The garden and the countryside tell
us that Spring is here, and that April is a time of
renewal and growth. The Church’s
calendar also reflects this time of change.
We move from the penitence and
reflection of Lent to Passover week. It
begins with Jesus’ entry to
And at times of despair in our lives
we too may feel the same sense of abandonment, of loneliness, but may take
comfort from the fact that Jesus has been in that place of despair too.
Then Easter Joy as the women – Mary
Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Joanna (Luke 24.10) – discover the
empty tomb, and run to tell the disciples….who don’t believe them! But this changes when Jesus appears amongst
the disciples on their walk to Emmaus when He says: “Peace be with you” - and
they recognise Him.
But what does Jesus’ resurrection
mean to us now? What do Christians mean
when we talk about the “living God?”
It is easy to see the work of God’s
creation in the new Spring growth, but we can also see
Jesus in our encounters with others, for, as the Bible puts it, in our
consideration of strangers we may have “entertained angels” – messengers from
God (Hebrews 13.2). We can learn to treat others as part of God’s creation in
our simple daily encounters with people – family, friends, and strangers.
In a wonderful book called “Seeds of
Hope” Henri Nouwen describes how he gave up his academic career to work with
severely handicapped people, and in particular with Adam, a young man aged 25
who had multiple disabilities. Nouwen had to do everything for Adam – dressing, washing,
feeding, talking, and praying. Nouwen learnt so much from this encounter with a man with a
broken body – for in Adam he found a shared humanity, a simple love, and the
presence of God.
We meet Christ in our relationships
with others, and especially when we receive the spiritual food at Communion, as
we remember Christ in us.
And so this Easter may we all
experience the joy of the renewal of our relationship with the risen and living
God!