Easter Day 9 April 2023.
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
My name is Mary – Mary of Magdala;
an ordinary person.
I have a past – as have we all.
When I was healed, I followed Him –
An ordinary follower, not one of the twelve,
But content just to follow, loving Him.
An ordinary follower.
An ordinary person.
So why to Mary Magdalene
was it given to know first that He’s alive?
Why me? Rejoicing, when others, worthier, still mourned?
Because I loved Him?
Or because I cried? – who knows?
But this I do know.
I was in the garden with my tears
And then he rose from death to life, and all that died were tears.
With His living, so was born within my heart
the strength to tell that my Lord lives
and death itself is dead.
And you – what truth is on your lips?
His cross?
– a truth indeed, but lesser truth without the knowledge that He lives.
If they ask you, as they asked me
What is this nonsense?
Answer only this, if true for you, or keep your peace;
I know, for I have seen Him.
Collect for Easter Day
Acts 10: 34-43 John 20: 1-18
Alleluia! He is risen!
In those four words, our Christian faith is proclaimed. Jesus died – and came back to life. If those four words aren’t true, then our faith has no foundation, the Gospel story is mere wishful thinking.
Incarnation – God becoming Human -would have no purpose. Either God sends His Son, once for all time, that through Him we may not perish but have eternal life through His victory over sin and death – or He didn’t. If not, why bother? If Jesus lived just for the few years of His early life and then died, what He achieved wouldn’t be applicable to anyone living later – including us.
Dismissing Jesus as just a teacher of morality? It is all very well to regard Jesus’ words as a moral compass – and they are certainly that! But there are many other human teachers and philosophers who offer humanitarian guidance on the way we should live our lives, but who make no claim to divinity. Jesus said He was God. If not true, outrageous claims of a madman.
How about miracles and healings. Healing the sick, and bringing people back to life. They could easily be dismissed as made up or fanciful. Alternatively, perhaps yes, they did happen, but with a secular explanation misunderstood by people of the time.
Perhaps the worst issue is that if the resurrection accounts in the Gospels aren’t true, then there is no reason to believe every one of the other stories they contain. In fact, probably not.
The only justification for Christian belief is that Jesus did die and was raised from death. The only way that we know that the victory over death is permanently won is if we accept that the tomb is empty. The only reason for joy in the face of suffering is our confidence in Jesus’ promise that just as He is risen and alive, so we can look to eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Alleluia! He is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Previous Posts
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Perhaps, when we pray, we need to remember it is the Jesus on the Mountain to whom we address our prayers, the one whose face shines like the sun and transfigures our faces as we radiate in His light.
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Is Jesus suggesting, not to eat and drink? And is he saying we should not wear clothes but go naked?
How unrealistic is this, and how depressing – we need to eat and drink, and we need clothing.
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Christ’s words are given to all His people in the face of the difficulties we ourselves face in life. We claim them and are assured of Blessing. And that is all we need.
Praying Together January 25th 2026
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Praying Together 18th January 2026
In prayer, we ask: Who is God calling to come and use their specific individual gifts to continue to build His Kingdom in the future?
His reply is clear.
“You”, He says.
Praying Together 11 January 2026
Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
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Joseph’s example is one of love, human reaction, vocation and ultimate obedience to his Creator. So we rightly celebrate both Mary and Joseph as the chosen parents of the Christ-child. But we must also remember that they were ordinary people with human emotions who lived extraordinary lives.
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By your grace we have the gift of the Scriptures. With the help your grace, may we listen deeply to what you want to say to each one of us. May we know your gifts of endurance, encouragement and hope, so that not only our lips but also our lives may be a song in praise of your mercy.
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We celebrate the beginning of the story in Advent – but before we do, it is equally important to celebrate the final act of Coronation. The Gospel proclaims that Jesus is King.
Praying Together 16th November 2025
In ways, the Christian Journey is like a race – a Marathon, not a sprint. The key is endurance, Jesus says. There will be mountains to climb, tears and heartache in the depths of your soul, and it will sometimes feel like it’s impossible to carry on. But the world will continue, and end only in God’s good time.