24th April

Easter Sunday, debatably the most important date in the Christian calendar… so what’s it all about then? Well the term Easter obviously derives from a pagan festival, nothing to do with Christianity and yet the church has appropriated it as a major celebration. Biblically I wonder if a more honest celebration would be a variation on the Passover Feast, designed as a remembrance of Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt; but what does the Bible say of remembering our deliverance from slavery to sin? All I can see is Jesus commanding us to ‘break bread’ saying “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me”, and also when talking of Passover he says ‘For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.’ So there is the command to remember our Lord by taking ‘Holy Communion’ and also an indication that the Passover celebration will continue into the future. How our celebration of Easter fits any of this I can’t really say! But it’s a wonderful time to enjoy family and certainly highlights the sacrifice of Christ and his subsequent rebirth.

And the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ heralds the answer to every human need. Victory over the power of sin, the devil, sickness, death itself and then that most wonderful of life’s treasures set before us… reconciliation with God himself. For sure we have something worth remembering!

So today’s been a really good day, all our children, together with their partners and our grandchildren, filling our home with youthful vigour and wonderful food! Although engagingly cheerful Jane’s core health remains basically unchanged and she is severely disabled with breathing difficulties. As we remember our Lord and all that he has done for us I pray that God would remember Jane and her need for healing today.

Matthew 27:50-54 ‘And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”’ (NIV)