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Belief in Resurrection

(Song of Songs 3:2-5;8:6,7 John 20:11-18) A tiny bit of excitement broke out in the Press, in response to a BBC survey in which only 43% of respondents said that they believed in the resurrection. A survey like that always begs more questions than it asks. Who was surveyed? And what was really meant by the question: Do you believe in the resurrection? What do the words ‘believe’ and ‘resurrection’ mean in this context? Actually 43% sounds quite a high figure to me. I didn’t think the Easter stories were that well known. Or that easy to understand. But the key question in all this, is not so much are the stories true, and did Jesus rise from the dead, but what difference does that make to m

God's Love

(Matthew 21:11 and 27:1-54) “God proves his love for us in that while were still sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 St Paul and the whole of the New Testament in clear on this: that it is in the death of Jesus, on the cross, that the fullness of God’s love for us is revealed. Here the height, the depth, the breadth of God’s love for sinful humanity is declared, displayed, shown forth – proved. And that word ‘proved’ is a suggestive one. God’s love is not just being shown to us (in the form that it has always existed, as it were), but it is really being put to the test. Put on trial. As if it were being tried out (like metal is proved in a fire to test its quality). To see if it will l