One of the unmistakable signs of the increasing secularisation of our society is the dearth of religious programmes on TV. That’s a general trend, but nowhere more is it seen than at this time of year. Not too long ago we would have expected to see many TV stations showing many films and documentaries on the life of Jesus and on his Passion, Cross and Resurrection. But not now. There have been a few, I believe BBC2 aired the 1961 film King of Kings on Good Friday morning, for example, but a start time of around 8am on a Bank Holiday morning is hardly prime time viewing and most religious programming, even at this time of year, seems to be of the multi-faith variety.
Being a parish priest I’ve been rather busy during Holy Week so whatever religious programmes might have been shown during the past week, I haven’t seen any of them. I did manage to watch one film a few days ago though, that did speak to me very powerfully about Christ’s Passion, death and Resurrection. But it wasn’t a religious film at all really; in fact, it was a science fiction film. It was a Star Trek film, the second film starring the cast of the original TV series, Star Trek II; The Wrath of Khan.
Those who’ve seen that film might understand what I mean in saying that but for those who haven’t seen it, I’ll explain first of all what the film is about.
At the start of the film, we find that James T Kirk, having become an Admiral and now commanding a desk rather than being Captain of the star ship Enterprise, has become a rather grumpy old man. But, as fate would have it, he’s called into action when the Enterprise is asked to investigate a problem at a research station, while he’s aboard carrying out an inspection. Unbeknown to Kirk, he’s actually being lured into a trap set by an old adversary, the Khan of the film’s title who, having been defeated by Kirk many years before, is now out for revenge. Along the way, Kirk meets an old flame and the adult son whom he’s never known. And as he reflects on the situation, he confesses that he feels “old, tired, worn-out.” Trying to cheer him up, his old lady friend shows him something called ‘the Genesis cave’, a veritable underground Garden of Eden, a paradise created by ‘the Genesis device’, a mechanism designed to make life possible in places that were previously uninhabitable. The downside to this is that, should the device be used where there’s already life, that life would be destroyed. And in addition to exacting his revenge on Kirk, Khan wants the Genesis device for this very purpose, to use as a weapon. But being the resourceful fellow that he is, Kirk once again manages to defeat Khan and save the day. But in the process, his old First Officer and best friend, Spock, dies sacrificing himself to save the ship; a sacrifice he explains with his usual impeccable logic as simply being a case of “the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few or the one.” Andin the nick of time too as, with his dying breath Khan quotes at Kirk the words of Captain Ahab from the novel Moby Dick;
“From Hell’s heart, I stab at thee! For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee!
And detonates the Genesis device.
To worsen his already sombre mood, Kirk is now devastated by the death of his friend and, in many ways, ponders what his life has all been about and for. But having reflected earlier that Spock’s death had taken place in the context of new life, as dawn breaks over the newly created Genesis planet, Kirk realises that he now feels ‘young’. And today, as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we should feel young too. No matter how old, tired and worn-out life can make us feel, we should feel young, wide awake, and fresh because whatever life throws at us takes place in the light of the new life of Easter.
We are called an Easter people, and because of Easter we should have a deep sense joy that nothing and no one can take away from us. That doesn’t mean though that we should go through life trying to remain unaffected by the problems of life. It doesn’t mean we should go through life and life’s problems with an inane smile on our faces all the time, or that we should, collectively, deal with our problems by laughing at them like a pack of hyenas. Life can be hard, problems can be tough to deal with, people can be less than loving towards us, some can even hate us, but God knows that. Jesus went through all these problems himself, and they got to him at times. Jesus had tough choices to make; we see that in his Temptation in the Wilderness and especially in his Agony in Gethsemane. He lost patience with people because of their stupidity and hardness of heart; we see that in the things he sometimes said to the religious leaders of the day and to his own disciples. He became angry, and allowed his anger to show, especially at the misuse and abuse of people’s faith; we see that most clearly in his cleansing of the temple. His heart was broken at times, and he cried; he wept for Jerusalem because of the disaster they were heading towards simply because they wouldn’t listen, and he wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus. Jesus knew that people hated him, and he warned us that, because they hated him, they will hate us too. Jesus knew and felt all these things, just as we do. But no matter how old, or tired, or worn-out, or angry or heartbroken, or hated he might have felt, the never lost sight of why he came into this world. He never lost sight of the glory that lay ahead, the glory of the Resurrection, the glory of Easter. Hence his words in Gethsemane, at one and the same time an honest acceptance of his own human feelings at the desperate nature of his situation, an anguished plea for release from his troubles and a statement of complete faith in his Father’s will and his own determination to fulfil his purpose, whatever the cost.
“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and keep awake.”And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Whatever Jesus went through in his earthly life, he was always ‘young’, ‘wide awake’ and ‘fresh’, that is, he was always ready to meet the challenge of what lay ahead because he never lost sight of the glory that lay beyond his present difficulties, whatever they might have been. And so we, as Christians, as an Easter people, should always be ready to meet the challenges of our lives, whatever they may be, always keeping that same glory in sight.
Today is the greatest of all days, the day when we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and it’s a day when we recommit ourselves to Christ by renewing our baptismal promises. In Baptism we symbolically die with Christ, and enter the tomb with him so that, through the waters of baptism, we can rise again with him. And so in our reading this morning from his Letter to the Colossians, St Paul speaks to us when he says,
‘If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.’
And that is the glory we need to keep in mind always. Whatever problems life throws at us, no matter how old, tired or worn-out life makes us feel. No matter how frustrating life becomes, no matter how angry life can make us, no matter how heartbreaking life can be, no matter even if people hate us, to remember the glory that we’re called to. The glory of the resurrection and the glory of eternal life with Christ. To remember that we are an Easter people and that, whatever happen in our lives, happens in the new light and new life of Easter.
Amen.
Propers for Easter Day, 20th April 2025
Entrance Antiphon
I have risen, and I am with you still, alleluia.
You have laid your hand upon me, alleluia.
Too wonderful for me, this knowledge, alleluia, alleluia.
The Collect
O God, who on this day,
through your Only Begotten Son,
have conquered death and unlocked for us the path to eternity,
grant, we pray,
that we who keep the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection may,
through the renewal brought by your Spirit,
rise up in the light of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Readings
Acts 10:34, 37-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Colossians 3:1-4
John 20:1-9
Prayer After Communion
Look upon your Church, O God,
with unfailing love and favour,
so that, renewed by the paschal mysteries,
she may come to the glory of the resurrection.
Through Christ our Lord
Amen.
Parish Church of St Mark Chadderton 