An Easter Message from the Moderator

Welcome to the Presbytery of Ayr website. I hope you find the information on the following pages enlightening and helpful in terms of finding out what matters are currently receiving the attention of the Presbytery.

It is the middle of Lent as I write this, the time we look towards Easter. The nerve centre of the Christian faith. The greatest day in world history. The day death died.
Through crucifixion tears we sense a hint of resurrection glory and of all the feelings and passions of Easter, I want to focus on two emotions that embody the energy of Easter. I want to take you back to that distant Sunday morning, when the dew lay heavy, the sun was warming up the dawn, and all creation breathed in the smell of anticipation. Two people rose early, their feet covered in dust and strained by running. They went to the tomb and met there an angel, who broke open their whole world, saying: "He is not here: he is risen." Feel the intensity of their emotion: smell it. Matthew tells us what they did, and what they felt. They ran. They ran, with fear and great joy. With fear and great Joy. Fear and great joy are at the heart of the resurrection and of the Bible.

1. Fear of judgment: Adam and Eve, banished from the Garden; Cain, discovered to be a murderer; David, exposed as a scheming adulterer; Israel itself, thrown into exile as a result of its wrongs.
2. .Fear of holiness: of the God Moses met in the burning bush, and met again at Mount Sinai, amid thunder, lightning, fire and smouldering cloud.
3. Fear to take any risk: like the third servant in the talent parable who buried his talent in the ground. Terrible fear.

And yet also great joy. After forty days of rain and 150 days of flood. Noah sent out the dove and it returns with an olive branch. After the shame of the tower of Babel, God calls Abraham to be father of a nation. As the Ark of the Covenant is brought into Jerusalem, David dances before the Lord. As Ezra reads out the books of the Law to the returning exiles, they weep with joy. As Elizabeth greets Jesus' mother-to-be she feels the baby within her leap for joy. Zacchaeus picks up his cloak and runs home with glee to prepare a banquet for Jesus. The father of the prodigal son is bursting with joy to see his wayward son come home. Great, great joy.
Fear and great joy are at the heart of the resurrection and at the heart of the experience of faith today. Fear that some new discovery will discredit the historic faith of the Church. Fear that the fabric of the society that was shaped by the gospel will come apart, that community and family life are disintegrating, that major denominations are mired in self-doubt, that other faiths and new technologies will dismantle any sense of certainty we may still have. Fear that we are not just good enough to be a Christian, that Jesus calls us to peace when we know our own violence, that Jesus calls to generosity when we know our own selfishness, that Jesus calls us to the way of the cross when we know we are terrified to die. Horrifying fear.
And yet also great joy. Joy when you discover that love is not just a sentimental word or a passing feeling, but that it became flesh in Jesus. Joy when after years of living under the burden of guilt and self-hatred for something you have done, and finally hear the words "You are forgiven" and know it is true. Joy when all your anger and frustration and despair about suffering and cruelty and hatred in the world are overcome when you hear a voice saying: "This is what you are to do," and you realise it is your vocation and you have a part to play in God's story after all. Joy when you are going through a hard time and someone from your church leaves a card or brings a gift or gives you a look which says "I don't know you very well, but we're both part of the body of Christ, so I'm here for you". Joy when you meet a person very different from you, a person whose face or manner or language you find a little alarming, but in whom you come to discover you have met Christ. Joy when a person says to you. "'I don't know if it's something you said, or just sharing this activity with you, but I've come to believe in Jesus and my life has been changed." Joy, amazing joy.

Fear and great joy are at the heart of the resurrection and at the depths of our hearts today. So much to fear, so many reasons to be afraid. For ourselves, that we will experience crushing disappointment, that our faith will turn to dust, that our hopes will be illusions and our faith-critical friends will be proved correct. Fear for those we love. Fear that however much we love and however much we care we shall still have to face the awful moment of parting, or letting go, of aching loss and separation. Fear that we cannot protect our loved ones from the horror of death. And fear about issues way beyond our control, from terrorism and war that destroy countries to the addictions and diseases that destroy lives, to the greed and pollution that are destroying the earth. Yes, there is much to fear.

Joys of songs to God's music

And yet also great joy. Joy of a lamb finding its feet in a field; joy of a baby discovering simple skills; joy of song, when we have the words, and God the tune; joy of harvest, when all is fresh and fruitful. The joy of friendship, of those we have known and loved through thick and thin. The joy of forgiveness, when bitterness and failure do not get the last word. The joy of being part of a team, when you believe in what you are doing and where you are going. The joy of the orchestra, about to break into a thrilling crescendo. The joy of a craftsman, perfecting his work.
The joy of Easter is feeling all our love, and the love for us, that is in the world, and then
realising that that intensity, that love is just our snapshot of God's greater picture. Great, great joy.

Fear and Joy—two extremes

So here we are, moving towards Easter when the angel's words can break open our lives, and we experience those emotions. Fear and joy, the two extremes of our human response to the awesome intimacy of God. Fear and joy run with us throughout our lives together, as constant reminders of the cost and promise of following Jesus. Fear and joy, at the centre of our
longings, at the heart of our commitment.
But there is a secret. It is a secret that we only glimpse at in this life. It is a secret that was first revealed to those two early risers on the first Easter. It is the secret of Easter. It is a secret that I pray we will realise in the course of our congregational celebrations of the season and in the year to come in Presbytery. It is a secret that is the climax of our gospel, a secret of the mystery of fear and joy.
And the secret is this: JOY WINS.

Paul Russell

Moderator

Presbytery of Ayr