St David’s Uniting Church and Castle Square Treforest 

Easter Breakfast 12 April 2020

(Note, there is no formal start time or schedule for this breakfast service, but you are nevertheless asked to think of and be aware that you are always sharing, beyond our limited human understanding of time and space.  Take your time! Read yourself, or listen to others reading. Read the poetry, or if you are bold, sing the hymns with tunes you remember.  There is a short grace after the first prayer, a few minutes into your reading; eat and drink in your own good time, and then continue with the service as you eat, or having finished, entirely as you wish.)

Background – a very short history of the Easter Breakfast at St David’s

I cannot remember a time from my childhood when I did not eat my breakfast the Church Hall on Gelliwastad Rd, which means that an Easter Breakfast has been held there most probably for 45 if not 50 years.  Back in the day, we would gather very early, probably 8 or 8.30 in the morning, and following Easter Hymns and a hearty breakfast, the first Communion Service of the day (with at least two more to come) would take place. The whole event would last at least 90 minutes, but since our morning service didn’t start until 11, there was always time for some games or activities between breakfast and the service; if it was nice, we’d go down to the park.

The menu was always the same: cereal and milk, bread rolls, fish fingers, boiled eggs (two concessions for those who liked their breakfast cooked), yoghurt, fruit, jams and honey, usually on the honeycomb.

And so it has continued to the present day, though two things have changed, neither of them the menu! One is that we now meet later – typically 9am – for breakfast, and because our service starts earlier, there is no real time for games or a longer walk in between.  The second is that we have replaced the Communion Service (traditional Lord’s Supper, Eucharistic meal of bread and wine) with more of an understanding that whenever we eat and drink together, we are sharing a communion meal as Jesus and his disciples would have understood it.  And so our breakfast – this breakfast today, sits in that tradition, as does the eggs and bread shared at Castle Square and all such church Easter breakfasts.  For us, separated as we are by restrictions of movement and public gathering, it is the place where we commune, where we join together, for the first time this Easter Sunday!

The Peace of the Risen Christ be with us all!

We begin by affirming the faith of this day:

Christ is Risen!

He is Risen indeed!

Hallelujah!

And as Paul wrote to the early Church gathered in Rome:

“If God is for us, who can be against us?….. No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 31b and 37-39)

 

Hymn/Poem

1. 1. From the very depths of darkness
      springs a bright and living light,
      out of falsehood and deceit
      a greater truth is brought to sight,
      in the halls of death, defiant,
      life is dancing in with delight!
      The Lord is risen indeed!

Christ is risen! Hallelujah!
Christ is risen! Hallelujah!
Christ is risen! Hallelujah!
The Lord is risen indeed!

1. 2. In the light of resurrection,
      Jesus calls us all by name,
      ‘Do not cling to what is past,
      for things can never be the same;
      to the trembling and the fearful,
      we’ve a gospel to proclaim:
      The Lord is risen indeed!’

Christ is risen! Hallelujah!…

1. 3. So proclaim it in the high rise,
      in the hostel let it ring,
      make it known in Cardboard City,
      let the homeless rise and sing:
      ‘He is Lord of life abundant,
      and he changes everything,
      the Lord is risen indeed!’

Christ is risen! Hallelujah!…

1. 4. In the heartlands of oppression,
      sound the cry of liberty,
      where the poor are crucified,
      behold the Lord of Calvary!
      From the fear of death and dying.
      Christ has set his people free!
      The Lord is risen indeed!

Christ is risen! Hallelujah!…

1. 5. Tell the despots and dictators
      of a love that can’t be known
      in a guarded palace-tomb,
      condemned to live and die alone:
      ‘Take the risk of love and freedom;
      Christ has rolled away the stone!
      The Lord is risen indeed!’

Christ is risen! Hallelujah!..

1. 6. When our spirits are entombed
      in mortal prejudice and pride,
      when the gates of hell itself
      are firmly bolted from inside,
      at the bidding of his Spirit,
      we may fling them open wide!
      The Lord is risen indeed!

