A Week to a New You: Day Seven

It’s the final day of Cool, Chic and in Christ’s series of the 7 Sayings of Jesus and without sounding too clichéd it has been quite a journey, In fact I’m on one at the moment, en route to Brighton to see Soul By The Sea’s production of The Passion of Jesus at St. Peter’s Church, where my sister Amooti is playing a multitude of roles.  Historically, Passion Plays used to be very common; an occasion where the community gathered to hear and see the story of Jesus as the vast majority of people were illiterate, and even for those who could read, bibles were  prohibitively expensive. I have been to a few Passion Plays before and there is something about seeing the story live that revitalises one’s faith, connecting the familiar verses on the page to actual people and events. It is no wonder that there is a current fashion in Hollywood to tell biblical stories, with Noah currently in cinemas and Son Of God to follow: the bible has epic dramas galore and our last saying of Christ on the cross brings to a conclusion all that has preceded it and gives us an invitation into a role in God’s Sequel which is a life eternal.

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46

Luke says that Jesus says these words in a ‘loud voice’, or a ‘shout’ in some translations. It seems quite a feat that Jesus should still have strength to shout, but he shouts because it is at this point that the Passion concludes and his spirit, his eternal essence he commits into the Father’s hands. Once again he is united with God. Put like that, I think we’d all be shouting.

One of the great mysteries of faith is that Jesus was both fully man and is also fully God. The resurrection, which Christians around the world are celebrating, has at its centre this, the greatest miracle of all. However, as we see in this verse, Jesus acknowledges his power comes from God, His father. He separates from his father’s power on the cross so that we can gain access once he unites again in His father’s power on the resurrection. The theology around it may seem confusing, but put simply, Jesus’ active committing of his spirit into his father’s hands is crucial to the resurrection and to our being able to access this resurrection power today.

We see the tension of Jesus as both man and God in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus prays to God, perspires blood, and asks that the cup be taken away from him but with the vital caveat of only it being God’s will and not his own. To be fully in Christ, and thus fully in the resurrection living zone, we need to commit the very essence of us into the Father’s hands. This is a contrarian approach to living as modern life places ourselves at the centre of everything and our own personal agency as the source of every decision. We know best. We can totally predict how they will react when we say or do that. We have a diary that is choc-full-of appointments, assignments and deadlines. We know how our industry sector works and the opportunities therein. We have made the financial calculations and the figures won’t add up. We can’t make a difference because the problem is too vast. We don’t have time. We’re not good enough. We’re not sure. We’re tired. If that is you, and I will ‘fess up, it’s often me, then take a leaf out of Jesus’ book in Gethsemane and allow for God’s will to be done in your life. If you are going through it as you bear your cross, commit your spirit, the very essence of the eternal you, into God’s hands and lean on his direction. 

When I look at my own and I will admit it, pretty hands, though today bereft of serious jewellery, I marvel at the things they can do. I hold someone else’s and it shows I love them, move with them to a beat and I’m probably dancing, use a tool and I can prepare a delicious meal , write a book or make a call that will make a difference. Now, let’s consider God’s hands: creator of every human being that ever was, is and will, author of millions of universes, enabler of dreams that have yet been dreamt, lover of all and giver of life everlasting. A new you can only truly commence when you commit the whole lot of you, good and bad into God’s hands and watch the miracles happen. He is Risen and so are we who abide in him. Amen.

A Week to a New You: Day Six

As we near the end of the Cool Chic and in Christ series on the 7 Sayings of Jesus, we come to the end of his earthly journey.

“It is finished.” John 19:30

Endings can be hard in life, especially when they are unexpected or unwanted. In traditional liturgy this verse is referred to as ‘The Word of Triumph’, as Jesus’ death on the cross brings a triumphant reconciliation between humanity and God. Yet, at the centre of this triumphant reconciliation is a death, and there is no way to fudge that.

To come into a new life, the old one has to end. Earlier this week, I met up with an old friend. We talked a lot about beginnings and endings, mainly endings. And one thing stuck; that it is really hard to live with the finality of endings, especially when unsure about what the future holds, or if one is still querying whether the ending was particularly triumphant. From a Christo’s perspective, were it not for the resurrection, the end of Jesus’ life would be another sad story of injustice, betrayal, brutality and destruction, much like what is seen in many parts of the world today. But because of the resurrection, this story takes on an opposite meaning, one of victory and not defeat. The moment one begins to look at an ending from the perspective of the eternal a broader, less bleak vista emerges. The pain in the ending is temporary, and better is to follow.

