Resurrection and the City

22 04 2012

by Brian Walsh

(We’ve sat in Easter Saturday for three weeks now. Not a bad thing to do considering how quickly we want to get past the horror of Good Friday. Maybe it is time for us to now proclaim the resurrection. Because without the resurrection, there is no remixing of the empire. This is my Wine Before Breakfast meditation on the Road to Emmaus story in Luke 24.13-35)

It wasn’t surprising that they had decided to leave the city.
Jerusalem had again failed to live up to its name.

Bloodshed, not peace, had been raining in this city for years,
and the last couple of days had been just more of the same.

Another round of arrests,
more beatings and corrupt trials,
another group of crucifixions,
more violence in the police state,
yet another repression of anything that could be a threat to the city
and its religious, political and economic elite.

This city that had held their hopes and dreams,
this city that had been the bearer of the promises,
this city where they had hoped to see the redemption of Israel,
this city where they had longed to see streets for dwelling,
justice in the gates,
jubilee in the land,
the protection of orphans, widows and strangers,
refuge for the vulnerable;
this city that they had hoped would be the capitol for the Kingdom of God,
… this city had failed them again. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , ,
Categories : Brian Walsh, Sermon, Uncategorized, Wine Before Breakfast

Denying the Crucifixion

17 04 2012

by Andrew Stephens-Rennie

We hate them.

You know, those people who deny the resurrection. Those people who see the story of Jesus’ rising as mere metaphor, who refuse to accept that Jesus, that word made flesh, that god-man, could rise from the dead if he wanted to.

If God is God, we say, then you’d be crazy not to have faith in God’s power to raise the dead.

But let’s step back. Not too far, just a couple of days. Let’s step back to that Horrid Good Friday – you know, the one we gloss over because we think we know the end to the story. We know how it all turns out, so we don’t need to really think about how awful that day, those intervening days were. We don’t have to think about them, because we’ve read the final chapter, and we’ve got a good sense of the epilogue.

I hate it.

Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Andrew Stephens-Rennie

Resurrection Prayers

24 04 2011

by Andrew Stephens-Rennie (with special thanks to the lads in u2)

Lord Jesus Christ, we come before you this morning, in awe of your risen majesty. When all seemed bleak, when we had almost given up hope, you conquered sin and death. This morning, as we revel in disbelief, and glory in your resurrection, we pray saying

Lord, take our hearts and make them brave.

God of all, we come before you this morning with great thanks for a love that endures forever. We pray this morning for your church, that we may live as a resurrection people. As we carry the scars of Good Friday into the world, and as our church is constantly being reborn, we ask that you give us strength to minister in the midst of our ever-changing communities.

This morning we pray for your one, Holy, catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world. We pray for denominational leaders, for pastors, priests, elders, deacons and ministers, and all who witness to the good news of your life, death and resurrection with their lives.

Lord, take our hearts and make them brave. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : Andrew Stephens-Rennie

Voting for Resurrection

4 04 2011

by Andrew Stephens-Rennie

Election day is coming, and I’m ready to predict that somebody’s gonna get crucified. We’ve heard the story enough times to know that Something Interesting always happens when you mash up Religious Festival and Political Spectacle.

And that, dear reader is what it seems we’ve got on our hands.

Far be it for me to tell the Canadian Church (in all it’s denominational and theological diversity) what to do, but maybe y’all should think long and hard about how to approach election day with theological, ecclesiological and missiological vigour. Couldn’t hurt, right? Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : Andrew Stephens-Rennie

Between Confidence and Fear

6 04 2010

by Brian Walsh

Folk who visit this site know that much of what we write about here arises out of a shared worship experience called “Wine Before Breakfast.” This year the community began with allowing Romans to shape our liturgy and our imaginations, and then concluded with Mark’s telling of the story of Holy Week for Lent and Easter. That meant that we began with Romans 1 and ended with Mark 16. That juxtaposition gave rise to this meditation.

“Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ.”

Do you remember those six words? That is how we began Wine Before Breakfast last September.
…“Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ.”

Paul, writing to the very heart of the empire,
…identifies himself with nothing less (or more)
…than a slave of Jesus Christ.

Not a citizen of the empire,
and sure as hell, not a slave of the emperor,
…but a slave of Jesus Christ.

Six words into his letter to the Romans,
…and he has already put them on notice.
…This was “in your face stuff.”

And it didn’t stop there. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: ,
Categories : Brian Walsh

The Shadow of Three Crosses

23 03 2008

by Andrew Stephens-Rennie

(Preface)

We read this story in the shadow of three crosses.

There is the story in a nutshell. There are the various ways into the story. There is the story itself. There are the stories themselves. There is the question: Whose story is this?

The passion was coming. They didn’t know it yet, but it was soon to arrive. The disciples, sitting in the upper room, their leader talking, the air pungent and heavy. One week prior, he had been celebrated by the throngs as they entered the city. And now they feel unrest. Though they don’t know it, they wait for an arrest.

And in this room. In this tension. In this celebration of a victory once won, an exodus made, from a land much afraid. In this celebration, fear assails.

We read this story in the shadow of three crosses. The cross follows soon after Judas’ double-cross. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : Andrew Stephens-Rennie


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 32 other followers