Christ is risen! Hallelujah!
Christ is risen! Hallelujah!
Christ is risen! Hallelujah!
The Lord is risen indeed!

(Michael Forster)

Prayer:

When everything was dark
and it seemed that the sun would never shine again,
your love broke through.
Your love was too strong,
too wide,
too deep
for death to hold.
The sparks cast by your love
dance and spread
and burst forth
with resurrection light.
Gracious God,
We praise you for the light of new life
made possible through Jesus.
We praise you for the light of new life
that shone on the first witnesses of resurrection.
We praise you for the light of new life
that continues to shine in our hearts today
We pray that the Easter light of life, hope and joy,
will live in us each day;
and that we will be bearers of that light
into the lives of others.
Amen.

(Revd Michaela Youngson, Methodist Church resources for Easter)

Sharing of Grace, Sharing of Breakfast wherever we are

Lord Jesus, as we sit and eat our breakfast this Easter Morning, we give thanks for mealtimes in your presence; for all the stories we have received in scripture; and for all the stories and histories of our own memories.  Bless this meal and bless our sharing, we pray. Amen.

 

You are invited to eat and share your breakfast, and continue with the readings and reflections below as your time and circumstances allow.

Read Mark 16:1-14*

After the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint the body of Jesus. Very early on Sunday morning, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they said to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” (It was a very large stone.) Then they looked up and saw that the stone had already been rolled back. So they entered the tomb, where they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe—and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is not here—he has been raised! Look, here is the place where he was placed.  Now go and give this message to his disciples, including Peter: ‘He is going to Galilee ahead of you; there you will see him, just as he told you.’”

So they went out and ran from the tomb, distressed and terrified. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

*AN OLD ENDING TO THE GOSPEL

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

After Jesus rose from death early on Sunday, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons. She went and told his companions. They were mourning and crying; and when they heard her say that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe her.

Jesus Appears to Two Followers

After this, Jesus appeared in a different manner to two of them while they were on their way to the country. They returned and told the others, but these would not believe it.

Jesus Appears to the Eleven

Last of all, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating. He scolded them, because they did not have faith and because they were too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive.

 

Reflection

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Hallelujah!

The last reflection which I wrote for a service at St David’s was on for the first Sunday in Lent, St David’s Day.  Little did we know then, just six weeks ago, that our themes of Lenten discipline and our patron saint’s encouragement to ‘remember the little things’ would develop in the way they have.  We had, even then, some awareness of the situation in China, and an understanding that it may in some way spread to other countries.  But by and large, we were also confident in our own determination for ‘business as usual’, and for us, that was about supporting each other after the floods of February, and rebuilding our community through the little things we could contribute, with a particular focus on environmental issues.

How things change, and how much more difficult it feels to celebrate the greatest of our Christian feasts having not seen each other, having not gathered together in Pontypridd or Treforest, having not walked (or run!) together in the park, or shared coffee and cake, or having given up such things, shared Lenten lunches on each Friday, culminating with a walk of witness on Good Friday.

And yet, absolutely today of all days, we declare our faith: the day on which we celebrate and rejoice in the ultimate victory of life over death, the victory of good over evil, the primacy of the good things of life. Christ is Risen, He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!

And we celebrate because this is what the followers of Jesus have done for as long as his Good News and his memory have been shared.  So whilst we might feel in many ways isolated, and perhaps lonely, because of the health crisis, or perhaps because of other circumstances in our lives, we are reminded also today that we still have things which we can share.

If you have been anything like our household this last month or so, and anything like Phil Wall, come to think of it, you may have enjoyed catching up on some film or television. Perhaps you have even managed to join theatre, opera, dance or concerts which have been broadcast.  One of my ‘go to’ channels on the BBC iplayer is the history section, and the other week I stumbled (not quite literally) on a series of programmes about archaeological finds in the UK.  One of the episodes included coverage of the discovery of the ‘Must Farm’ Bronze Age settlement near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, the uncovering of a village so well-preserved that it has been described as ‘Britain’s Pompeii’.  Dating from about 800 BCE, a group of four wooden round-houses have been uncovered, two of which had been extensively damaged by a fire which was probably why the village had been abandoned as it was all that time ago.  Experts wonder whether there may have been twice as many houses originally in the village, others having been previously destroyed in ground works and quarrying locally.

