The Easter Roller Coaster

Easter weekend is traditionally the start of the tourist season. And I imagine therefore that there will be many people going to the various theme parks around the country such as Alton Towers.

I’ve never really got theme parks. I don’t understand why people pay a lot money to queue up to go on a ride that will last perhaps only a couple of minutes and in the process scare themselves witless. And they get off and go and do the same thing again! I suppose people ride roller coasters and such like for the thrill. The sheer excitement of being scared. People get a “buzz” from it. They enjoy the mixture of terror and thrills.

There’s a saying isn’t there? “Life is a roller coaster”. I suppose it means that like a roller coaster in our lives we have the highs and the lows. We have excitement but we also have moments when we are frightened too.

It seems to me that had roller coasters been invented at the time of Jesus Mary Magdalene would have related to that saying. Her life was a roller coaster and on that first Easter morning the roller coaster of her life was about to take on a whole new dimension.

Before I go on, just a few words about Mary Magdalene. Magdalene describes where she was from – the town of Magdala. Magdala was an important agricultural, fishing and trade centre in Galilee. We are told both in Mark’s Gospel and Luke’s Gospel that Mary Magdalene was possessed by seven demons and that Jesus healed her. Today we take this to mean that she was suffering from mental illness. But in ancient times “demon possession” was a term used to describe physical or mental illness.

Of course we all know that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute don’t we? Wrong! There is nothing to suggest this in the Gospels. Over time it seems as if the early church confused Mary Magdalene with the unnamed woman in Luke who anointed Jesus and dried her tears with her hair. This woman was a prostitute and therefore Mary Magdalene became labelled as a prostitute herself which is very unfair.

Mary Magdalene became part of the inner circle of Jesus’ supporters.

Mary Magdalene’s life was a roller coaster then but for different reasons from those we may have thought
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Come Easter morning Mary has been through the high of Palm Sunday and the gradual plunge of Holy Week leading to the full horror of God Friday. And now, at rock bottom she comes to the garden to visit the tomb where Jesus was buried hastily on Friday. She couldn’t visit on Saturday as it was the Jewish Sabbath.

And of course she still has another scare – worthy of the fastest roller coaster – the tomb is empty.

Given how frightened she is when Mary Magdalene encounters Jesus, her natural reaction is to want to cling to him. She needs the security Jesus offers. She doesn’t want to get back on the roller coaster once more.

But she is in for another surprise because Jesus says to her “Do not hold on to me”. Jesus tells her she needs to let go of him. She won’t find security by holding on to him or by trying to hold on to how things were. Rather she needs to trust in God for her onwards journey. A roller coaster journey but a journey that will be more secure by placing herself in God’s hands.

I’ve only been on a roller coaster or a scary theme park ride two or three times. (I don’t count The Water Chute at Porthcawl!) The most memorable was once on a visit to Germany. I was persuaded to go on something called a Pirate Ship. You are strapped in to the “vessel” and then it gradually swings like a pendulum.

It doesn’t quite go upside down but near enough. At the widest swing a number of the people around me raised their hands in the air. We were all strapped in of course. But I clung on tightly to the bar in front of me. I didn’t have the confidence they did. To me letting go was far too risky.




When we feel there is a risk or something feels unsafe we want to cling on. This is the way of things in church too. But Jesus comes to us and says

‘Do not hold on to me’

We can be unsure of our ability to trust in God especially when letting go seems risky or we feel unsafe or when we are unsure of the future. Yet the reality is that God’s love is always there for us. The Easter story shows us as much.

One of the reasons I don’t like roller coasters or the Pirate Ship is that I really don’t like heights. Somewhere at my parents’ house is a photograph of me taken at the top of the Eiffel Tower on a school trip in 1980. It was a glorious summer’s day but all I could do was cling to wall. I couldn’t bring myself to cross the viewing platform to take in the spectacular view of Paris. By holding on to the wall I felt – relatively – safe. But by being safe I missed out on the opportunity to see a wonderful view of Paris.

Not being prepared to let go; clinging on to what is safe means we miss out on the opportunities Jesus presents to us. We need to let go to enjoy the new things Jesus leads us to.

Mary’s encounter with Jesus meant that she was told by Jesus to go and witness to what she had seen and encountered:

17 Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’ John 20:17

We forget that Easter is a time of action after the waiting time of Lent. Often we forget this. In Lent we frequently get called to take action whether by giving something up or doing something. Yet it is Easter that should be the time of action.

If the disciples who encountered the risen Jesus hadn’t taken action by bearing witness to him, we wouldn’t be here today.

Imagine what difference it would make if we responded to the resurrection by committing ourselves to witnessing to the risen Jesus in the way Mary Magdalene did. And imagine what difference it would make if we made a commitment to witness for 50 days - in the same way many of us take on an action for Lent. Imagine if we heard those words of Jesus speaking to us saying:

“Do not hold on to me. Go instead to my brothers and sisters and tell them the Good News.”

Mary’s encounter with Jesus and his direction to her to GO! came after a time of waiting – albeit a brief time.

