March 2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters

A special ‘Hello’ to those of you who are reading this at home because you are unable to get to church.

Looking out the manse window, I have to say it’s proving to be a long winter.  Snow is falling again in late February and really, although it was nice in December, it’s now become a problem for people travelling and getting out and about safely.  I found myself recalling a phrase from C S Lewis’s ‘The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe’ about how in Narnia “it was always winter and never Christmas”.  That country was in the grip of the evil witch and her rule was symbolised by the constant cold and ice.  When Aslan the great Lion (Lewis’ symbol for Jesus) arrived, Father Christmas came too and soon the thaw began, heralding the end of the witch’s grip on the land and people.

For those of us feeling in the grip of this winter and the economic circumstances of the recession, it’s good to be reminded that every year Christmas comes and with it we remember the coming of our Saviour.  As the grip of winter gives way to the thaw of spring, we begin to journey with Jesus as he heads toward Jerusalem for the climax of his mission which we’ll celebrate at Easter.

Christmas and Easter are probably the times when most people go to church.  Christmas is such an obvious celebration; the birth of a baby brings so much joy and we can relate to it so well.  Easter, on the other hand, is a season of surprises which produce a jumble of emotional responses.  We will spend Holy Week thinking of the passion of Jesus- his anguish in the garden, the betrayal and arrest, his torment and suffering.  Our Lord Jesus styled himself ‘The Son of Mankind’ and similarly we become aware of our own participation in the sinful actions which brought about his death.  For who among us can say we have never at times felt the cowardice of Peter, the jealousy of Judas, the weakness of Pilate and the ambition of the Jewish leaders.  Oh indeed we can, if we’re honest, find ourselves reflected in parts of the Easter story.  However, and it’s a big HOWEVER, the ascription of ‘Good’ for that awful Friday and the empty tomb on Easter Sunday assure us these unparalleled events are signs of forgiveness and hope for all mankind.

On Easter Sunday at church, we hear these powerful words: “Christ is risen,” and we respond “He is risen indeed”.  We say this every year despite new circumstances which challenge that hope and that truth.  Easter was born out of human failure built up since the dawn of mankind.  Yet those disciples who deserted Jesus and failed to live up to even their own poor expectations of themselves, were given the hope they needed to go on when they experienced the real presence of the Risen Christ.

The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth causes problems for many people.  It is offensive to the intellectual, it challenges normal experience if we believe miracles don’t happen.  With the eyes of faith, we know they do and although the evidence for the resurrection in the Bible and other historical writings is always under attack, this central belief of our faith supports our hope.  A hope that death, the symbol of finality and silence, will not be the last word.  That hope is the essential feature of Easter.  God is victorious over evil- as Bishop Desmond Tutu summed it up:

“Good is stronger than evil

Love is stronger than hate

Light is stronger than darkness

Life is stronger than death

And victory is ours, through Him who loves us.”

So despite our failures and weaknesses, we understand that Easter is about resurrection from death to new life and about responding to that call from the risen Jesus to share that new life.

I pray our Lord will “Lead us on into 2010 as a church and help us be willing to trust Him in our new eternal life together."

Every blessing to you and those whom you love wherever they may be.

Iain Reid