Dear friends,
After such a dark and dreary winter it has been wonderful to see the daffodils come out in flower in the patchy sunshine we have enjoyed. Easter is very early this year and the welcome colour of the bunches of daffodils for Mothering Sunday, the daffodils in the grass at the front of church and in the stone containers by the door – all of these have lifted our spirits and caused us to smile as we come to church amongst the mizzle and cold winds. When you read this it will be Easter Sunday and amongst the display of wonderful flowers in church, there will also be a new `fall’ on the font for us, made up of the bright yellows and whites of spring.
Easter Sunday is a day of rejoicing, a day of smiles and of the promise of new life and opportunities. It is also the most important day of the Christian calendar … after the most important week of our faith. And these two are inextricably linked. For our rejoicing takes on a new depth because of what we have lived through during the past seven days: the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem accompanied by our palms and shouts of ‘Hosanna’ … the cruel shouts of `Crucify’ as we dramatised the Gospel … being with Jesus during his Last Supper and washing each others’ hands … waiting in the dark of the Garden of Gethsemane … sitting beside the cross on Good Friday … and enduring the emptiness and silence of Holy Saturday.
Into this darkness of the past week, Light floods in again; and the silence is broken by the euphoria of the discovery of the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, just as He promised. In that moment the world is transformed forever and we become Easter people.
The message of Easter for us is that no matter how bleak life seems … no matter how we feel we have let God down … no matter what we face in our lives … God’s love for us is stronger than anything, even death. This message is as powerful and as needed today as ever – as there are many homes and countries in our world weighed down under the darkness and despair of poverty and war. This message is one we are called to share and live out in our communities we serve. Through the good news of Easter we can hope, live, and love again in the light and presence of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
Happy Easter to you all!
with love, Liz
