A catalyst is a substance that causes or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected or changed. One example of this is the catalytic convertor in a car which contains the catalyst platinum which changes carbon monoxide (which is toxic) into carbon dioxide (which is not.)

In life, circumstances may act as catalysts to our lives, causing change to occur. The way we react to these circumstances will, however, be determined by our choices.

In the TV series ‘Breaking Bad’, Walter White, a mild-mannered chemistry teacher approaching fifty, married with a teenage son with cerebral palsy and a new baby on the way, is already facing change as an older parent when a terminal cancer diagnosis rocks his world. Faced with increasingly expensive treatments for his cancer and frustrated by his feelings of irrelevance and dissatisfaction that his knowledge of chemistry has not led to the fame and fortune he dreamed of when younger, Walt takes to a life of crime, becoming a leading manufacturer of the drug crystal meth.

The series charts his descent from a decent, ordinary family man into a drug baron not averse to deceit and murder with absorbing and chilling skill. We see how the cancer may have been a catalyst for Walt, but the choices he makes – ostensibly from ‘good’ motives, to provide financial security for his family after his death – are the things which determine his fate.

I have long been fascinated by motivation and how the same events – a cancer diagnosis, the loss of a loved one, life-changing events such as paralysis – affect individuals and how different people’s responses are. Ultimately, life’s catalysts are not the determining factor in how we live. Our choices are. How we choose to respond to life’s catalysts is the really important factor in our lives, not what catalysts come our way. Jesus said, ‘the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder, sexual immoralityk theft, false testimony and slander.’ (Matt 15:18-19) He reminded us that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. (Matt 7:18) Who we really are will determine our chocies, which will lead to action. The road to hell is certainly paved with good intentions, as Walt demonstrates. Every choice we make determines to some extent how our lives will turn out. There is a deep irony in the series in that his actions actually end up alienating and damaging his family, even though he acted initially to help them.

In the final episode of ‘Breaking Bad’, Walt finally admits that the motivation for his actions was his own selfishness as much as any altruistic motive. He enjoyed the thrill of wrongdoing; it made him feel alive again. We have to be careful not to justify or rationalise sinful choices, for sin deceives us and is an inexorable taskmaster (worse than Walt or his previous boss, the equally mild-mannered but utterly ruthless Gus Fring!) Sin is a slave driver indeed. In Christ, however, we have the power to make wise choices, to live in a totally new way which absorbs all of life’s catalysts and allows these to become transformational forces. This is why Paul can confidently say, ‘we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’ (Rom 8:28) We are predestined to be ‘conformed to the image of his Son’ (Rom 8:29) and every one of life’s catalysts can further this process of moulding us to be like Jesus – if we allow them to.

We can be guilty sometimes of viewing faith as something entirely personal, based on feelings, but Christianity is rooted in historical fact and in a historical person. The life and death of Jesus Christ are facts which are central to our faith and Paul made it clear that the resurrection of Christ is central to our beliefs. (1 Cor 15:12-14) If there is no resurrection, then our preaching and faith are both useless.

The early disciples were radically changed by the resurrection of Jesus, but their personal testimony was based on the fact of Jesus’ resurrection. No body was produced to refute the claims of the resurrection, even though the Romans and Jewish leaders would have loved to be able to disprove the testimonies! The disciples – so fearful and anxious before the resurrection – were prepared to lay down their lives afterwards because they trusted that there was a hope beyond the grave; their future was secure because they saw that Christ had conquered death.

Our faith is based on a truth that has transformed lives over the centuries and which continues to transform our own lives. The resurrection is a fact of history that we have a responsibility to make known, a responsibility to share. Will we take this responsibility seriously and live to make Him known?

One of Garry’s pet hates is coming to a tin of chocolates expecting to find chocolates and only finding empty wrappers in the tin… The sense of disappointment and anticlimax is intense when that happens!

In Mark 15:42-46, we read of the burial of Jesus, how Joseph of Arimathea (a prominent Jew) went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body and took it to his family tomb, wrapping the body in linen. Later, the women who first witnessed the resurrection of Jesus told the apostles of this great news, but the apostles did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. (Luke 24:9-11) Simon Peter and John went to investigate these claims of an empty tomb for themselves. There, they saw the strips of linen lying there as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. (John 20:6-7) In effect, they saw an empty wrapper!

John believed when he saw this, but Peter still didn’t understand the significance of what he had seen. In fact, there were a variety of responses to the news of the resurrection of Jesus, ranging from belief to puzzlement to unbelief (Thomas’s ‘I will not believe‘ in John 20:25) Even today, the resurrection elicits a variety of responses. Some dismiss it out of hand, saying it’s impossible. Others produce rational explanations (they went to the wrong tomb or perhaps Jesus was not really dead), but it is highly unlikely that Jesus was not dead, since he suffered flogging and crucifixion, and the sign of blood and water flowing out from the spear wound (a medical fact due to circulatory shock and heart failure).Others may talk of a stolen body (rather like Garry’s stolen chocolates!),  but the consistency of the apostles’ testimony and lifestyles after the resurrection belie this theory.

If the resurrection is true, then it is a truth which has the power to change lives and we need to share this truth. The empty wrappers found in the tomb are not a disappointment, but unveil an incredible revelation that Jesus is alive and reigns on high! Let’s take this truth and share it with all we know.

Dave spoke this morning from Luke 24:1-11, one of the New Testament accounts of the resurrection of Jesus.

The disciples were devastated by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, but His resurrection changed them irrevocably, showing them that death was no longer a barrier between mankind and God and that physical death is not so final that it could not be overcome. Nonetheless, we see that each of the disciples had to take hold of the truth of the resurrection personally and that this depended in many respects on their previous relationship with Jesus.