Looking back at traditional Christian liturgy, of which as a Jesus Geek I am a complete fan of exploring, the Apostle’s Creed which dates back to the 4^th Century has an interesting addition to what Jesus did on Holy Saturday, prior to his resurrection:

“… [he]…was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead.”

Said in many traditional churches, sometimes in place of the more popular Nicene Creed, the idea of Jesus descending into hell before he was resurrected has been quietly put to one side, probably because it proves too problematic to explain, and churches have failed to entirely agree upon the ins and outs of it. But I quite like the idea of a Saviour who took the battle right to the frontline and wins it decisively for us all, especially as I often feel incapable of making much headway in my own strength. In fact the idea of Jesus descending before ascending can be useful when dealing with endings. Things being over does not mean that further decline is on the way, as we see tomorrow, something far greater can be ready to roll out of a tomb and change everything forever.

So, is it finished? If it is, and Jesus says so, then trust and know that it is for a life changing and enhancing reason. See the end as the beginning of something truly beautiful. A life as a new you,

A Week to a New You: Day Five

Day Five of the Cool Chic and in Christ Series on the 7 Sayings of Jesus brings us to the most solemn day in the Christian Calendar, Good Friday. Some of you might attend a full Stations of the Cross meditation service, still others might have opted for the Hot Cross Bun with tea route or you might just choose to mark today by abstaining from meat come supper time, as the Lamb of God has been slain for our sins (see Gastrotastic.com later today for a CCC compliant dinner option), but today’s events are at the centre of the new life enjoyed by those who choose Christ as he endured the most horrific of deaths for the extraordinary reason that he loves each and every one of us.

“I thirst.” John 19:28

Jesus made such a simple statement as it is one that touches on the most basic of physical needs; hydration. Whilst we could all last for several days without solid food, it is lack of hydration that’s the killer. The human body itself is made mainly of water. We are essentially a walking puddle in need of a drink, be it H2O or something a little stronger! The physicality of these words shows that Jesus was entirely human. The pain that he endured on Good Friday was every bit as visceral as if it had been one of us on a cross. He did not, by virtue of being God made flesh, get a less painful experience, call it Crucifixion-Lite for want of a better term. In fact, he willingly, took up his cross, knowing that it was the only way that we, his beloved brothers and sisters, might be saved.

And yet, for those of us, even the long term or the always have been Christos, Jesus declaration of thirst can resonate in a different way. Though we are in Christ, we might occasionally feel spiritually parched. Our prayer life may have gone the route of routine and performance. In the familiarity of the scenes depicted on Stations of the Cross in our church, the desire to drink deep from this most profound of divine mysteries may have diminished.  Worse still, we might have been moving around for so long in a spiritual desert that our circumstances have become ‘the story’, rather than Christ crucified on the cross being the main event. However, just as physical thirst can be alleviated so too can the spiritual.

This Good Friday, allow yourself to be refreshed by this most perfect and enduring sacrifice. Jesus died that we might never thirst and bore our sin that it might never hinder us. From his deprivation comes our plenty and it is our plenty forever. For the new Christo, Good Friday can often be extremely emotional. I’ve sometimes envied how they go full throttle at the foot of the cross, weeping and wailing, though thankfully not gnashing teeth. For the old timer, we might think that we can only partake in that wonder and response at the beginning of our Christian journey. But every Good Friday, each year, gives us an opportunity to engage anew with the Passion. To picture Jesus on the cross, to respond to the story and humbly say thank you.

A Week to a New You: Day Four

Day Four of the Cool Chic and in Christ 7 Sayings of Jesus on the Cross series and we have reached Maundy Thursday, a day forever commemorated by Leonardo Da Vinci’s beautiful painting ‘The Last Supper’ and recreated in church’s everywhere in the form of Communion.  AsH

What would you eat, for your final meal? Would it be Seafood Platter with an unlimited supply of champagne to add a celebratory tone to proceedings? Maybe a steak washed down with a vintage Bordeaux red? Or a slab masquerading as a slice of chocolate cake with a mini mountain of ice cream as an accompaniment? And how would you feel that in the already frightening knowledge that this would be the last time that you ate anything at all that those whom you loved would be central to your betrayal and would indeed abandon you? Jesus knew all those things as he ate with the disciples at the Last Supper and although we do not know whether flat bread and red wine were his own personal favourites, we do know that Judas would betray him a few hours later and that the rest of the disciples would abandon him in his hour of need. In fact today’s words said on the cross point to a still greater abandonment.

