Alleluia! We are Easter people!

Each of the four gospel writers give us different stories of Jesus’ resurrection appearances. In John’s gospel we are told "the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and said to them "Peace be with you".

This Easter we were not able to gather together to celebrate our Lord’s resurrection and instead we are behind closed doors because we fear infection. Jesus comes to us, as he came to those first disciples on that first Easter morning, and says "Peace be with you".

Many of us are feeling isolated and cut off from others. Our normal activities have been suspended, but we are fortunate in this day and age that we can keep in contact with one another by phone or email - or even by that old fashioned thing called a letter! Those first disciples were very afraid and perhaps this year we can appreciate their feelings a bit more than in other years because when we listen to the news we too can become fearful.

However we remember that we have a Saviour who broke down the barriers of fear and death.

It is in John’s gospel that we read "There was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified". So even at that darkest time there were signs of new life all around. One of the advantages of the "shutdown" has been a slower pace of life for many of us. We have time to hear the birds sing and appreciate the signs of new life around us. Today on our daily walk we saw orange tip butterflies and lambs in the fields, heard the birds sing and saw them gathering material for their nests. When did you ever really look at a dandelion or a daisy. Annual "weeds" that are cursed when they "spoil" a lawn, but in themselves things of great beauty and intricacy.

As we continue to live isolated lives we remember that God is with us and that the Holy Spirit pours out her love on to each one of us.

Jesus burst the ’three-day prison’ of the grave, leaving a tomb emptier than our streets. This is our faith and our hope. Others have lived and died through more challenging times than this, which is not to say the emotional, spiritual and physical challenges and privations we are experiencing today are not significant. But with an Easter faith to celebrate, we are the lucky ones. The empty tomb gives us hope to pray for the time when we can fling wide our doors and share our faith again with those whom we can see and touch. We have an exit strategy - resurrection life. That’s the real good news for us all, whether we are confined to our homes or out and about. We know that Jesus died and rose again so that each one of us can know him personally and feel the love of God surrounding us at all times.

Prayer

Give us your Easter joy O Jesus, and while we are distanced from others,

draw us close to you, that when the doors of our isolation are flung open,

we may burst out into a world blossoming with resurrection hope, faith and love.

Amen.

Jane Sperring