Tag: Peter

Pentecost! Come Holy Spirit!

6/8/25
Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21
John 14:8-17, 25-27

Creator God, as your spirit moved over the face of the waters bringing light and life to your creation, pour out your Spirit on us today that we may walk as children of light and by your grace reveal your presence. Amen.

Today is a day of celebration in the Church! What an exciting day! After Jesus’ resurrection at Easter, he told the disciples to tell other people about what they had seen. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to be with them once he left. At this point, the disciples are confused, sad, nothing seems to be happening, I bet they had lots of questions – when? How? What?

Then, in the quietness, they heard a new sound, like a strong wind, God’s presence was with them; like nothing they had ever experienced before. The Holy Spirit is the part of God and Jesus that is active in the world today. The Spirit was sent to help us and guide us along in our lives.

At Pentecost we are celebrating four things that all begin with P.

Party
We know that something astonishing is happening in Acts 2; barriers of culture and language are being broken down as the Spirit falls on those gathered that day. Luke, in his writing, is struggling to find the language to describe what is going on; things ‘seem like’ and ‘sound like’ which indicates he has never seen anything like what he is seeing before.

After all the trauma of Jesus’ death, the working out and waiting for what was to come next, the arrival of the Holy Spirit was a wave of relief. The mood of the people made others think they were drunk. I imagine it in that happy, celebratory drunk kind of way. They were hearing, Luke tells us, God’s deeds of power in their own languages.

This is what we are celebrating today – God’s power that brought about the birthday of the church. From this point, the people who gathered that day went out to tell the Good News of Jesus. If those who were there on that first Pentecost had just gone home after – none of us would be here today.

Punctuality
The timing of Pentecost is important. God was using a long-standing appointment on the kingdom calendar of the Jewish people. This is why Jerusalem was so crowded with Jewish people from across the known world. The Feast of Pentecost was meant to pour out the ‘old’ spirit in a ‘new and powerful way’.

For centuries, before the first Pentecost, the Jews had been celebrating the Feast of Weeks which happened 50 days after their Passover. The number 50 points to fullness, ripeness, to a time that is ready for something to happen.

At the Feast of Weeks, the Jews had to do three things. Firstly, remember the promises God had made and kept in the past and be thankful. Sometimes memories can be short during tough times.

Secondly, they had to be generous. The Jews were not allowed to come to the feast without a gift to say thank you to God. Thirdly, they were to celebrate the harvest, the first fruits. The people were to bring the first of the harvest as an offering to God. The best of the harvest and present it joyfully to the Lord. No rotten apples or mouldy wheat with a bad attitude would do.

Promises
The third thing to celebrate today is promises.

Who here is good at keeping promises? Ever break one? Or has someone made a promise to you and then broken it? Big or small, when a promise is broken, it breaks trust and can cause much grief. When we break promises we have to live with guilt or embarrassment and work to rebuild trust.

We sometimes get it right and sometimes not so much.

Do we believe in the promises of God? Do we take them seriously? It might take a long time for those promises to come through; often longer than we want. God’s promises might look different to what we think the promise should be. And God is faithful; far more faithful than we ever can be. Jesus promised that he would never leave us alone. That the Advocate, the Holy Spirit would come.

The other promise we see in Pentecost is found in Acts 2:21, ‘then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ This is the biggest and best promise of all. Salvation. This is what Jesus offers, gave his life for – that we could be saved for eternity with God.

People
Pentecost is about people experiencing God in new ways. You all look pretty good to me, nice, respectable people. I can see you from the outside and as I get to know you more and better, I get glimpses of the inside. I can hope and pray that the person you are on the inside matches the outside presentation.
Jesus came to save us, to heal us and change us from the inside out. We are not meant to be the same once we have met with Jesus. The Holy Spirit leads and guides us, it brings joy and peace beyond what we can imagine even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Abundant life is what Jesus came to bring. Not just a little but or enough but big and abundant.

In the Gospel reading, the disciples and Jesus are together for the last time at the Last Supper. They are still unsure of what is to come. Philip has an easy suggestion for Jesus, ‘just show us the Father!’ Come on already! It seems an easy solution; who does not want an easy answer to a difficult question?

Jesus rarely offers an easy solution. He says to his disciples, ‘if you love me, you will keep my commandments.’ Our love for God and the people around us should be a reflection of the love we have for God. We do not have to love under our own steam. It is the Holy Spirit that helps us – keeps our troubles hearts at rest and brings peace.