Simon Peter and John the beloved disciple left her in the garden as they went back to where they were staying after seeing the empty tomb. Mary waited. And in this waiting she encountered Jesus.

There is a need for action. But sometimes there is a need for waiting too. Our actions as Christians need to follow on from times of waiting for God; Waiting for, and looking for, our own encounters with him.

That waiting may be long or it may be brief. But waiting is important. Sometimes we can be tempted to dive into something. But we need to wait to hear God’s word. Telling us what we need to do.

Even though Mary Magdalene doesn’t understand what is happening in Jesus’ death, she remains faithful to him throughout everything. She remains faithful. She comes to the tomb the faithful servant when others are hiding behind closed doors or have fled.

Mary doesn’t have the great theological insights that Paul will have. Mary isn’t destined to be a preacher and evangelist like Peter. She doesn’t write one of the Gospels. But she has faith. She is one of the everyday ordinary Christians serving their Lord. Day in day out. Week in week out. Christians like you and me. Christians who continue to serve faithfully even though our understanding of faith or our sense of God’s calling might be limited.

But knowledge and understanding is not the same as faith. Faithful actions can speak much more of our belief, our theology, than many learned books or great minds.

There’s a story told about Albert Einstein. Einstein was traveling from Princeton University in America on a train. When the guard came down the aisle to check the passengers’ tickets, Einstein couldn’t find his. He looked everywhere but there was no ticket. The guard was gracious; “Not to worry, Dr. Einstein, I know who you are, we all know who you are, and I’m sure you bought a ticket.”

As the guard moved down the aisle, he looked back and noticed Einstein on his hands and knees, searching under the seat for his ticket. The guard returned to Einstein; “Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry. I know who you are. You don’t need a ticket, I’m sure you bought one.” Einstein arose and said “Young man, I too know who I am; what I don’t know is where I am going.”

We may wonder where we are being led. At times we may wonder whether we have done the right thing. We may wonder what on earth we are doing sat in the front seat of the roller coaster! But the good news of Easter is that we do know where we are going. We have been told by the Saviour that his life and death has promised us life eternal. Nothing can change that. Whatever else we do is immaterial. As Paul puts it in Romans

We may be certain of this: neither death, nor life, no angel, no ruler, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor anything created, can ever separate us from the love God which we have seen in Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 8: 38 – 39 (amended)

Nothing changes that promise. Unemployment doesn’t change that promise. Neither does divorce, or bankruptcy, or cancer, or depression, or felony, or failure. Through elation and deflation and every emotion in between, this truth remains; we know whose we are and we know where we are going, because the Son of God has promised. And this, my friends, is faith.

Music Never Dies

This is the (slightly adapted) text of a sermon preached at the funeral of an elderly gentleman – Joe - who was a highly regarded music teacher. (Joe is a pseudonym.)

Music has a way of moving most people unlike anything else.

An American psychologist called Anne Rosenfeld has called music "the beautiful disturber" She comments,

"Music can move us to tears or to dance, to fight or make love. It can inspire our most exalted religious feelings and ease our anxious and lonely moments. Its pleasures are many, but it can also be alien, irksome, almost maddening." (Psychology Today, December 1985, p. 48)

Best of all, music is a channel for the grace of God. Music can be a way for us to feel the presence of God. In listening to music we can be transported to somewhere else. A place where we sense God.

The German theologian Martin Luther once said:

“I have no pleasure in any man who despises music. It is no invention of ours: it is a gift of God. I place it next to theology. Satan hates music: he knows how it drives the evil spirit out of us.” Martin Luther

I have to disagree slightly with Luther. Firstly, the music of the bagpipes has more to do with Satan than God in my opinion! And while I agree that music is God given, I would argue that theology and music aren’t side by side as Luther suggests. Rather they are interlinked.

Of course when we think of all the different types of music there are in the world, depending on our own personal tastes we may find some music less conducive to contemplating God than others. But it seems to me if the music we listen to gives us pleasure, and puts us in a better frame of mind, then the music is God given.

During one of the conversations I had with Joe, I asked him what kinds of music he liked. He said “I like all kinds of music as long as it is good.” Though as Joe’s son said to me when we met “What Dad meant was ‘I like all kinds of music as long as I tell you what is good!”

Joe was I gather a great lover of Bach and most German classical music. I’ve heard him say “I don’t like that French stuff!” With this in mind I’m sure Joe would approve of something the great Johann Sebastian Bach himself said:

“Music is an agreeable harmony for the honour of God and the permissible delights of the soul.”

I don’t know if Joe liked jazz. There is a story that the great American jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis was playing in a small jazz club in New York in 2001. He was playing a soulful, mournful ballad called "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You.”

At the song's most heart-rending point, a mobile phone rang completely spoiling the mood. Marsalis froze. This rude interruption could have ended the concert. Marsalis could have walked off stage in disgust.

After a few seconds, however, Marsalis did something amazing. Without missing a beat, he picked up on the tune of the phone's ring and incorporated it into the song he was playing. He performed variations on it - blending it with what he'd planned to play - and then drew the whole ballad back to the original theme.

