Good Friday

'There they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left. 

Jesus said: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." ' Luke 23: 33-34

Resurrection power

Christ is Risen!

He is risen indeed! 

Alleluia!

On Easter Sunday I am always glad I live in the northern hemisphere, where we are just moving into Spring. Everywhere you look there are signs of new life: daffodils dancing in the breeze, little lambs in the fields, a gentle greening over everything. This year it's all happening a bit later than in some years, as we've had such a cold winter. I did, however, find this hillside covered in beautiful daffodils, a wonderful reminder of the resurrection power coursing through the natural world. 

Happy Easter to those who celebrate it, happy Sunday to those who don't. May you all have chocolate anyway!  

Good Friday

Good Friday - a day for reflection and finding some quiet space, as far as I'm concerned.

I visited Jerusalem a few years ago and have memories of walking down from the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane, shown in my picture above. It is still an olive grove, a beautiful and peaceful place, where, according to the Gospels, Jesus prayed and waited on the night of his betrayal and arrest.

We also followed the traditional pilgrimage walk along the Via Dolorosa in the walled city, finishing at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered since the 4th century as the site of Jesus' crucifixion and burial. The church is governed somewhat uneasily by several different Christian denominations and many parts of it are lavishly decorated in styles that to my Anglican Protestant eyes seemed rather too opulent. I did, however, find a wonderful sense of atmosphere in the Catholic Franciscan Chapel of the Nailing of the Cross (Station 11 on the Via Dolorosa and situated within the Church itself), which has a 12th century mosaic (pictured below) and a Medici altar from Florence.

Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross. 

Easter Day

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Alleluia!

Passion Play

My church, along with others in Shipley, usually have a 'Walk of Witness' on Good Friday. This year a brave group got together to perform a full Passion Play.  Such events are tricky to photograph, I find, but these will give a flavour of the story. I actually found it very moving.

The Last Supper
'He took bread, gave thanks and broke it...'

In the Garden of Gethsemane
'Yet not my will, but yours be done'

Jesus arrested
'The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head'

Before Pilate
'Crucify him!'

To Golgotha
'Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull'

The Crucifixion
'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'

Easter

Wishing everyone a very happy Easter.  What does it mean to you?  It's the dawning of a new season. Here in the northern hemisphere it is the Spring, with all its symbols of new life and fresh hope: new-born lambs, eggs, chicks, spring flowers, lots of joyful, fresh colours - yellow, green, gold. At the heart, a cross.... death and resurrection. The power and love of the creator God triumphant, life pulsing through, a fresh start.

See the land, her Easter keeping,
Rises as her Maker rose.
Seeds, so long in darkness sleeping,
Burst at last from winter snows.Earth with heaven above rejoices...  ~ Charles Kingsley

Easter and spring seem so intrinsically linked for me. It's as though the spring is a visible sign of God's invisible grace, his promise of new life. Certainly a time for rejoicing. I have often wondered if Easter feels different to people in the southern hemisphere, where the season moves steadily towards autumn....