On this Feast of Pentecost we celebrate the party, the punctuality, the promises and the people. We thank God for all that he has done in the past and will do for us in the future; do not forget that! Especially when life is hard. Remember that He first loved us; our love is a response to that. We show our thanks for what He has done by being generous to others and to the church.

We take a moment to give thanks and ask for the Spirit to fill us again.

Easter Sunday: Amazed!

Easter Sunday concept: Empty tomb stone with cross on meadow sunrise background

20/4/25
Easter Sunday

Acts 10: 34-43
Luke 24:1-12

Risen Christ,
for whom no door is locked, no entrance barred:
open the doors of our hearts,
that we may seek the good of others
and walk the joyful road of sacrifice and peace,
to the praise of God the Father. Amen.
Jesus is Risen. That is the message of today. I know that and you know that too. I kind of want to sit down now!

We gather together this morning, along with Christians around the world, to celebrate what has been done for us by Jesus on cross. We should contemplate what it meant then and what it continues to mean into our futures both in this life and in the life to come. My hope this morning is that as we hear again the familiar story of the empty tomb, we can put ourselves somewhere in the story of that first Easter Day.

Luke’s account has slightly different details than the other gospels. This does not mean it is better or more accurate; Luke’s perspective is simply different. Luke was not present at the first Easter (like John and Matthew), his information came from the eyewitnesses to the crucifixion and resurrection.

The Easter story started at early dawn, while it was still dark and the sun had barely started to rise. The women went to the tomb in bewilderment, in fear. Easter does not start with lilies and trumpets, it begins in darkness and doubt. The world we live in is full of darkness and doubt. Many people have no faith, they doubt there even is a God. Jesus is diminished to a historical figure at best and a swear word at worse. If God does exist then he is powerless, indifferent or too far removed from the human experience to be of any use. People stop bothering even trying to look for God, let alone the empty tomb.

Those earlier followers might have had similar thoughts. Jesus’ crucifixion dealt a serious blow to belief. He was not supposed to die like that. Many of the disciples scattered during the crucifixion as they could not watch Jesus hang there. People on the fringe of the group were the ones who removed Jesus’ body and sorted out the tomb. Pilate made sure the tomb was sealed. It is over.

But. On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body.

Bless the women whose curiosity overcame their grief and despair. They left home in the dark and went back to the tomb. They were ready to finish the job of preparing the body with their spices and perfumes.

My younger sister, on hearing one of these accounts at Sunday School, asked our Mum if she would please put perfume and spices on my sister’s body when she died. This was quite profound for a five-year-old: when she died, not if she died.

These women, who had been at the cross, went to the tomb expecting to find Jesus’ body. They had seen it hanging on the cross so knew the condition it would have been in. They were prepared to do a very grim job out of love, out of belief in the message and teaching of Jesus.

But they did not find it. We can only imagine the shock and surprise these women faced. There was a body yesterday but not today! The empty tomb is central to the Christian faith, it needed to be empty for any of it to be true. Still the emptiness of it was unexpected that first day.

God did not leave the women alone with their confusion and perplexity as suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?

I think this is one of the greatest questions of all time. Why do you look for the living among the dead? It is so true in many situations. We try to go back and look for things that are no longer relevant or helpful.

Are we looking in the right place for answers and explanations? Do we still use these to explain away our current situations, behaviours, and understanding? No wonder we get stuck.

Do we do the same things time after time but expect different results? Do we treat people the same way, with the same expectations – but want a different response? Maybe it is time to look somewhere new.

This applies to God as well. The God that many people claim to not believe in has no bearing on the God the Father and Jesus the Son. He is not distant or mean or dismissive. Jesus is not simply a good human being who told some good stories.

He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Then they remembered his words.

Sometimes we too need to remember what we know about the promises of God. He did not come to meet our expectations but to meet our needs. This is cold comfort sometimes. I think this is why many people struggle with God; he does not act or behave in a way that would make life more convenient or easier for us. For some people the evidence in the actions and convictions of Christians is enough to put them off God – especially those that show no evidence of love, forgiveness and grace.

Jesus rose again on the third day so that we could be with him forever, be forgiven and freed from our sins.

and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

I’m not sure about you but I struggle when I am not believed. If I am telling someone about an event or situation or telling a story, I expect that I will be believed.

We have some idea of what these women have been through – the disciples (the men) all left Jesus on the cross as they could not bear to watch. It was these women who were up early to get to the tomb to finish the preparations. The grief they must have been feeling. And now the hurt of not being believed.

