Googling images for "Plastic Ocean" brings up many disturbing pictures of animals and birds suffering the effects of plastic pollution in the worlds oceans.

One site reported that 8 Million tons of plastic waste enters the sea every year, the equivalent to a large truckload of plastic dumped into the ocean every minute. Approximately 1 million sea birds die from plastic each year, over 2700 every day. By 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

Every day we are contributing to this growing plastic crisis.

But the effects of plastic pollution are not just to be seen in some far away part of the planet. Just walking down the river that runs through Dromore, there are disturbing levels of plastic wast littered along the banks of the river. In addition, the river, once a source of joy for children to swim in, has become a no-go-area due to high levels of toxicity and pollution.

How much longer will humanity continue on like this with little regard for what kind of earth our children and grand-children are going to inherit? What other damage and what other consequences are our children and grand-children going to inherit. What other natural blessings that we simply take for granted are potentially going to be ruined and spoiled in the next 10-20 years?

Unfortunately for too long the Church has been very silent about ecological matters. It is still only a minority of Christians who even regard environmental issues as worth talking about. How is it that we can speak of God as creator, and yet have almost no care and concern for what God has made?

How very sad, that many of those who care the most about the earth and creation are those who live outside of the Church. It is non-Christians who are generally taking these issues more seriously than Christians, and yet the Bible, our central text is full of references to the goodness of creation and the goodness of the earth.

In that beautiful creation poem of Genesis 1 we hear how each day of creation, God looks back on what God has made and says: "It is Good". But creation, didn't just happen in the past. It continues today and every day. Each and every day creation is renewed. New flowers grow forth from the ground. New animals insects and birds are born into the world. Creation is an ongoing act. The opening poem of genesis suggests that if we listen carefully at the end of each day, if we allow ourselves to stop and pause in awe and wonder each and every day, we will hear again those words of God being silently spoken over creation: “It is good” “It is very good”.

The Bible is filled with verses that celebrate the goodness of the earth:

Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord's and all who are in it.
Psalm 96:11-12 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Psalm 104:24 O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

In the New Testament, we see in Jesus a deep deep appreciation of the beauty of the earth. Jesus seems to have been in touch with the whisper of God blessing creation at the end of every day. Many of his teachings and parables draw on imagery from the natural world.

Matt 5:28-29 “See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”

With Scripture passages like these (and there are many many others), it is time that we as Christians took up the challenge to be at the forefront of caring for creation, in decisions we make at home, in decisions we make when we go out to the shops, in decisions we help to make in our places of work.

A lot of the time, people live their lives in hopelessness about the possibility that things will ever change. But what is called Tipping Point Theory should give us reason for hope. Scientists have found that It only takes the committed opinions and actions of 10 percent of the population to bring about a change in the other 90 percent of the population.

Jesus spoke of a mustard seed being able to grow into a large sprawling bush that spreads, creating shelter for birds and animals. It is the image of something small bringing a great change.

Are we willing, as stewards of God's beautiful creation, to become part of that committed 10 percent to bring about a change in the way humanity relates to the earth?

A few year ago there was a movie called Judas that sought to explore the meaning of Jesus from the perspective of Judas

In the scene after Jesus clears the temple, it shows a very human face to Jesus as he questions himself afterwards, wondering if he really should have acted in the way that he did, having his cool as it were.

What was perhaps most memorable about that movie was the ending. Most movies about Jesus end with some kind of resurrection scene. This movie had no reference to any classical resurrection scene. No empty tomb or angels dressed in white, no resuscitated body.

The movie ends instead with a very moving scene where Judas has hanged himself out of shame and regret for how he had betrayed Jesus. In that scene two of Jesus' disciples are portrayed taking down the body of Judas from where it was hanging, in order to give him a proper burial.

Despite the actions of Judas, the two of the disciples of Jesus take the time to care for the earthly remains of Judas.

As they are removing the body of Judas from the place where he has been hanging, one of the disciples says to the other. Do you think we should really be doing this? The other disciples turns to him and says: “Jesus would have wanted us to do it.”

