Easter Letter 2024
Easter marks the most important day in the church year as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. On the Friday when Jesus died all seemed lost and his friends the disciples were dejected and without hope. It seemed their lives had fallen apart. What were they to do next? What could they do to make things better? They decided to take time out and go back to their earlier employment as fishermen.
I find it difficult to see signs of hope in the global context. I am appalled by the news we hear and see. Whether its Gaza or Ukraine, Haiti or Syria it gets so bad you hardly want to see the news on television. With knife crime and rising cost of living little is better nearer to home. Signing petitions, going on protest marches and letters to Members of Parliament seem to make no difference. We might share the despair and frustration of the disciples.
Yet after taking time to reflect the disciples came to the realisation that Jesus had been raised from the dead, the love of God is greater than the power of evil and that God is for us. Therefore, there is hope and always will be.
The disciples committed themselves to the way of self – giving love, trusting in God, never giving in and doing their best by all the means they could to live lives of hope, love joy and peace. This for them was the way to eternal life, that is the life lived in and for God. That must be the way we too live hopeful lives trusting in God’s mercy and grace.