Think of some recent encounters with people and think seriously about this. Am I treating the stories of others as an ‘idle tale’ or the real lived experience of another human.

But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

Luke has Peter going to the tomb by himself. Evidently Peter believed what the women had to say so he went too. Peter was probably the one disciple who had a wife, so he would have known better.

Something that Peter heard was enough to get him out of the house and on the road. Peter was the one who had denied Jesus three times as Jesus told him he would. We again can only imagine how Peter must have felt that next day – his grief, his shame could only have been overwhelming.

Maybe Peter saw this as a way to make things right, he was looking for redemption. He saw the linens clothes by themselves and went home amazed at what had happened.

This Easter, may the Christ who rose in the darkness lead us into new life, new light, and new hope, new amazement. May we be prepared to look into the empty tomb, into our empty knowledge. May our curiosity eclipse our old ideas and ways of being. May we dare to linger at the tomb until it makes sense. May we come to understand what this all means, who God is and what Jesus did and does for us. May our answers be honest and humble, earned and true.

Happy Easter. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.

Pentecost: The Great Feast

Joint Parish Service for Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21
Psalm 104
John 15:26-27; 4b-15

Well, it is 10-ish in the morning and we are all gathered together in one place. Perhaps we should watch out for tongues of fire and listen for the sudden rush of a violent wind from heaven. Not to be confused with jet engines from the neighbours!

But I think we should pray first…

Creator God, as your spirit moved over the face of the waters bringing light and life to your creation, pour out your Spirit on us today that we may walk as children of light and by your grace reveal your presence. Amen.

No matter how many times I read Acts 2, it always sounds crazy, chaotic and it makes me somewhat uncomfortable. There may be a few people here this morning who would love a little fire and wind to liven things up. Equally there are others who would prefer things a little more ordered.

However, being made to feel uncomfortable about this passage, or any other, is necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes a sense of discomfort is needed to remind us of the areas in our faith that we may be ignoring or falling short in. If you leave here today feeling some discomfort; that might be good. The Holy Spirit was sent to change people, including us; to send us away differently, refined, plucked or pruned. The process of change can be uncomfortable through to downright miserable.

Unfortunately being a Christian was never meant to be convenient or wholly comfortable. It is meant to be lived together in both the joys and the sufferings. Jesus told the disciples that ‘the Advocate, whom I will send, will testify on my behalf; will guide you in all truth.’

Jesus points to the Holy Spirit to teach and remind the disciples everything that He had said to them. This is not a one-off, show me, show us event. The work, the presence of the Holy Spirit is an on-going, lifelong affair. It is only the Holy Spirit that can make the connection between God the Father, Jesus the Son and us.

The first thing we are taught about Pentecost is that the Holy Spirit is inextricably linked to the life of Jesus and his teaching. It is not some woo-woo spirit floating about like changing clouds.

‘IF you love me’ says Jesus, ‘I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate.’

IF implies a choice!

The love of the disciples for Jesus is demonstrated in Acts 2.

We do know that something astonishing is happening in Acts 2. Barriers of culture and language are being broken down as the Spirit falls on those gathered that day. Luke in his writing is struggling to find the language to describe what is going on. He uses ‘seem like’ and ‘sound like’, indicating he has never seen anything like what he is seeing before.

God is drawing new people from every nation at the time towards him. The people, mostly Jews, are encountering the Holy Spirit and being changed. Jesus changes people. We are seeing an in-breaking of the Kingdom of God.

When trying to understand the Holy Spirit it is helpful to remember that the Holy Spirit has been around from Genesis. It was the spirit hovering over the waters at creation. The Holy Spirit was active in the Old Testament but only on particular people at particular times. The first Pentecost saw the most powerful outpouring that had been experienced.

The other thing to keep in mind was the timing of this event. God was using a long-standing appointment on the kingdom calendar of the Jewish people. The Feast of Pentecost was meant to pour out the ‘old’ spirit in a ‘new and powerful way’.

For centuries 50 days after the Passover, the Jews have celebrated with a feast, traditionally called ‘The Feast of Weeks. The number 50 points to fullness, ripeness, to a time that is ready for something to happen. This was already a time of celebration. Pentecost happens 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus at Easter.

In the Feast of Weeks and at Pentecost, God was creating for himself a new people. When the disciples received the Spirit, they became witnesses for Christ. Here Jesus is forming a people for himself; His church and we are that church.

