacher. They are now hastening to the tomb where the body had been so hastily laid just as the sabbath was about to begin. The accounts of the gospels show that only the women lingered as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus brought Jesus’ body down from the Cross and entombed it, so only they knew exactly where the tomb was. They had seen the great stone rolled across the entrance and are now wondering how they will get past it. They are determined to go anyway, trusting that someone will help them.

As they approach the tomb, they are amazed and probably relieved to find that the stone has been rolled away. But when they go into the tomb they find no body. Instead, suddenly, two bright figures appear telling them that Jesus is not there. He is risen, as he had foretold. The women are terrified and bow down. Then they turn and run away.

From here the Gospel accounts begin to vary. Mark says that the women were too frightened to tell anyone. Luke, Matthew and John say that they ran to tell the disciples, who do not believe them. Only Peter wants to find out what is going on. He runs to the tomb, but all he finds there are the linen cloths in which the body was wrapped. So he rejoins the other followers of Jesus in the Upper Room.

It is worth noting that all the persons mentioned or referred to by the evangelists in their several accounts were still living when Jesus rose from the dead and after he ascended into heaven. By the time the gospels were written, many had died. But there were still plenty of living eyewitnesses to testify to the events of that momentous day. Why then do the four gospels seem to tell us such different things?

Well, partly because certain people remembered vividly the experiences which had meant most to them. So Mary Magdalene remembered meeting her Lord in the garden. The disciples who walked the Emmaus Road remembered their talk with the stranger and their recognition of him as their Lord when they broke bread together. 

The differing Gospel accounts mostly come together when Jesus meets his closest followers later that day in the Upper Room. Even then Thomas’ personal experience is singled out for special mention. The eleven collectively see their Lord again and know that they are forgiven for deserting him in the garden.

But otherwise, as to who went where and in what order, it’s confused. If any of you ever watch police and crime shows on television, you will probably have noticed how different individual person’s recollections are of one important event. I think that is what has happened here, especially as the four gospels were all written years after it all took place.

We must be forever grateful that the records of these individual experiences were preserved and handed down to us. But we were not there. Try as we may, we cannot share the depth of Mary’s sorrow and joy in the garden. We cannot share the despair of the disciples on the road to Emmaus nor their joy at the table when they recognised their Lord. We need to have the reality of the resurrection brought home to us as we are today.  

That is why this morning’s two other readings are so important for us. Peter and Paul knew too that their listeners or readers would never experience what those early followers of Jesus experienced. So they go to the heart of the matter. Peter tells his Gentile listeners about the reality of Jesus, and that his message is meant for them. Paul explains to the Corinthians the significance of Jesus’ life and death. He affirms to them the reality of the resurrection, witnessed by many people, some of whom are still living.

We need to hear this message. We need to hear the facts as they are presented to us in the gospels. But we need more than that. We need to know that Jesus Christ really rose from the dead, and that what he said and taught, and what he was, speak to us today as they spoke through Peter to Cornelius and his family, and through Paul to the Corinthians. We know that sometimes we have deserted Jesus, sometimes we have denied him, sometimes we have doubted him. But because he was raised from the dead, because he lives, we know that we are forgiven. So let us be thankful today and celebrate with joy our Lord who died and was raised for us and for all Christians everywhere. Amen.

The Lord is risen! Alleluia!

He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

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 the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ ¹⁹Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 

and offering him sour wine, ³⁷and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’ ³⁸There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’ 39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ ⁴⁰But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ ⁴²Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ ⁴³He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’

The Death of Jesus

44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last. ⁴⁷When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’ ⁴⁸And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. ⁴⁹But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

The Burial of Jesus

50 Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council, ⁵¹had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. ⁵²This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. ⁵⁴It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. ⁵⁵The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. ⁵⁶Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Jesus Sentenced to Death

13 Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, ¹⁴and said to them, ‘You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. ¹⁵Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶I will therefore have him flogged and release him.’ 18 Then they all shouted out together, ‘Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!’ ¹⁹(This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) ²⁰Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; ²¹but they kept shouting, ‘Crucify, crucify him!’ ²²A third time he said to them, ‘Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.’ ²³But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. ²⁴So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. ²⁵He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

26 As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. ²⁸But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.” ³⁰Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us”; and to the hills, “Cover us.” ³¹For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’ 32 Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ³³When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [[ ³⁴Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’]] And they cast lots to divide his clothing. ³⁵And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!’ ³⁶The soldiers also mocked him, coming up

‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ ²⁰And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. ²¹But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. ²²For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!’ ²³Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.

The Dispute about Greatness

24 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. ²⁵But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. ²⁶But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. ²⁷For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 ‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials; ²⁹and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, ³⁰so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

31 ‘Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, ³²but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ ³³And he said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!’ ³⁴Jesus said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me.’

Purse, Bag, and Sword

35 He said to them, ‘When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?’ They said, ‘No, not a thing.’ ³⁶He said to them, ‘But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. ³⁷For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, “And he was counted among the lawless”; and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.’ ³⁸They said, ‘Lord, look, here are two swords.’ He replied, ‘It is enough.’