The two disciples in that simple action of treating the betrayer of Jesus with dignity and respect, embody in a profound way something of the spirit of Jesus, who had once taught them to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecuted them.

In some ways, that scene is a another kind of resurrection scene. In that moment, the spirit of Jesus lives on in his disciples. Jesus is till alive. Death, brutality and betrayal have not won. The love of Christ lives on in the simple actions of those two disciples.

I think that the ending of that movie speaks of an important dimension of resurrection that can often be missed in the normal ways we speak of resurrection. Christian history has shown us time and time again how Christians who have professed to believe in the resurrection of Jesus, have committed the most atrocious acts and deeds sometimes even in his name.

John Calvin, one of the great names of the reformation and a prolific writer of theology had a fellow reformer Michael Servetus, burnt at the stake in Geneva. We must pause and reflect on just how atrocious and appalling that is. John Calvin had a fellow reformer burnt to death. Next to crucifixion, that must be one of the most painful and excruciating ways to die.

What was the crime of the offender? He had a different interpretation of theology to Calvin. He did not hold to the doctrine of the Trinity like Calvin and therefore as a heretic he was put to death by being burned at the stake.
John Calvin a n important reformation leader and yet in that instance he seems to be so far away from the spirit of Jesus. If asked, Calvin would have said that he believed in the resurrection of Christ, and yet as he watched Michael Servetus burning to death for what he considered heresy, he clearly had not yet understood the way of Jesus.

What use is it, we may ask, to say that we believe in the resurrection of Jesus unless we earnestly seek to be his followers.

In our passage today, we have an interesting verse. Our passage begins with the words: “The disciples said to Thomas “We have seen the Lord”.

The Greek word for seen 'Horao” means to discern clearly (physically or mentally); to attend to; to experience; to perceive, to take heed.” – It is not just normal casual physical looking wit one's physical eyes. It suggests that seeing the Risen Christ is something more than just seeing with your eyes. If that was the case ta different Greek word would have been used.

Therefore to truly see the Resurrected Lord, is not just to see a physical body. To truly see the risen Lord is to discern the true spirit in which Jesus lived, to take heed of Jesus and his teachings.

It makes a big difference for example if we translate the word see differently: The disciples said to Thomas ' We have discerned the Lord' / 'We have experienced the Lord' / We have perceived the Lord / We have taken heed of the Lord”. It suggests that the penny had dropped for them. They had finally come to a new understanding of the meaning and the significance of his life” They had finally comprehended the way of Jesus. .

In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says: “Blessed are the pure in heart. They will see God.”

Something similar perhaps applies to the risen Christ. When we truly put the teachings of Jesus into practice in our lives, then we will 'see' and experience the life of the Risen Lord. We will discern the spirit of Jesus that could not be held by death.

In Matthew's Gospel we also read “not all who call me Lord Lord will enter into the Kingdom of God, but those who do the will of my Father in heaven”. The same could be said of the resurrection. Not all who say I believe in the resurrection have necessarily entered the kingdom of Christ, but those who put his teachings into practice. Those who allow the spirit of Christ to continue to live on through them.

To truly believe in the resurrection is not simply to believe in an empty tomb, it is to allow the spirit in which Jesus lived his life to live on in us. What use is it to believe in the resurrection of Christ with out heads, if the spirit and teachings of Jesus do not live on in our actions.

As a colleague has put it: When Jesus called his first disciples with the words: “Come, follow me!” He was not looking for admirers, he was looking for disciples who would sincerely seek to take heed of his teachings and to discern his way, that they might experience in their own lives what it is like to live as children of God and to experience for themselves, first hand what it means to become part of the Kingdom of God, even while living in this world.

The passages closes with Jesus inviting Thomas to touch his wounds...

What could it mean to put our fingers in the nail marks and our hand in his side?