The Holy Spirit acts in three main ways on the Feasts of Weeks and Pentecost:

Firstly: It is a time to remember and give thanks for all that has been done for us. The Jewish people were to remember and celebrate their release from slavery by being generous to each other, feeding the widows, the orphans, the poor and other unfortunates. Our works, how we give our time and money should be a reflection of all that Jesus has done for us.

Looking back to the past to help explain a current situation is a common Jewish method of interpretation or understanding called ‘midrash’. This is what Peter is doing in Acts 2 when he refers to the prophecy of Joel to explain to the mostly Jewish crowd what is happening beyond ‘we are not drunk at 9 am.’ Joel announced that God was going to do something very special on Mount Zion (which is in Jerusalem). Peter is reminding and confirming that.

This is not about rewriting history or romanticising the good old days. We can remember again where we have come from, but we do not live in that past anymore.

Secondly: The feast was a time for great generosity; think generous grace and generous giving. The Jews were not allowed to come to the Lord empty-handed. Deuteronomy 16:17 states that ‘each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.’ (Read twice).

Imagine for a second if our churches (meaning we the people) gave to God in proportion to the way He has blessed us? We would live and love in a completely different world and probably would not have budget shortfalls.

Reverend Bill Albinger was an Episcopalian priest in Hawaii whose small parish has a generous heart for the local people who face many social problems. Revd Bill wrote this about Pentecost:

‘This is where the power of the church is – the Spirit is not a power to boost us up and make us feel good, but it is the power and presence of God to bring a wholly new perspective in the way we live and love. It doesn’t matter so much if we are ‘slain in the spirit’ and knocked to the ground – what matters is the kind of changed person you are when you are on your feet.

What matters are the gifts you bring to the building up of community and the gifts you bring to the healing and repair of the world. This is where the power of the church is.’

At Pentecost we need to remember where we have come from and give thanks. By way of thanks we are to be generous with our time, talents and possessions for the benefit of the church and others.

Thirdly: The Feasts of Weeks and Pentecost are a harvest, the first fruits of church. The specific time of this event on Pentecost offers little doubt that God intended a highly significant feast of harvest.

This harvest is not wheat or barley. It started with the harvest of people in the streets of Jerusalem who encountered the Holy Spirit and went away changed. They went back to their towns and villages and they began to sow what they had learned and seen in Jerusalem, a call to a life in Jesus. We know they did as the church still exists today.

If the Jews are simply said, ‘well that was interesting, Peter spoke well, etc…’ and went on their way without being changed, who knows what would have happened. But they went and sowed. There was an article in a newspaper this week about 40% of British Christian being reluctant to share their faith.

Then we wonder why churches are closing and there are no young people in the church. It is not a great mystery. We have lost the spirit of that first Pentecost. Are we really too concerned about what other people think or of offending? Acts 2:21, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ How can anyone be saved if they do not know?

This is why we need the Holy Spirit; to intercede for us, to be invited to work in us and through us. To give us strength and conviction so that everyone will be saved. To lead and guide us in this life and into the next one.

On this Feast of Pentecost we can remember what God has already done for us, show our thanks for what He has done by being generous to others and to the church. We can think about what it is to be part of the harvest. We can ask for the Holy Spirit to fill us so that we can become more fully the people we have been created to be. This is a choice. Jesus sent the Advocate, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit to help us, to guide us; we never have to do this alone.

The Holy Spirit came to change us, the church and the world unapologetically, wholly and completely. And uncomfortably when necessary. We are part of a greater story that involves the past, the present and the future.

All a bit chaotic.

All true to the life and ministry of Jesus.

All true to the life and faith of Christians.

Easter 4: Want?


Psalm 23
Acts 4:5-12
John 10:11-18

Easter 4
21/4/24

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.
But I am.

Looking around here this morning, watching the news and social media and listening to people around me tells me that there is a lot of want in the world. What do you find yourself wanting this morning?
Who do you want your wants from?

We are presented with some challenging readings this morning. Peter and John have been arrested and thrown in prison. We can assume they did not want to be there. Jesus is explaining to the disciples that his leadership looks like that of a shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. A dead shepherd leaves his flock alone and exposed. What good is that?!

