The end is the beginning

Today it is Good Friday.

Jesus is crucified. Abandoned, forsaken, Jesus cries the words "it is finished'

For the disciples it must have seemed like the story had come to an end. The one whom they followed and put their trust in is executed like a criminal. Was this it? Was this the end?

We know as we read the Gospels and with the benefit of hindsight that rather this so called 'end' was just the beginning. This isn't the full stop, more like a comma, a pause, a breath in between sentences. Because the story doesn't end with the cross...that's just where it begins.

On Sunday we will celebrate the resurrection. But today we await with hope.

And as this lent blog draws to an end I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has contributed and to everyone who has read this blog. This journey through Lent is coming to an end but for us as a church it is just a beginning as we continue to learn what it means to faithfully follow Jesus.

We would love to see you at our Easter celebrations this weekend.

Good Friday -7pm at church - reflective worship! (oh and hot cross buns mmmm)

Easter Sunday: We celebrate the resurrection! - 10am - Family worship gathering

- 7pm - Easter dinner (if you have given RSVP)

I want to leave you with this little quote from "Cross Shattered Christ" by Stanley Hauerwas:

"God has finished what only God could finish. Christ's sacrifice is a gift that exceeds every debt. Our sins have been consumed, making possible lives that glow with the beauty of God's Spirit. What wonderful news: "It is finished". But it is not over. It is not over because God made us, the church, the "not over". We are made witnesses to the world - a world with not time for a crucified God - may know we have all the time of God's kingdom to live in peace with one another."

-Stanley Hauerwas, Cross Shattered Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2004), 90.

Isn't that beautiful:

It is finished, but it's not over...