A Message for Easter

Every now and again an event can take us from the happiest and most joyful of emotions to the sense of deep sadness or grief; for example, a wedding where a close member of the family has recently died.

The Christian celebration of Easter brings together almost all of the emotions there are into one week.

Joy, confusion, betrayal, fear, grief, anxiety, agony, inadequacy, loneliness, companionship and back to joy again. For the disciples as, I suspect, for most of us, these emotions were gut responses to their circumstances which they couldn't begin to understand for some time after it was all over.

One of the questions I am often asked by children (and, I suspect, most adults want to ask too) is "why is it called Good Friday, when Jesus died such an awful death on that day?"

The answer is not straightforward.

In some way God demonstrates his love and shows that bullies do not always win, might is not always right, sacrifice can, remarkably, make a difference and, even when we don't always understand what is going on, when life is at its worst, God has not abandoned us.

In the confusion at large in the world around us,
with political uncertainty in so many countries and regions,
with bullies, in many shapes and forms, doing their best to drag good people down,
with pain and suffering that makes no sense,
Easter, with its emotional roller coaster, is surely the hope for today.

I may not understand the world in which I live, but I truly believe God is with those who are struggling and somehow there is always hope, even if we don't recognise it at the time.

Easter services in Audlem

We have published an updated list of all the services being held in the three places of worship within Audlem. Access the list in full by clicking here.

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