Over the past weeks we have been journeying through the fasting, the deprivation and the starkness of Lent. We have come through the darkness of Holy Week, as we have gone down with Christ into his suffering and death, and as he experienced the very worst the would could offer.
And now on this Easter Day we have emerged out of the darkness on the other side. The church is awash with colour and beauty as we declare to the world that the pain and loss of Holy Week are behind us, and ahead of us is all the joy of new life and new hope; hope that lies at the very heart of the Easter story. Easter reminds us to trust and hope in the risen Christ, because joy and possibility lie just around the corner, no matter how dark or bleak our circumstances seem. With God all things are possible. This is the story at the heart of salvation, of the God who rescues us from the brokenness of our humanity, who accompanies us and never leaves us alone in all our difficulties and offers us new life and new hope.
With God there is always hope. With God, joy emerges out of ashes. That is the journey we’ve been on this past week, a journey of dying and rising, a journey where we’ve watched with Christ while he suffered the worst the world could offer. On this Easter day we are offered a new way of seeing everything in our lives and relationships, and the possibility of triumphant new life.
Shalom, Mother Lynda
Readings: Acts 10:34-43, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Mark 16:1-8