He is risen indeed!

Standing on the river bank yesterday morning, a youth band enthusiastically leading our praise to Jesus, a crowd of young and old, regulars and Easter visitors, clustered round them. The river flowed on inexorably; rabbits bounced; a woodpecker pecked and other birds sang their hearts out. The sun blazed out of a clear blue sky. A perfect start to the wonderful day that is Easter.

We sang. We listened to the gospel story. We prayed. We sang some more. In between, various folk stepped forward and shared what the resurrection meant for them. ‘Nothing is impossible with God’ said one scientist who had spent years struggling with the impossibility of a dead body coming back to life. ‘Amazement,’ said another, that Jesus could love her, could love the world, so much. ‘Everything,’ said a third. So much, that it was impossible to condense into a sound bite and share. She said later that as she struggled to express the monumental ‘thing’ that the resurrection is to her, she saw her little girls rushing round gathering up rabbit droppings, oblivious to everything else.

And isn’t that the way of life? Some of us who have already been blessed with a gift of faith, who have experienced and participated in the relationship through the Spirit which we can have because Jesus died and rose again...we just want to celebrate our Lord and lift him high on our praises. But out there in the world are others who have not yet experienced the touch of Jesus, who are totally focused on the ‘droppings’. (Actually, these little girls do know Jesus as their saviour and Lord but they are, after all, little girls...)

So, happy Easter. However you see it, it is the greatest day in history. The day that changed everything. The day that makes it possible for heaven to come to earth through those who believe.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed.