Low Sunday

This Sunday is sometimes known as Low Sunday – it’s the day when people often stay at home and don’t come to church... oh ! Well, this year, that’s a bit like any other Sunday of course… 

But whilst we might be desperate to get back to our church buildings to meet up with family and friends, church has continued because of the event we celebrated last Sunday - church has continued because Jesus has risen from the dead, Jesus is alive ! 

In the reading from Acts (2:14a,22-32) we read this remarkable speech made by Peter – Peter of course had, not very long before, denied even knowing Jesus, but he was now ready to stand up in front of some of the people who had called for Jesus to die, maybe some of the people who had been responsible for killing him, and proclaim boldly that Jesus had been killed, but that he rose from the dead and that he and others were witnesses of that.

Who could possibly deny the reality of the resurrection when faced with the boldness of Peter ? This wasn’t the timid cowardly man who denied knowing him, but a man transformed by seeing and speaking with the risen Jesus.

In the gospel reading from the gospel according to John (20:19-21) that we heard it offers the account of Jesus appearing to the disciples after the resurrection and saying, ‘Peace be with you’. It was a ‘peace’ that they must have desperately needed – a peace that must have seemed totally absent from their lives as the one they followed, the one they gave their life to, was nailed to the cross and died.

‘Peace’ was essential and Jesus knew that. Of course this passage has a bit more to it as well – Thomas who was absent from that group of disciples didn’t really believe that Jesus had been there but a week later Jesus appeared again and he showed Thomas the marks on his hands and side and he said, ‘Do not doubt, but believe’ and Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God.’ 

Transformation comes with seeing the risen Christ who always promises peace to his people. Today many people are in need of peace – people who are lonely, people who are working in dangerous situations, people who are missing loved ones, people who are scared, people who are caring for loved ones who are sick, people who are struggling with isolation and all that it brings with it. Jesus continues to enter the darkest places with the words, ‘Peace be with you’.

More people might be staying at home at the moment than even on the worst attended Low Sunday but I think the message of the gospel is becoming more and more relevant as we think of Jesus who rose from the dead because in doing that he did three things which I think can help and support us at this time, and always… 

Firstly, he conquered death for evermore. When someone dies we still miss them. This week I heard that someone who I’ve known for many years had died suddenly – nothing to do with the horrible virus but a horrible shock to her family and to friends and somehow made worse by this time when people can’t go and give the family a hug or spend time with them and people won’t be able to go to the funeral and pay the respects in the same way. 

Human grief is very real – it’s a time of sadness and we should never try to play that down in any way, but because Jesus rose from the dead he has conquered death for ever. We may miss loved ones. We may not see them day by day, but we can be reunited with them because of Jesus. He has conquered death for evermore. 

Secondly, he’s alive for evermore and walks with us. This was something Thomas initially struggled with of course in that gospel reading, but he saw the reality of it when Jesus appeared to him. It was a reality made clear in the changed life of Peter, the timid coward who became the bold evangelist proclaiming publicly all that Jesus had done and was continuing to do. 

Jesus is alive for evermore and guides us, sustains us and strengthens us to be the best people we can be, to be the people that he wants us to be… And through it all, as we occasionally get things wrong, he reminds us that he loves us anyway and that he always will… 

And thirdly, Jesus has seen it all. He has been there through very real pain, through rejection, through loneliness, emptiness, through torture and even death and his response ? do we know what it is ? 

Yes, we do – we go back to the cross to see where he said ‘Father forgive them for they not what they do’... We go back to the cross where he says to the thief ‘today you will be with me in paradise’... And we go back to the cross where he says ‘it is finished’ and we know from that point on that there is nothing that can keep us from his love.., we know that pain, in whatever form, is temporary but that his love is everlasting.... 

Let us pray 

God our Father, at this Easter time we continue to give thanks for the resurrection of Jesus. Lord without that resurrection our faith would be empty and without hope, but he is alive and we rejoice in the knowledge that in Jesus all that separates, injures and destroys has been overcome by that which unites and heals and creates.

We think of your church today celebrating the resurrection in isolation, yet united in love and praise for you. We pray for John our Archbishop, for our diocese and our parish and we pray that your spirit may guide and strengthen us all in mission and service to you, to our own community and to the world outside in whatever way we can each contribute and we pray that day by day we may draw closer to you, experiencing your love for us.