“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) Mark 15:34

In order for us to have any sort of chance of life anew, Jesus took the ultimate hit of feeling abandoned by God, His Father. The words here are from Mark’s gospel (the earliest of the four in the bible) but they are reiterated in Matthew’s Gospel too. It is this total absence of God’s presence, this taking on of all our past, present and future failings and misdemeanours that causes Jesus to cry out. In other parts of the Passion, we see Jesus bearing his pain and the insults in relative silence neither complaining nor rebutting the false charges brought against him. He does this so that there is a window of opportunity for us. So that we who have many reasons to be abandoned by God for our ability to repeat-to-fade mistake-dom, will have a chance at a relationship every bit as encompassing as the one Jesus has with God.

The phrase ‘God Forsaken’ is often used to express a place or situation where there is an absence of hope or chance of improvement .Wanting a new life, can often feel beyond the realms of possibility; just that little bit too hard and unbelievable. Some prayer points might now feel like they belong in the realms of childish fantasy and don’t have any scope for fulfilment. In other instances, attempts at improving a situation may have consistently failed to hit the mark, exhausting and demoralising one in the process.  But the truth is there is always hope, and we are neither alone or abandoned in our efforts, triumphs, hiccups and f-ups. We have a friend, a brother, a suffering servant and a redeemer, and his name is Jesus.

A Week to a New You: Day Three



Day three of our Cool, Chic and in Christ series on the 7 Sayings of Jesus on the cross and we move to John’s gospel for this evocative statement by Jesus:

“Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” John19:26-27

Allowing for divine transformation in one’s life requires trust and a radical change of perspective, and in this verse we see both. Jesus is addressing his mother, Mary, and ‘the beloved disciple’, who many theologians believe to be the same John who wrote the gospel this quote comes from. It is interesting that Jesus uses the term ‘Woman’ rather than ’Mother’, but that is because he is addressing Mary as God rather than as her son the carpenter and travelling teacher. In a reversal of parental roles, it is now Jesus who directs Mary where her parenting should be, it should be towards the Beloved Disciple, and he in turn takes her in as her own. The statement hints at Jesus’ humanity and compassion, here he is dying, yet still he has time to sort out his mother’s domestic arrangements.  From both Mary and the Beloved Disciple we see innate trust in Jesus’ plan for them both. There are no quibbles or queries as to the logistics of this arrangement, or how natural or unnatural it would be for Mary to take on the Beloved Disciple as a son when her real son was dying in front of her eyes. What we see simply is trust, a trust borne out of a relationship with Jesus.

It’s the midway point in Holy Week, and as we mentally rev up for the crescendo of the latter part of the Passion story, this verse gets to the heart of a life in Christ. It is a life where we are loved by him and counted as family. It is a life where we are above all things called to rely on his plans and purposes for us, and try as hard as we can to not question, especially about the areas of our life that might seem entirely unresolved or put more bluntly a big mess. Beyond this verse little else is said of Mary and the Beloved Disciple’s life as a family unit, although looking at the bible as a whole it is to the Beloved Disciple (John) that the Book of Revelation is revealed; and Catholics around the world look to Mary to intercede on their behalf as Mother of God, so the set up seems to have had positive and enduring results!

As an exercise of trust and faith, call to mind all the things that you want birthed anew in your life by Easter Day and trust that our Lord and Saviour has it in hand. In short, bring on your inner infant and wait expectantly for the poso results…

A Week to a New You: Day Two

Day two of the Cool, Chic and in Christ series looking at the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross and we are back in Luke’s Gospel and still at the foot of the cross in search of transformation.

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43

I love travelling. Be it on foot which is my personal favourite, as a passenger in a car (I still, shockingly, cannot drive),on a train seeing towns and villages zip by with me straining to read place names, or several thousand feet up in the sky with only the journey mapper on the seat in front of me charting the kilometres flown, I adore the whole process from beginning to end. For me, even when the destination is somewhere I have been a dozen times before, the journey is equally thrilling. However, as Christos this verse in Luke speaks of a journey with an incredible destination; Paradise.

Theologians refer to this verse as ‘The Word of Salvation.” as it is directed to one of the two criminals, crucified on either side of Jesus, who asked to be remembered when Jesus came into his kingdom. By this man’s faith and plaintive request, whilst he is dying, Jesus gives him the gift of a life everlasting. Yet, what I see in this verse is something else, a sinner, i.e. a person chock-full-of flaws like the rest of us, getting an immediate ticket to a heavenly destination that is without 

compare and will never disappoint.

