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<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica; font-size: 10pt; color: black;">-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Fr HC Smith <howard.smith@anglican.org.au><br>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org><br>
Sent: Tue, Apr 19, 2011 7:00 am<br>
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Easter Day<br>
<br>
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<pre style="font-size: 9pt;"><tt>Friends,<br>
I was a bit caught up last week and didn't get round to producing any notes. <br>
Here are some thoughts towards a sermon for Easter Day based on the reading <br>
from Colossians.<br>
<br>
Howard<br>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
* Well, at last it's Easter Day - after all the preparations, all the <br>
waiting, all the sorrow and solemn services of Good Friday, we've arrived!<br>
+ For Christians, and especially Anglican Christians, this is the<br>
most important time of the whole year;<br>
- this is the only occasion when our Prayer Book suggests we<br>
ought to “make our Communion”, whilst at the same time<br>
gently hinting that we could do well to receive communion<br>
quite regularly.<br>
- Did you know that our Greek Orthodox friends have a special<br>
greeting they use at this time of the year?<br>
- instead of saying "Hello, How are you" etc, they say: "Christ<br>
is risen", and the reply is: "He is risen indeed."<br>
* I know I don’t understand all about this Resurrection business, I can't <br>
explain how it all happened, but I do know that the followers of Jesus back <br>
in the 1st century were pretty sure that something significant happened, <br>
three days after Jesus had been executed.<br>
+ Then, about 30 years later, Paul worked out some rather<br>
important ideas about what the Resurrection meant, and these<br>
same ideas are just as valuable for us in the 21st century<br>
- we read something of this in the reading today from the letter he <br>
wrote to the<br>
Christians in the city of Colossae, in what we now know as Turkey: <br>
he says in effect:<br>
- "the risen Christ gives meaning to your life" (repeat)<br>
+ I reckon he's suggesting to us ‘Turn the way you look at things upside <br>
down’:<br>
instead of wondering how we can explain Jesus by what we<br>
know about life and the universe, we should try explaining our<br>
life by what we know about Jesus.<br>
+ We normally think of our life as being limited to this earth, and<br>
that it's all brought to an end when we die;<br>
+ But Paul says to us: how about you think of your life as getting<br>
ready for God’s Real World : "think about what's there, not what's here <br>
on earth".<br>
+ Thinking along those lines means to think about the kinds of<br>
truth and value which Jesus taught about:<br>
- the kinds of values which are stronger even than death:<br>
- things like love, forgiveness, compassion, relationships, care<br>
for others: put those thoughts in the front of your mind.<br>
+ The Resurrection Good News teaches us that those attitudes<br>
are much more enduring than power, money, fame, selfishness, cruelty, <br>
war, violence:<br>
- ideas and events which flood our modern media day after<br>
day, and because we are confronted by them so often we<br>
tend to think that they are highly important.<br>
* But on this great Festival Day we are invited to let the Resurrection <br>
fill our minds, rather than all those media events.<br>
+ The Resurrection is the visible sign that all those ideas and<br>
events which do fill our minds will, in fact, pass away.<br>
+ Paul says to us: Don't worry too much about all those passing,<br>
limited, destructive, thought patterns: like anger, insults,<br>
sniping, greed, prejudice;<br>
- instead set your minds on God’s Real World: motivate your<br>
thought patterns with love, peacefulness, forgiveness,<br>
compassion, relationships, care for others:<br>
+ If we can do that then we'll be able to get on with living<br>
creatively in the present, despite all the troubles and<br>
difficulties we face every day, realising they're not all that<br>
important after all.<br>
<br>
* This Easter renew your baptismal promises to let the risen<br>
Christ be your guide through life,<br>
- let the power of his life-giving, inspiring love fill you,<br>
- share that love with other people,<br>
- and you will discover that your problems aren't nearly as bad<br>
as they seem at present.<br>
+ Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!<br>
<br>
<br>
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *<br>
The Rev'd Dr H.C. Smith<br>
Retired Anglican Priest<br>
Orange NSW<br>
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * <br>
<br>
<br>
</tt></pre>
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