One of the things which made me sit up and listen was that that the archaeologists found kitchen ware and equipment, including utensils and pots, and (as if we needed proof that they had left in a hurry) there was even food left in some storage jars.  And here’s the thing, each of the houses, laid out in the same pattern, contained much the same evidence.  The kitchen or eating area in the same place, the same sorts of utensils, pot and plates etc. Several family groups may have been living in separate dwellings, but they had a common sense of food and meal times.

Have a think about your own eating area in the house, your kitchen or dining room, or if (again like my family) you sometimes eat in your living area.  Think about the utensils in your kitchen drawers, your knives and forks, cups and plates.  And now think about the things that you have had for breakfast this Easter Sunday morning.  Cereal perhaps, bread or toast with jam, honey or Marmite (!), eggs or fishfingers, fruit, yoghurt, all washed down with tea, coffee, fruit juice.  What have I missed out? Chocolate??!

From prehistoric times, from the round houses of Bronze Age Britain, to the stories of ancient writings, from the gathering of Jesus and his friends in an upper room, or meeting together to eat barbequed fish on a beach, to our own love of a communal meal, our food and drink have been central to our understanding of society. Even this morning, when we would wish to meet together physically, we can meet together in the things that we share, starting with the very first meal of the day, our breakfast. But not ending there either.

This week, we have been following the account of Holy Week with the help of Mark’s Good News and this morning, we have read the final chapter of Mark’s account, including part of an ancient ending, noteworthy I think because it reaffirms that Jesus met the women first, because it hints at the more detailed story of the walk to Emmaus found in Luke, and because when finally Jesus meets the gathered disciples, what are they doing? Eating together!

For as much as we have been kept apart by our circumstances this Easter, we retain and we remember the things which bind us together.  We start with food and drink as practical and social activities – breakfast, the most important meal of the day, up and at them, raring to go.  We will continue sharing a service together which includes communion. If we are able, we might venture out, if only to our gardens, to share the wonder of nature at Spring time, and this evening we may turn to the story of the walk to Emmaus, and that reminder that whoever we are, wherever we may be, the risen Jesus comes to meet us on the road.

One of the biggest words used at Easter, through Holy Week, to the cross and to the empty grave is atonement.  It is sometimes used without much thought, presented as a complicated word which tries to describe yet more complicated thought and theology.  But if you break it down – At One ment – then its essence is pretty easy to understand.  Because Easter isn’t about being apart or being lonely, it’s about being at one, reconciled with God and with each other.

So, wherever you are, whatever you are doing this Easter Sunday, be uniting and united today.

Oh and keep remembering the little things too!

 

Hymn/Poem

(best tune is the Welsh lullaby ‘Suo Gân’)

Christ has called us to each other
Joined in one humanity
Every colour, class or gender –
All God’s children, loved and free.
Hold the hand of friend and stranger
Hold the dreams of age and youth
Hold the cynic and the searcher
As we journey to the truth.

Christ has challenged every motive
And disturbed all stale belief
Asking questions, offering answers,
Scatt’ring vision, healing grief.
Open doors will welcome homeless
Open eyes will see the need
Open hands will work in friendship
Sharing love instead of greed.

Christ will use all that we offer
Build the Kingdom in this space;
Living stones of strength and weakness
Each unique and in its place.
Art and science, thoughts and actions,
Human struggles, near and far;
Christ transforms and answers questions,
In our search for who we are.

Christ has called us to this moment
Time of change and new ideas,
Re-imagining the future
Bringing hope, despite our fears.
Open minds explore potential
Open arms embrace each child
Open hearts live out his purpose –
All creation reconciled.

© Beverley Humphreys

Final Prayer  

And now may the blessing which we have received through the sharing of this breakfast stay with us throughout the day, a day filled with hope, with peace and with love.  For Christ is Risen, He is Risen indeed, Hallelujah!

Amen