Christ Church Mandurah Resources

LUKE 24: 31-48 THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER 2020 The Gospel we have just read is known as “on the road to Emmaus”, and it’s a reading with which we are all familiar. The story is found only in Luke’s Gospel and we believe that Emmaus was about 5 miles from Jerusalem. Following the crucifixion, two of Jesus followers are walking on the road to Emmaus. I wonder if they are walking to their homes in Emmaus because they have no idea what else to do? They are grief-stricken, they are bereft and I would suggest, a little afraid as well. There is no mention of retaliation on their part, no assumption that they will take revenge on those who executed Jesus. And as they are walking, a stranger appears and engages them in conversation. They tell him the story of Jesus, their hopes for the future and how those hopes ended in Jesus death. And more than that, some of their community have insisted that Jesus was alive, when they know that Jesus is dead. For the next few hours, this strange man w...

John 20: 19-31 Our Gospel this morning is a continuation of the story of Jesus resurrection from John 20, my favourite chapter of the whole Bible. Last Sunday, Easter day, we read that Jesus has been raised – but that is only half the story. Jesus mission to restore humanity into a right relationship with God, would now depend on his followers.  It would be up to Peter, James, John and all the others who swore that they would follow Jesus forever, even unto death, and who had run away and left him. These were the people on whom Jesus would build his church.  We might wonder if this is such a good idea. In our Easter worship services, we tend to skip from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, but have you ever really thought what Easter Saturday was like for Jesus friends?  In sharing this story of the disciples, the Gospel writers use their experiences to teach us about the reality of faith. For us, Easter Saturday is usually a time of preparation.  The chu...

One of my favourite modern theologians is not someone who has written many deep, meaningful and difficult to read books.  Rather, I love the work of Michael Leunig, an author who uses little cartoon figures to illustrate his ideas. Some of you may be familiar with his work; he draws bewildered little men and writes amusing yet profound prayers. This is a man who can write prayers about hair and about door handles. In one of his cartoons, there 3 men hanging on crosses, obviously meant to be Jesus and the two thieves crucified with him.  And in the foreground one Roman soldier is telling another soldier “See, I told you if we killed the leader we would nip this in the bud”. I can understand the soldier’s logic, for the Romans were used to disposing of troublemakers, and once this  Jesus  of Nazareth was out of the way, surely all the upset he had caused would end. It would end because all his friends had run off and left him, and clearly there would be no one to k...

PALM SUNDAY In past years, the services on Palm Sunday have usually begun with a gathering around the cross and the giving of palm crosses outside of the church as we remember Jesus entry to Jerusalem.  And then we all walk together into the church waving our palms and enjoy the service.  Quite a calm and sedate affair.  But not this year. For Christians, this is the most important week in our faith journey, more important even than Christmas.  We do not know exactly when Jesus was born, but we do know when he died and who was there when it happened. Holy week is a microcosm of life – today we rejoice – on Friday we mourn, and next Sunday we rejoice again.  That is sometimes how life goes. Last year, my husband Mike and I were in Jerusalem.  We had gone as part of a tour group staying at St George’s College in Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, we worshipped at St George’s cathedral and then we headed to the hills above the Mount of Olives to join a procession w...