Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,
  Though foolishly he lost the same,
   Decaying more and more
    Till he became
     Most poore.
     With Thee
    O let me rise,
   As larks, harmoniously,
  And Sing this day thy victories:
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.

You might have thought that "shape poems" were something that were invented fairly recently in primary school practice, but here is George Herbert (author of the hymn "King of Glory, King of Peace") writing a shape poem in the early 17th century. You need to turn it sideways to see the effect of the "angel" wings and notice how he has shaped the meaning to the form. The lines get shorter and shorter as Man's lot gets worse and worse, following Adam's Fall in the Garden of Eden, but the Fall is counteracted by the Rise of the Resurrection and so Easter brings, through Christ's Resurrection, the chance to regain that which was lost and the lines regain their former length.


Easter is the most glorious of the Christian festivals, but is often overshadowed by Christmas, in popular imagination. Society has not taken Easter to its heart in the same way that it has Christmas. Commercialism has not filled the supermarkets with jingled and tinselled versions of "Jesus Christ is risen today" from about January 6 onwards. Let us be grateful that Easter remains more of a believers' festival! At the conclusion of the gospels are the Resurrection stories: the women first at the empty tomb, Mary Magdalen mistaking Jesus for the gardener and tearfully requesting information about the location of the body, Peter and John rushing to the tomb to find it is, indeed, empty, the appearances to the disciples in the upper room, the walk to Emmaus, the incident with "Doubting" Thomas, and that wonderfully-atmospheric early morning scene beside the lake with the brazier for cooking the fish and Jesus enabling Peter to undo the terrible three-fold denials, which otherwise must have crippled his ministry. Now, I wonder which story has the most appeal for you?

For a long time, I have been drawn to the story of the Emmaus Road. I like the idea of the two men talking together as they walked and the meeting with the Risen Christ, who then uses Scripture to explain and enlighten them. I like the idea that evening was drawing on and the two invited the Stranger in for a meal. I like the idea that it was their generosity that was rewarded by seeing that He was Jesus, as He broke the bread. Perhaps, I am influenced overmuch by James Noble's hymn, "Lord Jesus, in the days of old, two walked with thee in waning light," to the tune "Companion'', composed by R.S. Newman. Noble applies the story directly to our condition to-day, "We, every day and every hour, would walk with thee Emmaus-ward to hear thy voice of love and power". Just as the two men, in reflection, found that their hearts had "burned within them", as Jesus explained the scriptures, so Noble reflects that we "every night would, by thy side, look, listen and be satisfied." It's all about that ancient story having a present reality for us to-day.
But my enjoyment of this particular story was further enhanced by a TV programme, a few years ago, about Jesus and His disciples, in which the actor, who played the part of the mysterious stranger on the Emmaus Road, chose to do it with such exuberant enthusiasm, beaming all over his face. It was almost that of a joke, "Don't you recognise me, then?" or "How fantastic it is to be alive!" We are far too ready to think so seriously about our faith that we almost expect it to lack pleasure. The things of God are far too serious to be taken lightly and so everything must be deeply serious. How very challenging it was, then, to see this jolly figure on the Emmaus Road, inspiring the two disciples, and how very "right" it seemed. Somehow, we have to understand what "our hearts burned within us" might have meant. It is unlikely to have been doleful and depressing.

So, I am drawn to consider just how important drama can be and just how an actor, trying to bring words to life in front of an audience, can be so inspired that he, not only convinces the audience, but conveys some aspect of truth. There has been a firm rejection of the Theatre in some aspects of Christian Tradition, at least since the Puritans took exception to the London-based theatres of Shakespeare's day. "It must be wrong", goes the argument, "for it is about deception, pretending to be something that you are not", before ever the quality of life of the acting profession was investigated! Oddly, though, the Church was responsible for recreating Drama in the early Mediaeval period. There is Drama at the heart of Christian worship. The service of Holy Communion re-enacts the Last Supper with words, actions and bread and wine. Of course, it depends on whether this is to be taken as a "memorial" or whether it is far more than that. Catholic tradition of the Mass would see, "This is my body," in a different light from a Protestant "Do this in remembrance of me." Our prayer book famously offers us both.

So it was not surprising that the Mediaeval Church began to re-enact aspects of the Bible stories to bring them alive for people. Soon there were actions of the Marys visiting the tomb. Berkeley Church has a mediaeval tomb the chancel on the North side and, although this may be a real tomb, these often doubled as an Easter Sepulchre, in which the cross/crucifix would be placed on Good Friday. The words of the angels to the women, "Whom seek ye, in the sepulchre, 0 followers of Christ?" were readily adapted to a Christmas scene, "Whom seek ye in the manger... ?" And this is all before we move outside the Church for the great cycle of plays in June which sought to bring the whole story of Salvation to the people. There is some possibility that Shakespeare was taken to Coventry, as a boy, to see the last performance of that great tradition. But, whatever, it is Drama that made such an impact on our culture, that very few of us do not spend sometime every day in front of our TV, watching actors perform.

We have re-introduced aspects of Drama into work with children: "Open the Book" enables stories from the Bible to be told dramatically and attractively and the method of moving around "stations" in church for the story of great festivals is inspiring for both the players and the audiences.

Drama is about action, making things come alive: Easter is about an action, by which you
and I, through faith, become fully alive.

May God bless you, your family and friends this Eastertide.

Richard Chidlaw