{"id":2978,"date":"2019-04-21T20:22:48","date_gmt":"2019-04-21T20:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=2978"},"modified":"2019-04-21T20:22:48","modified_gmt":"2019-04-21T20:22:48","slug":"sermon-21st-april-2019-morning","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-21st-april-2019-morning\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 21st April 2019 – morning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sermons index<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easter Day – morning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Sunday 21st April 2019 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Easter Day – morning
\nActs 10.34-43
\nLuke 24.1-12<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Maureen<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been an odd Holy Week for me. Losing my voice just two days in, has forced me to be quieter than usual. To weigh every word I have spoken, or tried to speak. And of course, I have not been able to sing a note since Joan\u2019s funeral on Tuesday. (probably overdid it then if truth be told!)\u00a0 But that has had an unexpected benefit, as I have been able to focus particularly on the words as I have mimed my way through hymns, and been able to pray them with a different sort of intensity than when singing. Try it some time! (although please, not all at the same time, or I will have Greg complaining to me!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being rendered voiceless is\nan inconvenience for me (possibly a welcome rest for others!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The women who went to the\ntomb that first Easter morning discovered something that initially rendered\nthem speechless… but then drove them to tell the other disciples what they\nhad discovered. The absence of the body they had been expecting. \u201cBut these\nwords seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them\u201d. How often\ndoes our scepticism get in the way of faith? How often does it make other\npeople effectively voiceless? Robbed of the ability to spread the news they\nwish to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well sometimes pictures as\nthey say, speak louder than words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week has also been\nextraordinary because of the dreadful fire that broke out on Monday evening and\nburned through the night. Those who entered the next morning, fearing the\nworst, were also struck dumb by the sight that greeted them. There, illuminated\nby the morning light, was the great golden crucifix and beneath it the\nremarkable statue of Mary receiving the body of her son, Jesus. Both works of\nart somehow surviving and relatively untouched by all the damage and debris\naround them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe light shines in the\ndarkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we celebrate the\nreality of our risen Lord. Light shines again after the darkness of death and\npain that is Good Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The church is dressed in all\nits festal finery. The flowers have returned in all their glory. We are right\nto feel uplifted and cheerful. We are reminded that God has not abandoned us,\nhe is still there, loving us and inviting us to love him back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we celebrate with the\nbaptism of two people into God\u2019s church \u2013 Jamie and Javen. Two new members of\nour family who after today can hold their heads high with a new dignity, a new\nconfidence that they \u2013 along with all of us, are beloved of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not because of anything they\nhave done, or not done. But just because they exist as do we all, and have come\nseeking to know something more of the One who saves and who shines out in the\ndarkness. And because they wish to be prepared to guide and care for a little\none \u2013 Theo, who will come for his own baptism in a few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is their new beginning.\nEaster is all about new beginnings; about being restored to the family of the\nchurch; about finding our voice to proclaim with confidence, in a tone that can\nnever be silenced –  Christ is Risen! He\nis risen indeed. Alleluia!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Easter Day – morning Sunday 21st April 2019 Easter Day – morning Acts 10.34-43 Luke 24.1-12 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs It\u2019s been an odd Holy Week for me. Losing my voice just two days in, has forced me to be quieter than usual. To weigh every word I have spoken, or tried to speak. And … <\/p>\n

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