Easter Joy

Christ is risen
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

The joy of Easter can be inspiring and infectious. Readings from Acts about the early church leaders and their witness to the resurrection, one gets a strong perception of how quickly the work of the Holy Spirit was received by thousands of people.

By Jerusalem’s gate to the temple fair,
Lay a beggar, his legs a useless pair.
Peter and John drew near,
grinning ear to ear.
They said, “Silver and gold? Nah, we’ve got prayer!
The man, once confined to his mat,
Danced and rejoiced where before he had sat.
Peter proudly proclaimed.
“In the name of Christ!”
And all were amazed at that.

The effects of the Holy Spirit may not seem as generally obvious in today’s world, although individually we may feel it just as strongly as those first disciples.

John van de Laar says “It’s easy to write about resurrection, of hope and grace, and of being creative in the face of the world’s destructiveness. It’s another thing to actually look for resurrection in the midst of the grief and to find the energy for creativity when your world is being disrupted and disturbed. This has been a year of little deaths and I have found myself being challenged in trying to put my own spiritual ideas and practices to work. But we are not living through war and we are not being persecuted for our beliefs, relationships, or who we are. What we’re dealing with is just the usual unpredictability and pain of life.”

On our journey of faith God is preparing us all the time for the next stage. Our faith grows out of the things we learn, the experiences we have and the people we meet.

In the dark times that “usual unpredictability and pain of life” may seem unending. But if we can hold fast to the light of Christ we will be guided through it.

The glowing vial given to Frodo by Galadrial in Lord of the Rings is, for me, such a lovely illustration of this reality. Frodo kept the gift always next to his heart – to be relied on in emergencies.

Again to quote from Tolkein:
The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet…

We may not understand where our journey is going. When we look back along the path we’ve travelled it may twist and turn all over the place but there will be some discernible pattern which shows our lives as an evolving event.
As we leave the confines of our mat, we walk into unknown territory. There will be unexpected encounters or times when we need to take risks as followers of Christ. But we will always find that God has been there before us. He will be present and will in some way have been preparing the way for us.

Walking with God does require faith and commitment on our part. The expression ‘leap of faith’ is often bandied about. The beggar literally took a leap of faith when he stood up and began to dance.
The words of Jesus prepare us for what it will involve. He talks about keeping his commandments, dwelling in his love, loving each other and living in fellowship with him and with his Father. And if we do set out on that journey we can see that Jesus has already been there before us, showing us what it means to love by loving us.

It is a lifetime’s work to learn what it means to be so perfectly in tune with God but it is a lifetime’s work with God beside us.
God is preparing us for the next step and God is ahead of us preparing the way and waiting for us to join him there.

Alleluia! Amen!
With love and many Easter blessings

LucyA