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

39 He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. ⁴⁰When he reached the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’ ⁴¹Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, ⁴²‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.’ [[ ⁴³Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. ⁴⁴In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.]] ⁴⁵When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, ⁴⁶and he said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

47 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; ⁴⁸but Jesus said to him, ‘Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?’ ⁴⁹When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, ‘Lord, should we strike with the sword?’ ⁵⁰Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹But Jesus said, ‘No more of this!’ And he touched his ear and healed him. ⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? ⁵³When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!’

Peter Denies Jesus

54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. ⁵⁵When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. ⁵⁶Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, ‘This man also was with him.’ ⁵⁷But he denied it, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know him.’ ⁵⁸A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, ‘You also are one of them.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not!’ ⁵⁹Then about an hour later yet another kept insisting, ‘Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.’ ⁶⁰But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about!’ At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. ⁶¹The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.’ ⁶²And he went out and wept bitterly.

The Mocking and Beating of Jesus

63 Now the men who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him; ⁶⁴they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, ‘Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?’ ⁶⁵They kept heaping many other insults on him.

Jesus before the Council

66 When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council. ⁶⁷They said, ‘If you are the Messiah, tell us.’ He replied, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe; ⁶⁸and if I question you, you will not answer. ⁶⁹But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.’ ⁷⁰All of them asked, ‘Are you, then, the Son of God?’ He said to them, ‘You say that I am.’ ⁷¹Then they said, ‘What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!’

Jesus before Pilate

23  Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate. ²They began to accuse him, saying, ‘We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.’ ³Then Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ He answered, ‘You say so.’ ⁴Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no basis for an accusation against this man.’ ⁵But they were insistent and said, ‘He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.’

Jesus before Herod

6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷And when he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign. ⁹He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate. ¹²That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.

This week, we look towards the passion of Jesus Christ; a passion that would take 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, and friendship. St.John also contrasts Mary’s unselfish love with the passion of Judas for money and dishonesty. All Judas is concerned about is how much he can make from the man he once passionately believed in and followed. Judas’s passion for wealth is all consuming, sad and ultimately a cause of his death. Mary’s passionate feelings for Jesus are humbling and touching; a simple act of love that few of us would shirk from doing to one we deeply loved.

All of us have a passion for something or perhaps someone. We all, perhaps, are aware of what we may or may not do because of that passion; be it in our love for another or for some activity we enjoy. I am passionate about my loved ones, and there is little I would not do for them to ensure their happiness and well-being. I am also passionate about gardening, the feel of soil through my fingers and making things grow delights me. I am also passionate about the Arts, especially dance and the joy I experience watching others do what I can no longer do or couldn’t ever do!

Passion makes a difference. Passion can change the world and those with strongly held passions can teach us much about having a goal in life, a vision for the future. For passion encourages hope and hope in its turn fires passion but you have to have sight of what it is you hope for in order to let your passions drive you forward. 

At times in our lives we occasionally have to stop and assess what our passions are and how they can help us shape our future and the future of those around us. The sort of questions we need to ask are:

What is my passion?

What is my vision?

How do I see the future? 

What do I hope for? 

And what am I going to do about it?

These are the same sort of questions I suspect St.Paul was pondering when he wrote to the Philippians:

^4…Even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ  ^…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians  3:4b-7 & 13b-14

Paul’s conversion filled him with great passion for Jesus Christ and a desire to share that passion with the whole world; and through his words he is still doing the same today. As you read his words, they might sound boastful but you cannot deny they are passionate. 

Yet, that said, for me, it is Mary’s passion that speaks the loudest. Mary’s actions were shocking. She was debasing herself at the feet of a man and many felt that she had wasted money on buying the ‘nard’. Judas is wanting the money for himself and others are straight jacketed by the social conventions of the time to see anything beyond the obvious. That’s why Jesus rebukes them all, by telling them to leave her alone. The money wasn’t wasted and neither are her passionate actions for as he goes on to say; ‘You won’t always have me’, but ‘You will always have the poor’ and ‘What she is doing now will not be able to be done at my death’.

At this stage of the events leading to the Cross, the disciples are unaware that Jesus would be dead and hastily buried before the dawn of the coming Sabbath. In the Jewish burial rite the care of the body before burial was very important but the events of Good Friday precluded this from happening to Jesus’ body. Jesus’ words would have confused his followers but we with hindsight can understand why he said them. Jesus received no other anointing other than Mary’s passionate gesture. Mary’s passion for her Lord, caused her to break with convention and to acknowledge the moment she was in; or as she realised lose the opportunity to care for him. Mary paid homage to Jesus out of love and passion and Jesus loved her for it. 

This week challenges us to be passionate activists for the sake of Christ, for the sake of our fellow beings in the world and for God’s creation. If you take nothing else away from today’s readings just remember that God calls you to live a passionate life. A life fuelled with a desire to experience an existence that is fulfilling and demanding. A life in which all God’s people are treated with respect, fairness and dignity and ourselves filled with a passion for respect, fairness and a desire to live the Gospel message every day of our lives.  

