Lord, I have been thinking….
‘That is a good idea,’ I hear you say.
So I have been thinking about those friends of yours
After that first Easter Day.
Within their joy at seeing you
They must have been at least
A little confused,
Mustn’t they?
For some of us Easter is not all unbridled joy,
It may be tinged with sorrow,
Longing, regret.
It may be a time of difficult memories.
That makes me think, Lord,
That it would have been like that for them, too.
They, too, would have been wondering
Just what it all meant for the future,
And whether you would now be there
Always.
The deep joy we all feel is not akin to happiness,
It is something of substance, unshakeable
Within the traumas of life, of
Everyday living.
We all have to learn and relearn
That following a Risen Lord
Is not a promise of ease and comfort
But a beckoning towards the light
Of Resurrection through sacrifice and obedience.
Your friends at first hid behind locked doors,
Waiting.
We, too, sometimes wait
For the sense of call.
And yet always we are called
To be alongside you in a world of pain and hurt,
Bringing that sense of Glory –
Which is your kingdom
Here on earth.
Grant us the courage to respond:
To journey hard roads
With the deep joy of
Resurrection Promise.
Amen Hazel Parsons
Reading. 2 Cor 6:1-10
SthF 296 Christ has risen while earth slumbers
