Fleet Parish Blog

Jesus Died!

You may think that an odd statement for me to make on Easter Day, when we are here to celebrate The Resurrection!  But, actually it is important, because Jesus’ death is the starting point - the ‘launch-pad’ - from which Resurrection comes!  It’s important, too, because what I want to say this morning is very straightforward, but only if you remember the sequence of events. First death, then resurrection.  Or to put it another way: ‘no death, no resurrection’!  The ‘new life’ which Jesus was given by God, could not have happened if he had not first surrendered himself to Death.

 And I’m not so sure that we 21^st Century Christians are very good at taking that on  board - if we were, there would be the same number of people in our Churches on Good Friday as there are on Easter Day, but that is not the case - it has not been the case in any Parish where I have ever worked, and this Good Friday was no exception.  But surely, we can’t demand Resurrection, unless we have been first to the other bit, which is why, our starting point today must be the acceptance that Jesus died!

For God is not a God of death - he is a God of Resurrection!  That is the truth which we celebrate today.  So what is this ‘Resurrection?  Or more to the point, what is it to us, all these years after Jesus?

What is the evidence that Christ is Risen today, in Fleet?   Well, the answer can be found all around us, in the signs of new birth that are in our church: 

• In the 20 young people who were confirmed here last year.

• In the Mums and Toddlers who come to our Praise and Play Service on a Tuesday afternoon, wanting to know more about the faith, and wanting their children to grow up knowing God.

• In our Prayer diaries where we read thanksgivings for those who we have prayed for and are now recovering from debilitating and life-threatening illnesses.

• In all the things that we are doing in our Churches to make them welcoming and inclusive - yes, even in the fact that our main service will be moving to 10 o’clock in two weeks time!

• And in all the other good things that I will be telling you about when you come to our Annual Parish Church  meeting on Thursday Evening. (please!)These are all Easter moments, times of miracles, when we are seeing things which we thought could never happen.  And surely God is behind this, because God is behind all movements for resurrection!

And yet, in so much of this, for resurrection to come, as our church moves through change and re-birth, some aspects of the church may have to die.  There is a great struggle going on in our church (and I mean worldwide and nationally, as well as locally) between those who see God in the traditions of the past, and those who see God in the new wind of the Spirit challenging our old assumptions.  It is the same struggle which Jesus faced when he chose the way of compassion over the way of conformity.  And it leads to a kind of death for those of us who have cherished and loved the old church we know and which we have served most of our lives.  But something wonderful is coming out of this turmoil.  And all of that is because Jesus died - because Jesus died for you and for me!

So, back to my starting point - Jesus died!  But, because he died, he is now alive, and in this post-Easter age - an age in which we are now living - God is on the loose! 

So those of us who think that we have God tied down, right where we want him, need to tremble in fear! Because, if God is on the loose - if Christ is Risen - then there can be no forcing of God into any of the things that we want him to be! And so, in this Easter Festival, to truly celebrate resurrection, to truly welcome God on the loose, we need to be constantly willing to hand over control to him!  And we must allow God to be God: crucified and risen and on the loose in our world.   And when we do that, just think of the thrill of imagining the unimaginable: