Remembered Bible at morning prayer

At morning prayer today Manoj Kurian invited us to share rememberings of stories of the risen Christ.
The first image that came to my mind was grilled fish and how it's not at all really one of my favourite breakfast foods and yet this is what Jesus cooks for the disciples in one of the stories of the resurrection! We brought our mundane and personal questions to the stories of the resurrection, our enjoyment of gardens or focus on a particular detail. Not just fish but also bread was broken as the scales fell from our eyes and our remembering of the Risen One began to take on form and meaning. We wove our own stories into the stories of Christ's resurrection appearances, we remembered the women who human history and the church have been so keen to forget.

Then I realised that actually the resurrection story I still go back to has no appearance by the Risen One. Just the empty tomb, fear and silence. That silent emptiness speaks to me of resurrection and is also the text I chose to preach on at my father's and Alain Blancy's funerals.

At the end of the day I give thanks for those gentle early morning rememberings as I watched the beauty of the light shining through the stained glass and the wonderful wooden cladding cracked as it expanded in the morning light.