April’s Clergy News

Dear Friends

Many years ago the PE staff at my secondary school made an announcement one morning that because the floors had been newly polished we had to change out of our outdoor shoes and wear our plimsolls (this was before the days when everyone wore trainers…!)  We duly obliged.  However when we returned to the cloakrooms at morning break, not a single shoe could be found – just a notice telling us to make our way to the gym.  And there, in the middle of the (unpolished) floor, was an enormous pile of shoes, at least 500 pairs for us to sort through, while the PE staff wished us a happy April Fools Day.  Happy days…!

 

This year Easter Day falls on 1st April and I guess some would say there is a prevailing sense that it is foolish to believe that a man who was put to death by crucifixion could come back to life; foolish to believe that this man Jesus is human and divine; foolish to believe a collection of accounts which tell conflicting stories of the resurrection could possibly be true…foolish to believe that God loves us beyond all telling.

 

And yet, having lived through another season of Lent, and now celebrating another Easter, my overwhelming experience is once again the joy of knowing Jesus risen and alive in me, in this present moment.  I cannot prove it.  I can only say that in my darkest moments, the rays of resurrection hope have helped me find my way.

 

It may be that life confronts us with challenges, some a bit like sorting through a thousand shoes to find a matching pair which fit, and other challenges which strike at the very heart of our being and we find ourselves hanging on by our fingertips to everyone and everything we hold dear.  To trust that God will always hold us close may seem like foolishness, to continue to follow Jesus when we cannot see the way ahead may seem like a fool’s errand.  But St. Paul reminds us that “… God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength”  (1 Corinthians 1:25).

 

In which case I am happy to be a fool for Christ, to embrace the new life which he offers us, wherever that may lead.

 

I wish you all a very joyful and blessed Easter (and a happy April Fools Day!)  Linda.