It’s one of those episodes this week, where we talk about everything from the ethics of slug control, to the 1700th anniversary the council of Nicea, to Ezekiel’s advice on how to live during times of exile (basically Keep Holy and Carry On). In one, apparently random bit I talked about how the big story of the Bible is made up of loads of little stories of exactly the same shape.
After my limited input last week, this time it’s my turn to give my – belated – thoughts on Easter. I’ve been thinking that it’s not so much about the doctrine but about the story. We are invited to inhabit the story of Jesus, to allow his life to give shape to our own. The early church understood that: baptism was a richly symbolic re-enactment of life, death and resurrection. Believers took off their clothes, went down into (and under) the water and rose again.
It’s the Easter Special! Well, half an Easter Special maybe. Because I was sick with the flu, it’s a shortened episode. But never fear, it’s Pastor Joe to the rescue, reflecting on how the Easter story of suffering, bewilderment and joy is a challenge to us to live all of life. I loved what he said about the disciples on the Emmaus road. Maybe like them things haven’t worked out how we imagined.
I have the flu, so I watched Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. On the whole, the flu is a more pleasant experience.
In a recent episode of the mid-faith crisis podcast, we touched a little on the development of Easter as a celebration. How was it celebrated in the early church? When did it expand into Holy Week? What did they actually do? The first thing to say is that Easter, like baptism, is older than the church itself. Easter, of course, is the English name and comes from much later. In Greek it is called Pascha That’s because it originates with the Jewish festival of Passover.
In our latest episode, Joe and I talk about what it’s like to celebrate Easter in mid-faith crisis. We talked a bit about how Easter is crucial to our identities as Christians, but also how, for those who have left church, or are conflicted, it can be difficult to know properly how to celebrate. We also looked at how the early church celebrated Easter. It began as the Christian version of Passover – a single night’s fast, followed by a shared meal (a ‘liturgical breakfast’ as one source called it).
We’re back this week after a little break and we catch up on how things are going with our themes. There’s a great email about ways to respond to fear. And I talk a little bit more about my year of ‘Less is More’. I’ve been thinking about this as I’ve started to put more systems in place in order to simplify things. And there are a couple of elements which I talk about in this week’s episode.
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Fairly frequently – about once or twice a month – someone asks me, by email, or in conversation, how to go about getting a book published. So I thought that I would write down what little advice I have to offer in this context. The problem is that my path is not usual. When I started, long ago, the publishing world was very different. And I was fortunate enough to meet some people who gave me my first breaks.
With Joe away in Mexico we have an interview with Bekah Legg. She talks about the work of Restored with the victims of domestic abuse, and shares a little of her own story of loss and grief. The statistics are sobering: in the UK, 1 in 4 women will be subjected to domestic abuse. And, shockingly, that stat is exactly the same within the church. And we need to reflects within the church, on how our theology actually reinforces this behaviour.