“April showers bring May flowers” as the saying goes, and we really have had some showers. They have come with wind and hail, and everything else it seems. We all know how important it is to have rain in these spring months, but this year we seem to have had more than our fair share already. They have of course brought creation into life, with leaves on the trees and the spring flowers opening up: for example, bluebells and primroses. It is a great time of the year when the sun is shining, but not so good when we get the April showers.
Just like the weather, life is full of ups and downs: sunny one moment, dark and rainy the next. When Jesus was crucified, I can’t begin to imagine what the disciples felt like – all that they had given up to follow Jesus and now he had been killed by the authorities. Of course, as we now know, it wasn’t the end but in lots of ways it was the beginning of something new. What Jesus brought was a new way of living; even though nothing had changed with the old commandments, it was a new way of interpreting them that meant people were to love one another, show care and concern for one another and live in harmony with each other.
It is this way of living that changed the world as the disciples took the message out to the then known world. That message has grown and grown as the church across the world, and the message still continues to be taught in our churches today. I hope that we can grasp that message as we live out our lives today, and continue to discover more and more about Jesus and his way of living so that we care for the whole of creation and humankind.
With God’s peace and blessing this Eastertide.
Revd Graham
