Dear Friends
Have just changed my letter. The last one was rubbish. I did not want to read it again.
Hey the spring has come. A wonderful antidote from the very strange and violent world
we live in. It is a joy to stand in the wilderness I call a garden to listen, watch and
sometimes smell. Last week two puppy sized creatures whizzed off into the darkness
when I opened the door. They were together, so not cats, kept to the side and scuttled
at a fair pace. Plant pots have been scattered: parts of trees not overhanging the
garden were in the centre of the grass, not wind, they were too heavy for the birds to
carry. So I suspect badger but could be wrong. What a pleasant mystery.
By the time you read this. I will have tried to explain the mystery of the Resurrection of
Christ. More real to me than whatever has visited the garden. Two thousand years ago
some explanations of Resurrection made women the first to experience it. Against
cultural norms. In one account the blokes were terrified. The disciples were told to look
for the risen Jesus in Galilee; with no insult meant – more like Brighton than Balcombe
for its widely varied and multicultural population. Not a place where in those days a
strict Jewish person would want to live or linger. I enjoy the occasional visits to
Brighton; I am not sure what sort of explanations would be promulgated if Jesus had
lived in the 21st century. However in the first century the things of God would certainly
contain a reference to heavenly.
Another central feature of Easter for the Christian is that Jesus makes it quite definite
that he had come to serve others and that people who wish to follow him must do the
same. That definitely indicates that blokes for example can’t expect to be let off toilet
cleaning or ironing. Perhaps none of us should be beyond serving others. This also
means that sharing a bit of wealth should be on the agenda. It also suggests that if Jesus
lived in a place like Brighton how come he said nothing about the things the moral
majority like to complain about. Jesus did make strong criticism of religious leaders and
appears to be derisive about Herod – a powerful and dangerous man who murdered his
cousin. His ministry certainly had a few of the self-righteous and self-serving gnashing
their teeth. There seems to be no limit of gratuitous love and acceptance in Jesus’
interactions with people. He willingly has intimate conversations with those who were
banished to the fringes of the society in which he lived. So we need to do more than
wearing pink or buying the Big Issue. I can only conclude that the post Resurrection
Jesus challenges us to step out of comfort zones and embrace the differences in
humanity with joy. I am now off to contemplate what I have written.
Yes you have guessed with a pint of Harvey’s.
Thanks for reading, Desmond