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In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues

 

No losers

We are invited into the story of the empty tomb to experience the triumph of the resurrection.

Context

It’s been an interesting few months for football. The issue over the ownership of Chelsea has brought into focus once again along with the rather murky network of premier league club owners and the eyewatering amounts of money poured into the national game. People are right to wonder about the winners and losers in the current ownership system. There are also serious questions around the integrity of the World Cup in Qatar, not to mention the troubling issues around human rights and the safety of certain groups of fans heading out to the competition in November. And, of course, there’s been a lot of important football being played as we get to the end of the world cup qualifiers in both the men’s and women’s game. We’re hoping to see the home nations in the mix and we can’t ignore crucial games being played in the champions league – which brings us back to Chelsea and a thrilling match on Tuesday night in Madrid. Whether owners of clubs, dubious hosts for the World Cup or just the day -to-day stuff on the pitch, football is full of winning and losing.

In fact, the winning and losing theme seems to stretch out into the rest of the news cycle. It’s difficult not to regard the Ukraine war through the lens of winning and losing. Some Ukraine cities have been completely lost to the weaponry of Russia. Ukrainian and Russian lives are being lost daily. This is in contrast to the ongoing discussion around who, despite the catastrophic loss, will win the war.

Party gate and the fines levied at the Prime Minister, Chancellor and large numbers of staff in Number 10 will most likely result in people losing their jobs. And, although the story has some way to go, we all know that ultimately, politically, there will be winners and losers.

 

Reflection and ideas for a sermon, talk or conversation

So much of life is characterised by feeling like you’re winning or losing. Which is perhaps why the narrative around Holy Week is so compelling for human beings. The story moves from the winning moment of Palm Sunday through to dark loss of Good Friday. In some measure we can relate to the ups and downs reflected in the story. Many of us experience times where it feels like we’re winning often juxtaposed with moments of intense loss.

But, the thing about the resurrection story that differentiates it from all the winning and losing going on in the world, on football pitches and in our own lives is that the final scene of the story – the empty tomb – represents the ultimate win: the triumph over death, sin and the grave. It’s a win that is permanent, everlasting, unchanging. A winning moment that can’t be overcome by loss, a winning moment that we are all invited into. One that will hold us though all of the wins and losses we experience.

 

Questions for discussion

• What are your personal experiences of winning and losing?
• How do you feel about the empty tomb?
• What does it mean to you to be invited into the story of the resurrection?

Fiona Dorman is Bristol Cathedral Education Officer and a freelance educational consultant.

  

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

In day-to-day language, the word ‘empty’ is usually associated with the negative and with the lack of something. Pause for a moment and think about what the word ‘empty’ means for you. Seeing the atrocities unfolding in Ukraine may leave you feeling emotionally ‘empty’. Perhaps at the end of the day or in the midst of an emotional situation, your energy levels might be exhausted and empty.

In today’s Gospel – the women and then Peter go to the tomb and ponder what the empty chamber might mean. Maybe they, too, associated an empty tomb with a negative situation, upon seeing that Jesus’ body was missing. However, when the angels remind the women of the words of Jesus – that he predicted his own death and resurrection – the situation changes.

The events of Jesus’ Passion – his crucifixion and resurrection transform everything. The empty tomb takes on a new meaning. Here, emptiness is not negative but positive – a remarkable event beyond human understanding. Though the tomb is empty, it means that Jesus has not only risen from the dead but conquered death – he is victorious.

Today is a day to be overwhelmingly glad because the emptiness of the tomb is a cause for celebration.   

Of course, the resurrection does not stop us from sometimes feeling ‘empty’. Suffering continues in a world infected by evil. However, suffering and evil need not rule over us. Through the resurrection we are shown that Jesus is with us and remains with us no matter how difficult things are, offering us his transformative love and the gift of salvation.

Joe Allen is studying for an MA in Theology at the University of Exeter, having graduated with a BA in Theology and Religion in 2021. The son of an Army Chaplain, he was born in Lancashire and has lived across the UK.

 

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