There are clues in the sentence of both the veracity and celerity of Jesus’ statement. Jesus begins with the word ‘Truly’; this is a case of no filler or B.S., but the honest to goodness truth. Then, we have the use of the word ‘Today’. There is no commercial break, the thief has asked and God in his ever-ending goodness has responded,  pretty much immediately, in the day itself. And then the best bit of all ‘with me in Paradise’. There is no separation for those who choose Jesus. Instead, you come into an intimacy and a companionship that trounces all others. It is why we are ‘in Christ’ rather than ‘of him’ or ‘beside him’ or ‘a few feet behind him’. His very nature becomes our own, should we choose it. And finally the destination itself, Paradise; a metaphysical space that it eternal in nature. Over the centuries since Jesus used the word, Paradise as a term has been somewhat cheapened. It has become synonymous with untouched beaches and days with nothing more taxing than selecting another exotically coloured cocktail from a drinks menu. However,  although this in itself can be fun and I love nothing more than sippng a gin and mint martini on a beach where the azure blue sky and sea morph into one, signing up to be in Christ is not a fast pass to chillaxing. On the contrary, being in Christ for eternity means being part of the God project, one that at its centre has love, creation, compassion and peace-making.  It is a Divine Appointment, the biggest and most important role that any of us have.

So, in the midst of Day Two of our transforming Holy Week what does this mean in practical terms? Well first, we do not need to wait for our dying moments like the thief on the cross did to get our invitation to Paradise. We need only look at the Lord’s Prayer for a clue to our activities in the here and now: ‘Your Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven.’  We can be in Paradise or Heaven, right this minute, assuming we abide by God’s will and not our own. A tricky proposition for sure. I am Queen of trying to shoehorn my own heart felt desires into something a little more spiritual, so to speak. But for those of us who have spent a little time praying, fasting, communing with God, there is always a certain ‘sense’ that one is doing what God would want us to do, rather than something random and disconnected. Try it a couple of times today and see where the promptings take you and don’t forget to post, share and tweet, elegant evangelist styles...

Until tomorrow, and no, I couldn’t resist…

A Week to a New You: Day One

I am a sucker for a quick fix. Three day diet for a bikini body? I’m there. Fluent French in 30 days? I have the book and somewhere, unopened of course, a DVD. Miracle hair growth and shiny skin in a small one-a-day tablet? I will take one box, no, two. But with Holy Week, one is offered a whole new proposition. In the space of one calendar week, Jesus changed everything, and in a similar way he can do the same to us.

Cool, Chic and in Christ has been a bit underground because, truth be told I have been a little preoccupied with the things I would like to change pronto and the situations I wish were different.  I am an expert in raking over all of my mistakes, and those I perceive of others and trying to cobble together a rationale for why the situation is so. I daresay, or rather hope, otherwise this is the part this post gets several shades of awkward, that I am not alone in this particular spiritual malaise. Like the peeps back in the original Palm Sunday; I am a good one to proclaim things in the moment, and then get thoroughly disheartened when the ‘next chapter’ was not as I had written it in my head.

So, what to do then? Well, keeping with my quick fix nature, and the transformative nature of Holy Week, I am going to focus on the 7 sayings of Jesus  from the Passion and to make it fun and interactive, please add your takes on the comments box or on the fb page or on twitter. Let the miracles commence!

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

Spoken of the soldiers just as they were about to cast lots for Jesus’ clothes whilst he still hung on the cross this sentence tells of just how central forgiveness is to a transformative life. We all, at some point or another do not know what we are doing and in the process end up doing something crap. It is at this point that we need God’s forgiveness granted to us. However, this is not a self-flagellation exercise; we also need to learn to forgive ourselves when we mess up. To not replay the mistake in our head to the extent that the past encroaches on the present and in the process one misses out on the life God has planned for us, because we’re still busy replaying whichever incident, marks us out as beyond redemption. Secondly, if we have truly signed up for the Christo walk, we need to practice the art of forgiving. And boy, it is an art. It requires more than just a verbal proclamation, like an artist, we need to paint over the transgressions and not dwell on the sketch of what have might have been. A little empathy also helps. Look at the activity from the one you’re seeking to forgive’s perspective. Usually, when one does, it isn’t as black and white as it was on the cross.

And whilst forgiveness doesn’t always conclude in Hollywood endings; with tears through joy reconciliations and an orchestra playing to crescendo as the camera pans out to take in the whole scene, it does make us a teeny-tiny step closer to God. It allows us all to go beyond our own mini crucifixion moment, and look to the life to come, one even more glorious than the pretty amazing one we are in now.  

Six days, and counting…