Easter Sunday Devotion 17th April 2022

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord;’ and she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20. 18

I hope that you have all had a prayerful and thought-provoking Holy Week. It has been so good to be back in our church buildings, without masks and with the joy of communal singing. Taking part in daily worship as we have followed Jesus’ journey from his triumphant entry into Jerusalem to his painful death on the cross. But this very death is the event that guarantees that death is not the end, for Jesus or for ourselves.

So, on Easter Day we celebrate with triumphant shouts of Alleluia! Christ is Risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia! We celebrate, particularly this year, that through his death and resurrection Jesus has made all things new. Recreating a world where we too can find resurrection and redemption in our daily lives and in the time that is to come. Renewal is something we have felt desperately in need of, in light of all that we have endured over the past two years. We are all well and truly thankful that we have come through our time of trial and are still able be witnesses to the Resurrection in our communities this Easter.

This Easter Sunday, as we sing our hymns of triumph, shout our Alleluias, renew our baptismal vows, greet the light that has come back into our world, we share our joy in Jesus’ glorious resurrection with the people in our church, our families and fellow Christians throughout the world. We hold up to Jesus all those who are unable to celebrate Easter this year in the way they would wish. Those in parts of the world where openly practising your Christian faith is dangerous. Those parts of the world still living under strict Covid regulations. Those parts of the world where churches have been destroyed through violence and aggression as the result of war and political unrest. So, we remember and pray today for all our Ukrainian Christian sisters and brothers. May they be witnesses to the awesome power of renewal that comes from the one who gave His all to bring us life in all its fullness.

So, at this Eastertide I urge you to invite the Risen Christ to fill you with abundant joy as you proclaim: Alleluia! Christ is Risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

With all my love and prayers for a joy filled Eastertide.

Revd Sandra