The stunning result brought down the house. Wynton Marsalis transformed a rude interruption into a moment of glory. He didn't allow an unexpected shock to stun or silence him. Instead, he turned this setback into a comeback.

Source http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/03/wyntons-blues/302684/

That's what good musicians do.

We gather today because life has been interrupted. The discordant, shrill ring of death has seemingly overcome the music and melody of life. Hearing and experiencing death's ring makes us angry and frustrated. We want to know who's responsible for this interruption. Death makes us wonder whether we'll ever have a "ghost of a chance" of understanding, of getting back in tune with life, of feeling the music once again.

But we need to recognize that God improvises a different tune, a variation on a theme. Somehow God, the master Musician, is able to take the discordant ring of death, the interruption and turn it into something beautiful. That's really what resurrection is about. Jesus walked out of the tomb, showing us that even death doesn't stop the music. The song goes on, perhaps a bit differently, more improvised, more subtly beautiful, but it goes on.

The death of someone close to us can force us to walk away, or it can be an opportunity for improvisation - to find new ways of celebrating life amid tragedy. In Romans 8:28, the apostle Paul put it this way:

Romans 8:28 Good News Translation (GNT)

28 We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him,[a] those whom he has called according to his purpose.

That's a powerful image. No matter how hurtful, how tragic, how unfair or how out of tune we might feel, God can work variations on the theme of life within us and turn it into something beautiful.

God's direction for us today is to follow his lead, to improvise, to start something new.

Music never dies. And because of God's promise of the Resurrection, neither do the people we care about. That is our hope for Joe and it is our hope for ourselves too. Amen.

Acknowledgement: Photograph of Wynton Marsalis from The Guardian web site.

It's not my problem

I wonder how often you hear someone moaning about some issue. It might be the NHS. It might be the fact that the roads are in a state. Or a problem with litter. We're always wonderful about moaning about it. And it's always "Why don't they do something about it?"

H.G. Wells once wrote an essay on that tribe of people he called the "goodness sakers." These are the people who see something that needs doing, or see some social evil, or detect some moral shortcoming, and they stand and wring their hands, and say, "For goodness sake, why doesn't someone do something about this?"

It is WE who have been called to do something. We cannot answer the question why there should be hunger in the world, but we can do our part to see that some of the hungry are fed. We can't answer the question why sometimes healthy adults with families are struck down in midlife, but we can be there to bring comfort and to supply both material and emotional support.

A young university student once visited the German writer and poet Wolfgang von Goethe. The student asked Goethe to sign a copy of a book. Goethe signed the book, thought a moment, and then wrote: "Let each person sweep in front of his own door, and then the whole world will be clean." Each person doing his best, linked to other persons exerting their best efforts, can accomplish great things. That is our calling. We cannot solve all the world's problems but we must do what we can.

There was huge cynicism (and I think much of it justified) when a few years back David Cameron trumpeted "The Big Society". His grandiose idea that if everyone in society mucked in a great deal would be achieved. And not long after cuts to public services happened. In some areas people stepped in e.g. to run public libraries. But "The Big Society" couldn't ever hope to replace public services that have been culled.

That said we all can make a difference and we all should be prepared to play our part.

When I was a child, I dreaded the annual Sunday School Anniversary. I'd be made to perform a "Recitation". A piece of worthless doggerel with a corny moral. The trouble is some have stuck such as this:

A simpleton went in to a bank
And said with the greatest of ease
I'd like to draw out fifty pounds
In Ten Shilling notes if you please

The cashier replied "Ah well, well, well.
You must pardon me sir if I grin.
But you cannot take anything out
If you haven't put anything in"

The moral is easy to see
You've seen it already no doubt
If you put little into each day
I'm afraid you won't get a lot out!

It's hardly Keats or Wordsworth is it?

That said we cannot moan if we won't try and do something about the situation we live in. We all have our part to play.

And the same is true in prayer for we are constantly asking God to solve the world's problems in our prayers. Meanwhile He is asking us to do the same thing. We need the spirit that Winston Churchill embodied so memorably. As Great Britain was fighting for its life during World War II before America's entry into the war, Churchill wrote to President Roosevelt, "Give us the tools and we will finish the job."

That ought to be our approach to prayer too. Rather than praying for peace in the world, we need to pray that God would make us peacemakers. Rather than asking God for special favours, we need to pray that He show us someone less fortunate than ourselves who needs our assistance. Is your faith mere superstition or is it authentic Christian faith? Do you attempt to use God or are you willing to be used by Him?

A politician was trying to convince the electorate that he was open and accessible. He told the audience at a rally once that he would be pleased to speak with them any hour of the day or night. "In fact," he said, "here's the telephone number..." and proceeded to recite it. There was a sudden outcry from one of his assistants. "Hey!That's my number you're giving out!"

Isn't it true that if God needs something done, we really hope that He will call Mother Teresa's number or Billy Graham's number or at least someone else in church’s number! We hope He calls anyone but us. When really we should be waiting for God to call us.