Scripture reading: Luke 23: 50-56  

Then a member of the council arrived, an upright and virtuous man named Joseph.
He had not consented to what the others had planned and carried out.
He came from Arimathaea, a Jewish town, and he lived in the hope of seeing the kingdom of God.
This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
He then took it down, wrapped it in a shroud
and put him in a tomb which was hewn in stone in which no one had yet been laid.
It was Preparation Day and the sabbath was imminent

Meanwhile the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus were following behind.
They took note of the tomb and of the position of the body.
Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.
And on the sabbath day they rested, as the Law required.

Short Reflection: Little do we know 

The universe is full of mysteries.
Out faith is full  of mysteries and
and the Resurrection of Jesus is full of unanswered questions.

The apostles, Mary, and the women, realised that
they really knew very little about Jesus, and how his power worked.
They trusted him and held onto the many questions that confused them.

 If he was really God’s Son, how could he be now dead?
Was he now only a loving  memory - but just that?
When they thought about that tomb and Jesus in it,
they wondered about all these things -as do we today.

On a day like today or whenever death inpinges on us we reflect on life after death, our own resurrection and that of our family or friends.

What, who or where is Heaven?
How little do we really know about the afterlife?
Is Jesus, and/or our relatives who have passed on before us, waiting for us there?
Will they be there to beckon us on, welcome us home?

 Do you trust god with the afterlife? The scripture says, 'Eye hath not seen or ear heard nor hath it entered into the heart of man what things God has prepared for those who love him.'

Jesus said, 'I must go and prepare a place for you in heaven.',  but do we trust him?

Story: Light in the inky black darkness  

Here we were underground, pot-holing near Lisdoonvarna.
Our leader was crawling on his stomach through the opening.
I was none too happy. I crawled after him, with water gurgling around me.
After what seemed an interminable and frightening time the little tunnel opened out into a big cavern. It was inky black. The blackness was broken only by the thin pencils of light on the top of each helmet.
It was both awe-inspiring and frightening. I was already thinking of how I was going to get out of there!
Down in that cavern I was utterly dependent on the light from my helmet.
It struck me how light is so important for living a full life.
(Martin Tierney, Sundaythoughts.com, www.veritas.ie)

                                      What is this life?
                                      What is this life, if full of care
                                      We have no time to stand and stare? 
                                      No time to stand beneath the boughs
                                      And stare as long as sheep and cows,
                                      No time to see, when woods we pass
                                      Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. 
                                      No time to see, in broad daylight
                                      Streams full of stars, like skies at night,
                                      No time to turn at beauty's glance
                                      And watch her feet, how they can dance;
                                      No time to wait till her mouth can
                                      Enrich that smile her eyes began?
                                      A poor life this if full of care
                                      We have no time to stand and stare! 
                                                                   William Henry Davies 

Today’s prophet – Rosabel Collins
Addictions replace God in many people's lives. In her takeoff of The Good Shepherd Psalm 23, Rosabel replaces Jesus with TV as our Supreme Being but the same would be true of internet, drugs, alcohol of choice, chocolate, exercise, power or or even work, - anything that preoccupies too much of our time, attention or energy. It is like being trapped in a tomb with a penlight and thinking we own the light it gives. Its like watching a tv show and thinking we control the action. Its all an illusion.

                                                The TV is my Shepherd
                                                I shall not want.
                                                It makes me lie down on the sofa.
                                                It leads me away from the faith.
                                                It destroys my soul.

                                                It leads me on the paths of sex and violence
                                                For the sponsor’s sake.
                                                Yea, though I walk in the shadow 
                                                of Christian responsibilities
                                                There will be no interruption
                                                For the TV is with me.

           It’s cable and remote,
           they comfort me.
           It prepares a commercial for me,
           In the presence of my worldliness.
           It anoints my head with consumerism:
           My coveting runneth over.

           Surely laziness and ignorance shall follow me
           All the days of my life,
           And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
           watching TV forever.

A Gentle call to action:

Play some quiet classical music,
think of Jesus’ death, 
his time in the tomb,
his waiting on his Father’s call to resurrection.
Imagine the power of life returning to his body,
but it feels different, richer , more powerful,
more Godly, more gloryful, more how it was before he first came to earth as a child
when he created the world with the Father and Spirit.
Its good to be back.

Visit a cemetery today, pray for your family dead.
If you have the care of Children you could check out our Lent for Children/Holy Week/ Easter site or the Stations of Light devotion for Easter Sunday

Prayer

           Almighty and ever-living God,
              whose Only begotten Son descended
              to the realm of the dead, and rose from there to glory,
             grant that your faithful people,
             who were buried with him in baptism
             and made this Lenten journey,
             may by his resurrection and his Spirit, 
              obtain eternal life, for ever.
              Amen

Prayer image of the Day

"Since it was the Jewish Day of Preparation
and the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there"...John 19: 42

"Today a great silence reigns on earth,
a great silence and a great stillness.
A great silence because the King is asleep.
The earth trembled and is still
because God has fallen asleep in the flesh
and he has raised up all who have slept
ever since the world began. . .  

He has gone to search for Adam,
our first father,as for a lost sheep."
Greatly desiring
to visit those who live in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
he has gone to free from sorrow
Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him
- He who is both their God and the son of Eve. . .
"I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. . .

I order you, O sleeper, to awake.
I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell.
Rise from the dead,
for I am the life of the dead."
(Catechism, Profession of Faith, 635)