To touch the wounds of Jesus is to understand the love of Christ, a love that is even willing to suffer for the sake of others. A love that is willing to suffer for doing what is good and noble and right. To touch the wounds of Christ is also to be in touch with the wounded-ness of the world and to be willing to respond to that wounded-ness with love and care. To allow ourselves to become the hands and feet of the Risen Christ. It is to discern the way of Jesus love in the brokenness of our world.

I believe that like Thomas, we too can 'see', discern and take heed, and so experience in our hearts and lives, the Risen Lord as we become sincere followers of the way of Jesus, and as we hear the invitation of Christ to touch his wounds, and so to respond to the wounds of the world with love and healing.

In Mark 16:1-8, we find the women going to the tomb of Jesus. They have seen him crucified. Now they come to anoint his body. They go out of love and devotion to Christ, but they don't know who is going to help them roll the stone away.

When they arrive at the tomb, they discover that the stone has already been rolled away – Mark gives no explanation. Inside the tomb, they encounter a young man dressed in white sitting to the right of where the body lay.

It is interesting. Matthew's Gospel, written about 20 years later later than Mark's Gospel, and using Mark's Gospel as one of his primary sources, heightens the drama of the story. He writes that as the women arrive at the tomb, an angel of the Lord comes down from heaven with an earthquake. And going to the tomb, rolls the stone away and sits on it. His appearance is like lightening. The angel then speaks to the women.
Mark's Gospel, the earlier one to be written is far more measured. According to Mark, as they enter the tomb they encounter a young man inside the tomb. He says to them these words:

“Don't be afraid. You are looking for Jesus! He is not here, he is risen. Go and tell! He is going ahead of you.”



1. Don't be afraid.

Resurrection Sunday is a reminder that we do not need to fear. God will always have the final word. The world may do it's worst, but God's final word is resurrection, New Life.

Ekhart Tolle, the contemporary spiritual teacher writes: “...Death is not the opposite of life. Life has no opposite. The opposite of death is birth. Life is eternal.”

Desmond Tutu expresses the same idea in the form of a prayer:

Goodness is stronger than evil.
Love is stronger than hate.
Light is stronger than darkness.
Life is stronger than death.
Victory is ours through Him who loved us.


2. “You are looking for Jesus! He is not here, he is risen!”

Isn't this in some way, the story of our lives. Looking for something, but not sure what it is. I am reminded of the words of that classic song by U2 “I still haven't found what I'm looking for”. Or the Rolling Stone's hit song “I can't get no satisfaction.” It is the story of a lot of people in the world, that we are looking for that one thing that will fill the hole in our hearts.

For many people, their seeking leads them to dead-end places, to empty tombs, to places of death and darkness. Places that don't bring life. The words in our passage ring true “He is not here!”

As the women come to the tomb and see a young man dressed in white, I believe that the words he addresses to them are words that can speak to the heart of our search: “You are looking for Jesus!”

For over 2000 years, many, in following the way of Christ, have found a life of deeper meaning and purpose that they have not been able to find elsewhere.

St Augustine, one of the major figures in Christian history and whose writings shaped many of the Reformation theologians found a peace and a contentment in Christ that he had failed to find in a life of sex and debauchery.

One of his great quotes: “O Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in you.”


3. “Go and Tell”.

St Francis of Assisi, is quoted as saying: “Proclaim the Gospel at all times! And if necessary use words!”

Too often in Christian history there have been too many people proclaiming the Gospel with their lips and tongues, and too few people proclaiming the Gospel with the way they live their lives.

May people encounter the living presence of Christ through the way we live, and only if necessary through our words.


4. Lastly, “He is going ahead of you!”
These words are a wonderful reminder that in life we are never truly alone, and there is no place that we can travel to where God is not already present.

Often in our prayers, we pray that Christ, or God should go with us. But in some ways that is an unnecessary prayer, because God is always with us and goes ahead of us. Our prayer should therefore not be “O God, go with us”, But rather, “Give us grace to discover that you are already present where-ever we may go”.

“Do not afraid!
You are looking for Jesus!
He is not here, he is risen.
Go and tell!
He is going ahead of you!”