Easter Sunday Reflection
One of the most powerful examples of resurrection I have heard was a description of life coming back to the bars and bathhouses of San Francisco, after the devastation of HIV/AIDS in the community there. So much grief, so much loss, and yet the community emerged again and began to thrive.
In Australia, the fires were raging for weeks. The heat was so intense in places that it scorched the earth at depth, destroying dormant seeds, which otherwise would sprout and grow quickly to replenish the lost vegetation. Yet, nature is powerful and resourceful. There will be a time of regrowth and regeneration. A new, changed landscape will emerge. It will not happen overnight, but it will happen.
Now the world is in the grips of the Covid-19 virus. It may feel as though this situation will never end. We know that our God is bigger than any disease, and although life will have changed, and we may have lost some who are close to us, there will be a time when life blossoms once again.
The sight of Jesus dying on the cross must have been catastrophic for his followers. They must have wondered if life would ever be the same again. It must have seemed so definite, so final, as his body was laid in the tomb and the heavy stone rolled into place, shrouding the body in darkness.
The description of Jesus’ resurrection is the story of a miracle, the story of Divine power breaking through human hopelessness and finality. The women who first visited the tomb went there to mourn their loss and to carry out ritual for their dead teacher and friend. Instead they were witness to the power of God in the transformed and living Christ.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5 NIV)
In our own lives, we are witness to the divine power of the resurrection at work - in the tenacity of the human spirit that found ways to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and to find treatments. In the compassion of those who nurtured and cared for those affected. In those who were infected and affected, who used their experience of disease to live powerfully and truthfully. In today’s world, as we live under the shadow of the Covid-19 virus, we hear stories of kindness, compassion and bravery.
Life for the first followers of Jesus was changed forever, because of his resurrection. We who follow him now, over 2000 years later, are also changed and we are being the light to those around us, who are living without hope.
Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston
Portishead,
Somerset, UK