Be passionate, follow your passions and give thanks to God for them.

The theme running through today’s readings is not Mothers or mothering but ‘consolation’. Today became associated with Mothers over the centuries because of the consolation that; ‘Holy Mother Church’ offers to the faithful. The Church was supposed to mimic Christ’s loving actions and to provide refuge, care and support for all God’s people. The Church was also supposed to be as welcoming to the familiar as it was the stranger just as Christ welcomed all those who came to him. And that takes us back once again to the idea of consolation. I relate consolation to Christ’s actions on the cross, where he gives John to his mother and his mother to John. Ensuring that love and consolation would grow between them because of his love for them both. 

The fourth Sunday in Lent is not just about Mothers, it is about all of us who offer love and consolation to others. It is also about Holy Mother Church who calls her people to ‘mother’ God’s people as Christ did with his love. If Christ is the head of the Church then we the church are his body and as such called to offer consolation and love to others. What this means is that we will always need to challenge ourselves to give  the best welcome we can to anyone, regardless of who they are. For if we challenge ourselves we will rise to that call to be mediators of Christ’s love and we will be able to offer his consolation to the world. 

As you’ll know if you have taken part in the Lectio Divina sessions which Dean runs on Zoom during Lent and Advent, dwelling thoughtfully on a Bible passage can sometimes result in a word or a phrase gaining your particular attention. The words in today’s Gospel that grabbed my attention were repent and manure. 

Our reading from Luke begins with Jesus responding to a question - why do bad things happen to people such as the pilgrims massacred on the orders of Pontius Pilate or the eighteen who died when the Tower of Siloam collapsed? Jesus emphatically attacks the belief that bad things happen to people because God is punishing them. The slaughtered pilgrims were no worse than other Galileans, and the people killed when the Tower of Siloam fell on them were no worse than the other inhabitants of Jerusalem. He goes on to say:

“unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

And then he tells them a parable to make them think about what repentance involves - the parable of the fig tree. The fig tree in the parable has failed to bear fruit, but it is given a second chance, and the second chance isn’t a mere stay of execution - it involves the care of the gardener who says to the landowner

Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it.

So what might the mention of manure tell us about repentance? I think that it can help us to move beyond thinking of repentance as only meaning saying that you are sorry. Think back to when you broke a school rule, or perhaps a school window, and you got a row from a teacher or from the janitor. You were expected to placate an angry authority figure by saying how sorry you were. When we confessed our sins earlier in the service, we were saying sorry but we weren’t doing so to placate an angry authority figure. Remember the opening words of the Absolution:

“God, who is both power and love…”

In confessing we were opening ourselves up to that power and love. Our confession wasn’t just an exercise in self-awareness about our shortcomings and misdeeds, though that is important. Confession, repentance involves opening ourselves up to the power and love of God. Becoming receptive to the goodness and the love that can nourish our growth. Hence the manure in the parable of the fig tree. 

The Greek word that St Luke uses which is translated as “repent” literally means “change your mind”. This is not changing your mind in the sense of choosing an alternative, opting as I did Tuesday for the salted caramel brownie when the waitress told me that they’d run out of scones. This is changing your mind in the sense of changing your whole way of thinking. Holding together your sense of your own shortcomings, your need for the power and love of God and the possibility of being receptive to that power and love.

For the fig tree in the parable, manure is a source of nourishment. Today’s readings from Isaiah and from the First Letter to the Corinthians support that theme.

The prophet uses the metaphor of food. 

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!

St Paul writes about how human beings can go badly astray but we would be misreading him if we all that we took away from the passage was a series of “Don’ts” - don’t indulge in sexual immorality, don’t put Christ to the test, don’t complain. He emphasises the resources, the nourishment that are available to us, reminding the members of the church in Corinth of a story with which they were very familiar - the forty year journeyings of the Hebrew people in the wilderness, when 

…all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. 

The spiritual food and drink which can nourish us if we are receptive. 

Actual food and drink loom large in the Gospels, especially in Luke. There are eight occasions in this Gospel when Jesus shares meals with friends and strangers and two other occasions when the sharing of a meal is implied. And the list of ten doesn’t include mentions of food in parables, notably the feast that the father of the Prodigal Son holds for his son, with the fatted calf as its centrepiece - a parable which speaks eloquently of repentance as a change of mind and heart and the loving, generous response of God to that. 

The sixth of  the eight shared meals in Luke’s Gospel is, of course, the Last Supper - the loving self-giving of Jesus in which we are invited to participate. That’s a reminder that everything we are doing together this morning - confession and absolution, the hearing of and reflecting on scripture, prayers for the church and the world and the celebration of the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is, as Rowan Williams memorably puts it: 

“…the food we need to prevent ourselves from starving as a result of our own self-enclosure and self-absorption.”

It is a vital way of becoming more receptive to the power and love of God and enabling and strengthening that change in our way of thinking and acting which is repentance.