Grassroots Liturgist

Have you ever seen a baby, a few months old, in his mother’s arms at a social event?   Everyone gathers round to take a look and, inevitably, some will ask to hold the baby.   Maybe after just a few seconds, maybe having been passed on to a second or third cooing adult, the baby gets upset, agitated and distressed, and begins to cry loudly.   Finally, the baby is handed back and only then, in the arms of his mother, he calms down.   The baby looks up at his mother and is reassured; he feels safe….he is at peace. I have often seen this scene played out, and they came to mind several times this Eastertide, which ended last weekend with Evening Prayer on Pentecost Sunday. The first words that the Risen Jesus said when he appeared to the apostles on Easter Sunday were, “Peace be with you.” In the original Greek of the New Testament, the word used is ε ἰ ρήνη ( eiréné ), and it has connotations of peace of mind.   In the Hebrew, shalom , there are ideas of hea...

Do you ever mentally switch off during the Homily? Perhaps my favourite Resurrection appearance is when two of Jesus’ disciples were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. (Luke 24:13-35)   They were both deeply disconsolate and confused: they had followed Jesus, seen the power of God in his words and deeds, and had hoped that he was the one who would redeem Israel.   But then, they witnessed his crucifixion and death – all their hopes and dreams were dashed and the very foundation of their understanding of the world was taken from under their feet.   To make matters worse, Jesus’ body was now missing from the tomb and there were rumours that was alive. Then Jesus walked with them, though they didn’t recognise him.   As they walked, he went through the Old Testament, explaining to them all that was relevant to him as the promised Messiah.   He clearly had their full attention, because later they commented, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked wi...