Sunday 20 April 2025 - The light of the world

Sunday 20 April 2025

Today is Easter Sunday, the 20th April. A very happy Easter to you! Christ is risen! As you enter into prayer on this Easter day, take a moment to slow down…slow right down and notice where you are… notice what is around you… perhaps any other people around you…or just you! In all of this, God is present. Right here, right now. God’s presence, the Risen Christ, who triumphs over sin and death, sanctifies this ordinary place and makes it holy. Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis. Sanctus. Holy Lord God of hosts. Thy glory fills all heaven and earth. Hosanna in high heaven. Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in high heaven. Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John. John 20:1-9 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. This week’s readings begin and end with the desire of a woman disciple to honour the death of her Lord. Mary of Bethany recognizes the sacrifice of Jesus while Mary of Magdala fails to take in what has happened after his death. This is the God of surprises at work. Has God ever surprised you in unexpected ways? Jesus is risen, but his closest friends don’t understand what this means. Do you have a sense of the resurrection at work in your life and in the world? How does that make itself known? As you listen to the reading once again, what words or mental pictures make the strongest impact on you and why? John 20:1-9 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. The road to Calvary in company with Jesus is a hard one, and we barely know how to respond to his rising again. ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’ What do you want to say to Jesus, the light of the world? Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be World without end Amen