We’re going to play a game. Everyone whose name begins with the letter “A” – stand up. Everyone who is wearing black shoes – stand up everyone who likes Scary Spice (!) – Stand Up… and so on until everyone is standing… then Everyone born in July sit down… everyone who likes Pizza – sit down… until everyone is sitting again. Who won the game? No-one just because we are different, like different things and do different things doesn’t make us any better than anyone else… we are all different individuals loved by God
How do you fold your napkin after a meal…? how do you fold your shirts, socks…? How we fold things says something about ourselves…
Have you heard the story that a folded napkin was 1st Century etiquette indicating “I’m coming back”. Well, that’s an e-rumour… it’s not true… But it did get me thinking about why the folded “napkin”. The napkin was probably the “talit” or prayer shawl… and there is some truth in the idea that each man would have a particular way of folding the prayer shawl… so that it would be recognised as belonging to a particular man… perhaps it was Jesus’ prayer shawl… and the disciples would have seen him fold it in the synagogue many times… the folded grave clothes provided for them a little bit of evidence…
Lots of stories that help us understand the story of resurrection… only some stand the test of history… and critical analysis… but most significantly the disciples’ lives were transformed to the extent that continued to gather together in the face of persecution… the Church was born because of Jesus’ resurrection, and the coming of the promised spirit…
On the first Easter morning the cry was – he is not here… and because of that… this Easter Morning we can say… He is here!
Easter eggs…here’s one I brought along… one that wasn’t used at the early Easter breakfast… maybe not as exciting as a chocolate Easter egg… but what good fun you can have with an egg… I’m going to throw it up in the air and try to catch it in this bowl… (build up expectation that there will be quite a mess…) The egg (of course) has been hard boiled… what we expect is often not what happens… Mary and others expected to anoint a dead Jesus… that’s not what happened… Do we expect to meet Jesus when we come to church?
Talk to the children about the Easter eggs they have had… big, small, fancy packaging… Produce two Eggs – one large one filled with sweets – and a smaller hollow one. Which would they prefer? Presumably they will not be too impressed by the ‘Empty Egg’… giving a lead into the Empty Tomb…
L is for Learner, L is for Loving, L is for Listening, L is for Living, L is for Laughing, L is for Leaving (things behind…) L is for Labouring, L is for Liking…
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