The disciples’ faith was rooted in their relationship with Jesus. Resurrection brought new revelation to this relationship, but it was the memory of the connection between the human Jesus and the risen Lord which convinced many. The disciples on the road to Emmaus believed when they recognised Jesus from the breaking of bread (Luke 24:30-31); others recognised Jesus as they shared a meal of cooked fish on the shore (John 21:1-14). We need to know Jesus and build on this relationship.

The disciples came to faith at different times and in different ways. Each of the resurrection accounts focuses on a different sense: some recognising Jesus through taste as they shared meals with Him; some being encouraged to touch Him (see John 20:24-29); others hearing the words of Jesus or seeing Him in the garden (John 20:11-18). Maybe it was the smell of the fish cooking which reminded them of their Lord and helped them to realise that the resurrection was real. Jesus provided what was needed for each person to meet with Him personally.

The resurrection appearances of Jesus to His disciples are as notable for His disappearances as for His appearances. This reminds us that God is not a ‘hover parent’, always hovering over us. There are times when we do not feel His presence, when He allows us to work through situations without, perhaps, the reassurance of HIs felt presence. This does not mean He is absent (He has promised never to leave us or forsake us, as Heb 13:5 reminds us), but is the way He, in His wisdom, chooses to bring growth and dependence which is by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor 5;7)

Christ comes to us all in different ways: sometimes with a roar, sometimes with a whisper. When we know who He is, we will know that He is with us and that His resurrection makes all the difference to our everyday lives.

Good Friday reminds us of the price that had to be paid for our sins. We see a suffering Saviour, one who apparently failed in His mission. I imagine the disciples watching the crucifixion were devastated, bewildered and heartbroken as they realised there would be no miraculous rescue. Jesus had to die, and death is painful for the onlookers as well as for the one actually dying.

C.S. Lewis captures this sorrow in his book ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’, when the great lion, Aslan, is tied to the stone and killed. I can remember reading this story to my son when he was younger and his sobs as he realised that Aslan would actually die. His heart-rending cry of ‘No!‘ still echoes in my ears; it’s still our response as we realise what the sinless Son of God endured to bring us back to God.

But that is not the end of the story. Death does not have the final word. Susan and Lucy were both terrified and overjoyed to see Aslan return to life and today, Easter Sunday, we too celebrate that we have a risen Saviour who has defeated death and sin and whose love and power mean that we no longer have to face separation from God again.

The disciples didn’t quite understand it all at once. They were baffled, confused, sometimes still doubting… but ultimately the empty tomb and the appearances of Jesus to them convinced them of this new, mind-boggling truth. Jesus is alive forevermore!

From despair to hope, from misery to joy, from death to life… as someone has once said, ‘a lot can happen in three days!‘ But wherever we are in the Easter story, we can look ahead to this glorious resurrection and know that death does not have the last word.

At our Good Friday service we spent some time meditating on the last words of Jesus on the cross. These words touch on important themes which we need to consider in our own prayer life,.

1. Father, forgive them (Luke 23:34)

Jesus prayed for those who crucified him, reflecting a life of forgiveness. It can be very difficult to forgive those who wound and hurt us, but forgiveness is a key element of the gospel (Matt 18:21-35, Matt 6:12-15). We used pebbles to represent the hurt we feel, releasing this to Jesus by dropping the pebbles into a bucket of water as we actively chose to forgive those who have wounded us. Forgiveness is a choice of the will, not a feeling, and often involves a commitment to let go of the grievance instead of holding on to it.

2. Today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:43)

Jesus offered hope to a dying man! No matter what situation we find ourselves in, there is hope in God. We were encouraged to bring our hopes and dreams to God, writing them on post-it notes and fixing them to a picture of a kite flying high into the sky. WIth God, nothing is impossible; nothing is too hard for Him! (Jer 32:7)

3. Woman, here is your son. (John 19:28)

Jesus cared about his mother, even as he was dying, making provisions for John to look after her. We took the opportunity to pray for our families, writing names on handprints and pinning them to a tree.

4. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? (Matt 27:46)

We meditated on the humanity of Jesus, which means He is able to empathise with our weaknesses and understand all our complex human emotions. (Heb 2:14-15, Heb 4:15). Using emoticons and scrabble tiles, we tried to identify the emotions and feelings we have and give them to God, asking Him to help us work through the feelings of loneliness, confusion and bewilderment we often experience.

5. I thirst (John 19:28)

Jesus experienced thirst on the cross. We too need to recognise the spiritual thirst which only He can satisfy (see John 7: 37-38). The Psalmist spoke of longing for God as a deer pants for the water. (Ps 42:1) We drank water to represent the fact that only Jesus can quench our spiritual thirst; only He can satisfy us. His living water is available for us all, but we must drink in order to experience it!

6. It is finished (John 19:30)

One of the amazing things about Easter is the realisation that God has done everything possible to make a relationship with Him possible. The work of salvation was completed as Jesus offered that once-for-all sacrifice for sin. This amazing truth gives us much to be thankful for in all circumstances, and we looked at writing our thanks on flower petals as we made a ‘gratitude flower.’

7. Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit. (Luke 23:46)

Jesus showed us how to die well, with courage and trust in God. Often, we fear death and dying; we find the loss of bereavement hard to bear. Sometimes the loss of hope or the death of a dream is just as painful to us. We meditated on John 12:24, how the kernel of wheat must be planted in the ground and ‘die’ before it can produce seed and how we need to learn to die daily to self.