The Good Shepherd Jesus is often portrayed in a white robe with a fleecy white lamb on his shoulders. Gentle and mild. It is a nice picture even if far from reality. Shepherds lived on the margins of society, uneducated, rough and tumble types looking after animals that cannot look after themselves. What kind of shepherd do you want? What kind of sheep are you? The Christian writer Max Lucado, ‘Now sheep are pretty dumb! Have you ever seen a sheep do tricks? Know someone who has taught a sheep to roll over? Not only dumb – but sheep are defenceless. They have no fangs or claws. They can’t bite you or outrun you. What’s more – sheep are dirty. A cat can clean itself. So can a dog. We see a bird in a bird bath or a bear in a river. But sheep? They get dirty and stay that way.’

Shepherds needed to be robust, strong and able to manage living outdoors in harsh conditions. Maybe the shepherds in the fields of the nativity story comes to mind. They were not strolling beside still waters and green pastures. Shepherds were constantly having to look for pasture and water to keep the sheep alive. A fight for survival in harsh conditions is not what Psalm 23 brings to mind.

In John 10, Jesus starts by telling off the false shepherds of the day for looking after themselves instead of the sheep. Jesus then announces that he himself will search for the sheep and look after them. Jesus, the Good Shepherd will rescue the scattered, search for the lost sheep, take care of those sheep who have been injured and strengthen the weak sheep. Jesus is the gate for the sheep and is here to bring abundant life. I came across this description of the ‘gate’ for the sheep. ‘In ancient times the sheepfold was a circular stone corral with a single narrow opening. After the sheep were inside, the shepherd would lie down across the opening, using his own body to form the gate or ‘door’ of the sheepfold. Nothing could enter or leave the fold without the shepherd knowing about it.’

Jesus is the shepherd who knows everything. How does the shepherd know his own and his own know him? This sounds very straightforward but I have found that a life of faith is often not so certain and straight. We all have fears and doubts, there are things we do not understand. We might question if we even believe at all sometimes. There can be barriers between Jesus’ assurances and my/our faith; barriers of pain, doubt, guilt and doctrine. The shepherd is the gate for the sheep and he is also the undoer of the barriers I build. Maybe Jesus is as straightforward as this passage is saying. I know you and you know me. You belong to me. The conviction of this goes as far as laying down his life for us.

What a beautiful image. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, using his body for our benefit. He did this once for all on the cross of Good Friday. This is not a vision of a gentle shepherd nor of a hired hand who deserts the sheep when the wolf comes. He does it still, day by day as our Good Shepherd who leads us to salvation.

This is Peter’s message to the rulers, leaders and scribes the morning after his and John’s arrest in Jerusalem. A night in jail may chasten some people, but not Peter. He comes out swinging! Jesus had been rejected as the Messiah and Peter wants the crowd to know this was the wrong thing. Jesus’ work carries on in his name and Peter will not deny it. It is only through Jesus that salvation comes by which we are saved. For some people this is hard to swallow, it begs many questions and makes some shy away not wanting to push into what this means.

There are no better alternatives. Left to our own devices we can easily get lost, distracted and end up in a mess. There are the hired hands (think political or social leaders, influencers, people with loud voices, conspiracy theorists) who will run away at the first sign of trouble. The hired hands are temporary at best. There are the rulers and elders of our day who rule with power and greed.

If these are the who the world has to offer, The Lord is still my Shepherd and I shall not be in want is far more attractive. It is a messy world. Let us not pretend that it isn’t. I need a Shepherd that calls me by name and knows me. I want to be able to hear his voice from the masses of others that claim I should listen to them.

The Christian writer and speaker Elisabeth Eliot: Experience has taught me that the Shepherd is far more willing to show His sheep the path than the sheep are to follow. He is endlessly merciful, patient, tender and loving. If we, His stupid and wayward sheep, really want to be led, we will without fail be led. Of that I am sure.
As we go from here today, let’s make sure we are following the right leader. The one who we can dwell with forever.

Easter Sunday: Encounters


31/03/24

Isaiah 25:6-9
Acts 10:34-43
John 20:1-18

Risen Christ,
for whom no door is locked, no entrance barred:
open the doors of our hearts,
that we may seek the good of others
and walk the joyful road of sacrifice and peace,
to the praise of God the Father. Amen

There is an urban myth in the Church of England about a Curate who was asked to preach on his first Easter Sunday in the Parish. He got into the pulpit, announced that ‘Jesus is Risen. There is nothing more to say’ and promptly sat back down. While tempting as that may seem, I do have more to say than that.
Jesus is Risen. That is the message of today.

This morning we will look at the life changing encounters four people had with the Risen Jesus. If you have heard this story a thousand times, I urge you to approach the tomb with fresh eyes and ears this morning.

