I have a hunch. That hunch is that the people reading this Easter message are deeply involved in leading communities of faith through their personal and communal discipleship experiences of Holy Week – Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. There are so many opportunities in this week for us to dive deeper into this most central, this most transformational of weeks. If my hunch is right, you’re likely to already be well and truly into the shaping of experiences for others. Worship services. Public events. Communal meals and remembrances. Bible Studies. All kinds of moments carefully curated to encourage God’s people to turn their ears, their eyes, their hearts and their lives once more to what God is doing in and through the story of Jesus, especially in the historical events and theological significance of this week.
From your friends and colleagues across Sydney Presbytery, thank you for your faithfulness, your ministries of creativity and courage, your witness to Christ as you lead and as you serve.
And if you’re not directly involved in leading these experiences then perhaps you’re involved in the logistics; the opening up of the spaces and the preparing the decorations, the welcoming, the audio and visuals, the conversations about the meaning in the Last Supper, the Cross and the Empty Tomb.
Perhaps, then, you might value a few moments to nourish your own experience of the journey with Jesus, from Gethsemane through Golgotha to Joseph of Arimathea’s garden tomb. And so rather than crafting any further words of encouragement, can I invite you to find some time between now and Easter Sunday morning, to find a comfortable place, to minimise distractions, to breathe and to take some time to prayerfully listen to some of the following pieces of music.
If you’re able to take this time and listen to these pieces, may you experience the presence of God with you in the space between dying and rising, between suffering and hope, between confession and forgiveness, between desolation and unspeakable joy. May the reconciliation and renewal made possible through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ be yours once more this Easter.
Sons of Korah - PSALM 130 (More Than The Watchmen Wait)
Henryk Górecki - Symphony of Sorrowful Songs - 2nd Movement
Gungor - Please Be My Strength
Jireh Gospel Choir – Ride on, King Jesus!