2008 Letter No 03

Each month Bill writes a pastor's letter for our monthly church magazine called 'The Messenger'. Here is the letter for March 2008:

Easter has generally been regarded as the most important Christian celebration of the year. While the British public focuses much more on Christmas, the Christian Church has always focused more on Easter. Ever since New Testament times Christians have met for worship on Sundays, the first day of the week, because every Sunday is a weekly celebration of the day of resurrection. And Easter is the Sunday of Sundays – the annual festival celebrating the fact that, following the crucifixion, God raised Jesus from the dead, thereby confirming his status as the Son of God – our Lord and Messiah. (Romans 1:4). The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are at the heart of our faith. So how do we prepare to encounter God afresh at Good Friday and Easter?

Personally, I find it helpful that at this time of year we make a special point of slowing down and remembering the historical events of the crucifixion and the resurrection. It is not that I forget about them for the rest of the year. It is just that it is good to meditate and think on these things and to celebrate them in a special way, and to do so together with other Christians. However, we also need to remember that whether we celebrate particular days in particular ways is a matter of personal conscience. The apostle Paul told some of the earliest Christians not to judge one another on the basis of the days they chose to treat as special. (Colossians 2:16-17). But if we do choose to mark these days as special, how do we prepare for Good Friday and Easter?

One way that I have been using this year has been to pray and meditate using icons – special religious paintings of gospel events, which have long been an important part of worship for Eastern Orthodox Christians. Using icons in prayer is not a common practice among Baptists, who have generally felt uncomfortable about any use of images in worship in case we are drawn into idolatry. But the use of icons has traditionally been justified by Eastern Orthodox Christians using the argument that since God came among us as a human being, it must be permissible to produce and use pictures of Jesus. Jesus is the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). In Jesus, God has made himself known and was seen among us. And so I have spent some time using icons in prayer. I have looked at the images, and have consciously tried to be open to what God might be saying to me through them. Now, of course, the primary way God speaks to us is through the Bible, but icons may be regarded as painted sermons – helping us to experience the truths revealed in Scripture. They use a lot of symbolism in order to convey a lot of meaning.

The icon of the crucifixion includes a small detail, which is easy to miss unless you look carefully. In the ground under the cross is a skull, and blood drips from Jesus’ feet into the ground where the skull is buried. This is not trying to say that there really was a skull buried under the cross at Calvary, but the skull represents Adam – humanity separated from God because of sin and death. The blood of Jesus was shed to lift the curse on “Adam’s helpless race”, as the hymn-writer calls us. We all, like Adam, have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). But the good news is this: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22). Being in Christ makes all the difference between life and death, and we need to place our faith in him to receive that new life. It is his gift, but we must receive it.

The icon of the resurrection continues the story, and has Jesus emerging from the tomb, but he is not alone. He grasps the hands of Adam and Eve, pulling them from their graves and raising them to life with him. Adam and Eve represent sinful humanity. The resurrection of Jesus is his victory over death, but it is not a victory he wins for himself alone. He brings “many sons to glory”. (Hebrews 2:10). This Easter let us make sure that we place our hands in the hands of the Saviour so that we may share in his risen life for all eternity. What a gospel! What good news!