John’s Gospel & Power
(Devotion by Ros McDonald)
Prayer: A blessing from Ephesians 3
May the Maker of heaven and earth
grant that from the riches of God’s glory
you may be strengthened in your inner being
with power through the Spirit,
and that through faith Christ may dwell
in your hearts in love.
With deep roots and firm foundations,
may you, in company with all God’s
people, be strong to grasp
what is the breadth and length
and height and depth of Christ’s love,
and to know it, though it is beyond knowledge.
And so may you be filled with the very fullness of God.
Now to the one who by the power at work
within us is able to accomplish
immeasurably more than all
we can ask or imagine,
be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen
(from Be Our Freedom Lord, Terry Falla)
Read:
John 18: 33-36 (Translation by N.T.Wright)
Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
So Pilate went back in to the Praetorium and spoke to Jesus.
“Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked.
“Was it your idea to ask that?” asked Jesus. “Or did other people tell you about me?”
“I’m not a Jew, am I? retorted Pilate. “Your own people, and the chief priests, have handed you over to me! What have you done?”
“My kingdom isn’t the sort that grows in this world,” replied Jesus. “If my kingdom were from this world, my supporters would have fought to stop me being handed over to the Judaeans. So, then, my kingdom is not the sort that comes from here.”
Thought for the day:
Based on Broken Signposts: How Christianity Makes Sense of the World, by N.T.Wright
In the words of N.T.Wright: There are two kinds of kingdoms, two kinds of power. If Jesus’s kingdom were “from this world,” his servants would fight. But Jesus’s kind of power works through suffering love, through the one who gives his life for his friends, the one who is lifted up so that all may see him, believe and be rescued from the grip of the other power, the dark power of evil.
God’s power calls, confronts, transforms, and then equips more and more people from every conceivable background to be in their turn powerful witnesses to the Jesus they have come to know and love. They go to their tasks, like travellers entering a strange, unmapped new land, without the trappings of the “kingdoms” and the “powers” that are “from this world”, but with the world-changing, people-changing power of the gospel and the Spirit.
May you know God’s blessing this day, as you reread the prayer.
Image: Bronze Sculpture "Divine Servant," by Max Greiner, 1990, situated in Witness Park, Pittsburgh, Texas. Jesus washing Peter’s feet.
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Christ is Risen. He is Risen Indeed.
Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!
With the joy of Resurrection still glowing brightly, we enter into the sacred Easter time which leads us all the way to Pentecost.
During this time, we will focus on “Practising Resurrection”, a series of sermons that invites us to recognise Jesus and respond with trust and commitment.
For this series, we follow the lead of an old joyous German tradition that allocates themes to the Sundays of Easter. Each Sunday has its own (Latin) name:
2nd Sunday of Easter: quasimodo geniti “Like the newborn children” (1 Peter 2:2)
3rd Sunday of Easter: misericordia domini “The earth is filled with the lovingkindness of God”
4th Sunday of Easter: jubilate “Rejoice!” (Psalm 89:2)
5th Sunday of Easter: cantate “Sing!” (Psalm 98)
6th Sunday of Easter: rogate “Pray!” (Psalm 66:20)
7th Sunday of Easter: exaudi ”Hear me, Lord!” (Psalm 27)
Many churches use the colours white or gold in decorations or clothing to symbolise Joy, glory and light. A beautiful way for us, as people of faith, to witness to Jesus’ Resurrection!
How do you want to practise resurrection?
May this time of celebration be filled with goodness, trust, creativity and renewed commitment to God.
Ellen Grabner | Minister
Lord, Let me be a Mary
Lord, let me be a Mary.
Not Martha’s sister, who sat at your feet, although I find most days I’d much rather be there than in the kitchen.
Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:42)
Not the mother of our Lord, whose greatest honour brought forth her greatest suffering.
A sword pierced her own soul just as Simeon prophesied. (Luke 2:35)
Let me be a Mary Magdalene, forever and always the first eyewitness to see an empty tomb.
Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. (John 20:1)
Let this news move my feet. Every Resurrection Sunday, from sunrise to sunset let me proclaim your holy name to those who deny you and those whom you call beloved.
He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. (Matthew 28:6)
And in our private moments of intimacy, let me recognize your voice the instant you say my name.
“Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). (John 20:16)
Let me remember the desperate times in my past only so much as they show me my very real need for you.
For only in our great need do we come to appreciate a Resurrection Sunday.
After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. (Mark 16:9)
By: Traci Rhoades
Ref: Lord, Let Me Be A Mary - A Poem (Traces Of Faith {Traci Rhoades})
The Resurrection Brings Joy
Three significant truths rooted in the Resurrection open a window and highlight some of the reasons for our joy.
First, the Resurrection is a proclamation that Jesus is alive and present with us. In the Resurrection appearances, the disciples experienced Jesus in their midst. The same Jesus who had walked with them now again touched their lives and spoke and ate with them. But Jesus was radically changed. Clearly, Jesus had not simply come back to life like Lazarus did. Jesus now lived the glorious life beyond death, but he was again with them. The Resurrection proclaims that Jesus is with us as well. Luke’s story of the Ascension is not a declaration of Jesus’ absence. Luke is announcing that Jesus is now present in every space and time. We encounter Jesus in the Scripture, in the sacraments, and in our brothers and sisters. As we recall the stories of the Resurrection appearances, Christ is once again with us, forgiving, feeding, and consoling.
Second, death has been conquered. Death opens the way to eternal life. Jesus gives witness to God’s faithfulness even in death. We need not be afraid of death since it is not the end, but the beginning of eternal life. Jesus’ Resurrection gives meaning to suffering and death as a way to salvation.
Third, Jesus’ Resurrection affirms the value of the human person and the world in which we live. Jesus was raised as a whole person—body and soul. Jesus did not take on human flesh and then discard it. Jesus retained his whole humanity. Along with the doctrines of the Incarnation and the Eucharist, the Resurrection assures us that God has identified with matter. God has embraced the human condition. A profound unity forever exists between God and the world, between spirit and matter. As Christians, we do not believe simply in the immortality of the soul. We believe in the immortality of the human person. Jesus’ Resurrection and ours speak of continuity between this life and the next. Jesus’ Resurrection also acknowledges the value of creation.
This world is a gift of an all-loving God. Our faith in the Resurrection assures us that everything of beauty and love and creativity lasts forever. The Resurrection is the foundation of a holistic view of the human person and an incarnational and sacramental view of life.
Jesus is with us, death has been destroyed, and human life and activity have lasting value. These are all reasons to rejoice.
Ref: Gerald M. Fagin, SJ
The Resurrection Brings Joy -
IgnatianSpirituality.com
From Putting on the Heart of Christ: How the Spiritual Exercises Invite Us to a Virtuous Life