One Lent, years ago, I bought a book by Stephen Cottrell (now Archbishop of York) called The Things He Said, expecting a focus on the Good Friday words from the cross.
Only later did I note the subtitle: the story of the first Easter day.
Not what I wanted for Holy Week reading, so I set it aside for later.
The book got “buried” and I forgot it, but God has a way of bringing all sorts of hidden things to light at just the right moment — memories, sins, neglected friends, books — Cottrell’s is such an example.
This Easter, I was looking for a mislaid item, and what I found was The Things He Said.
Totally right for the day and definitely a recommended Easter week read.
Archbishop Stephen describes his telling of the story of the first Easter as one in which he “tried imaginatively to inhabit the text of Scripture” in order to “enable the reader … to return to the [Bible] text with fresh enthusiasm”.
I certainly found my understanding of the events of that first Easter refreshed and invigorated — as I walked with Mary back to the tomb, with Cleopas and his friend to Emmaus and back to Jerusalem and the gathered disciples “bathed in the light of [the risen Jesus’s] presence, breathing the fresh cool air of eternity”, receiving the Holy Spirit.
The joy of Eastertide is this: Jesus Christ is risen; His promise and invitation remain the same. Jesus says to us too: ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ (John 20:21 NRSVA Bible: Anglicised Edition).
Mary Cassidy is a parishioner at St Paul’s Church in Wokingham writing on behalf of Churches Together in Wokingham
