Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.
I could tell you a story about cards and candles; about parties and presents; about turkey and tinsel … But I want to tell you a story about the source of creative energy in our universe, emptying himself of his power to make himself vulnerable as one of us; sharing our lot; laughing and crying; sometimes hungry and tired; enjoying parties and experiencing pain; walking our earth; much like you and me.
And I could tell you a story about bunnies and hot cross buns; about fluffy chicks and chocolate eggs … But I want to tell you a story about betrayal, denial, abuse and torture, countered by gentleness and steadfast, unwavering love, where even death could not overcome goodness; where new life broke out.
And I could tell you a story about a church obsessed with its own internal concerns and rivalries; a divided community where factions hold on to historic animosities; where anger festers; where people’s pains are ignored and where power games are played out; where no one trusts the other … But I want to tell you a story about a body of “Easter people” who, losing themselves, reach out to each other and to those way outside their circle; with open arms of acceptance and gestures of love, made even to the most unlovable; where people are more important than projects; where all acknowledge their own brokenness and inadequacy, yet work together for the common good, pooling their strengths; where people disagree without being disagreeable; where hope abounds.
I can hear some saying, “Dream on!” But I can hear others saying, “That is a group we’d like to join. Show it to us please!”
HAPPY EASTER!
(thanks to my friend Gill, I thought it worth passing on …)
Blessings, Janet
The Revd Janet Tebby, March 2015
3, Paddock Close, Whissendine
Tel: Whissendine 096
janet@oakhamteam.org.uk