Station XV: Jesus Risen From the Dead

The funny thing about Stations is that they tend to be Lenten devotions, which means that this (or its equivalent) Station gets pruned off the end. It is good to be able to complete the cycle - add the conclusion.

Tonight saw our Easter Vigil, and within that we had copious confirmations and a plethora of baptisms. The liturgy was fairly complex, augmented by the perfect spiritual joy delivered in hymns offered by the Zimbabwean Mother's Union - and I even warbled for a moment or three.

For once, a sermon has 'stuck'. The bishop, upon learning of my successful descent from a parachute jump, talked about leaps of faith. Certainly our candidates took theirs this evening. So did the rest of us who engaged with the Vigil of Easter. Was it a leap of faith that Easter would happen? No, of course not. The retailers make Easter happen every year. It was a leap of faith that we could take in its meaning again after another year. Certainly, in my church, the flower ladies received a happy return on their leap of faith, as did the choir. The candidates too, as mentioned, and added to their number the faithful who looked on, and indeed we priests who ministered. Would this Easter be a miracle for us once again?

Yes! Yes! Yes! Such perfect love as this is endless and the significance of the Resurrection is as raw, edgy and potent as it was the first time. Another Easter has arrived, and it is perfect. The white-hot energy radiating from the Tomb has touched our lives once again, and I sit here typing this just a little overwhelmed. I am overwhelmed because the cutting agony of the days past is matched by the warm energy of perfect love and the eternal Answer to everything. By this moment I am saved, and so are you. Drink in that knowledge - and revel in it. 

He has been raised; he is not here [Mk 16: 5]

My prayer at this Station is for every Christian in the world, for their witness and for their courage to walk the whole journey. My prayer is for you, too. 

Lord Jesus, you were dead but now you are alive:

transform the torments of this world’s sin

that we may see your radiant glory.

You were raised from death to life:

may the power of your resurrection live in us,

that we may be channels of your true life beyond measure.

To you, Jesus, who have broken free from the bonds of death,

be honour and glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

now and for ever. Amen