If we believe that on the cross of Good Friday Jesus took on all our sin, shame, fear, anxiety, doubt, loneliness, grief, disappointment and everything else that is wrong, and it died with him, then what does the empty tomb of Easter Sunday look like for us?

Mary
In the other Gospel accounts there are a variety of Marys and other women at the tomb that first day. Only Mary Magdalene is named in all of them. John records her as being the first one there while it was still dark. Darkness in John’s Gospel was his way of indicating confusion, misunderstanding and unbelief. The first trip she only got close enough to see that the stone had been removed.

Mary had come to know Jesus and the disciples; it appears that she travelled with them, spent time with them. Mary Magdalene was at the cross when the others had gone. Mary has seen all that has happened in the last few days; yet she doesn’t understand it and she is emotionally overwhelmed.

Mary goes back to the tomb a second time after she gets Peter and John. She is still weeping; still not understanding. So disturbed is she that the two angels do not phase her. Everyone else who encounters angels in the NT reacts with fear; even Mary and Joseph. Not Mary Magdalene.

Mary is so distressed that she does not even recognise Jesus when he appears to her and He is the one she is looking for! Until He says her name. Mary. Then it all clicks. She heard the voice of the good shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep, who knows and calls them by name.

Mary has not been abandoned. Jesus is alive. She is still looking for the body and calls Jesus ‘rabbouni’ – teacher. Jesus is more than that. He sends her away with the gift of new sight; being able to see the old with the new. Jesus then sends her back to the disciples to explain to them what has happened.

John
Then we have John, the disciple whom Jesus loved and also the disciple that wrote this account. He tells us twice that he got to the tomb before Peter. Yet John stops short too as he hesitates. John goes further than Mary. He at least looks in the tomb even though he does not enter.

John’s struggle is a deep disappointment. John was loyal, faithful and obedient to the end; he being the only male disciple left at the foot of the cross. All that loyalty, all that faithful service, was it all for nothing? Maybe John could not face one more disappointment. Maybe John got as far as he could but not one more step.

Maybe like John you keep praying, serving, doing the stuff but maybe there are not as many victories as you would like. Not willing to risk any more disappointment with life, with people.

John’s encounter with the Risen Jesus is to believe in Jesus’ resurrection, believe that a new creation had begun and believe that the world had turned a corner. The placement of the grave clothes for John was all the proof he needed. Why is this important?

If you remember the story of the raising of Lazarus, he needed someone to untie him; a bit like a mummy needing to be unbound. Lazarus came back into the world and would have died again. When Jesus came out of the tomb, his strips of linen remained on the bench where he was laid as though his body passed through.

Jesus has gone on through death into a new world, a new creation, a new beyond where death had been defeated and life in fullness could begin at last. This meant that John could leave his disappointment behind, all that he had done, all the loyalty, faithfulness was all for something, someone.

Peter
In keeping with his personality Peter runs right into the tomb. Got there second but the first one in. Peter goes further than Mary and John. Peter is spurred on by guilt and shame. Peter is hoping that it is all true because he needs one more chance, needs to be redeemed and start again.

Peter loved Jesus but when it really really mattered Peter failed Jesus in his denial. We all have had Peter moments. Guilt and shame is exhausting to carry around. While Peter’s ‘big’ encounter with the Risen Jesus happened on the beach a few days later, his restoration and redemption starts today. He needed the tomb to be empty and for Jesus to have been raised as he said he would be.

Peter comes away from the tomb and it is a new day, a fresh start for him. He could leave his guilt and shame behind. Peter takes this fresh start and founded the church, he speaks boldly and passionately that Jesus is the Lord of all, the healer and the helper. Peter was an original witness who never again denied Jesus.

Mary gets to the tomb overwhelmed by grief and emotion, looking for the dead body. She encounters Jesus and goes away knowing that she has not been abandoned and she now needs to tell the others about Him.

John comes disappointed and goes away believing in the Resurrection and who Jesus is. Everything that he had done had meant something, been worth it.

Peter comes burdened by shame and guilt and goes away with a fresh start. In the Acts reading we see what Peter went on and did with his fresh start. He told people about Jesus with power and purpose and persuasion. He did it for the rest of his life and was eventually crucified for it; upside down on a cross.

The empty tomb proved once and for all that death has been defeated – there is hope beyond the grave. There is Risen life with Jesus for us all. Whatever condition you find yourself in at the tomb this morning an encounter with Jesus can change you, heal you, restore, redeem and release you. This is what today is about.