Holy Week – Easter is not a one off event, it is not like Christmas, it is inseparable from what went before. The services of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are an essential part of what makes Easter so special. Without any one of them the story is incomplete.
The earthquake in Turkey and North Syria has stopped us in our tracks. So many of the worries and concerns we have suddenly seem so small in comparison to the plight of the many people who have lost everything and who just don’t know where to start to bury their dead, let alone begin the process of rebuilding their lives.
I remember little from my school days, which is not surprising, my memory about anything is not that great, but I do remember a story from my Scripture lesson when I was in primary school (who remembers Scripture lessons? Shows my age!). It was the story of the paralysed man whose friends made a hole in the roof of a house in order to lower him, still on his bed, right in front of Jesus (Mark 2.1-12).
After the thrill of candles and cribs, presents and turkeys, the scramble of the sales takes over – the shops rip down the decorations and bargain hunting rules the day. Christmas is well and truly over, and Epiphany is ignored.
In December the church traditionally remembers prophets, their words come to us in all those services of Nine Lessons and Carols (6pm Otterbourne 18th Dec). We remember prophets and their words because they are the special mouthpiece of God, his means of communication with the world. Or at least that is how they were understood.
During daylight hours the churches of this benefice are always open (well, almost always) for prayer and reflection, for people to find their God – or just some peace and quiet.
