St Johns with St Barnabas

Embracing Change

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Easter Day is just about at the latest it could be this year, even the clocks took me by surprise on Mothering Sunday - I only ever seem to remember the clocks going forward on Palm Sunday. What a creature of habit I have become. Mopsy dog was pleased though because she had her breakfast even earlier!! I will probably just continue to grumble. Change tends to disrupt most of us, and as we look forward now to Easter, well that was the biggest disruptor of all.

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The disciples had assumed that Jesus would change the world the way they expected; nothing could have been further from the truth. Riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, not some wonderful war horse, they made the best of it, even so. Then of course everything totally fell apart. The cross shattered their hopes, the tomb sealed their despair. That was it, finished, nothing left but darkness and despair.

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BUT that was not it - then came resurrection. Easter is God’s way of saying things will not always stay the same. The darkness and despair will not last for ever. What seems like an ending is often a beginning. Jesus didn’t just come back to life, he brought New Life. He changed everything. That surely challenges us to step into the light of something new. Easter calls us to trust in the God who turns endings into beginnings.

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Maybe for you, this season of life feels uncertain, it does for me. Things are not quite so easy as they used to be - I am older, and dare I say it, getting a little slower. I no longer bounce out of bed in the mornings raring to go.

 

BUT Easter tells us this: we were never meant to stay the same. So as we shake off winter, let’s try and embrace change instead of fearing it. Let’s ask the Risen Jesus to help us to step into something new – to trust his leading, even when the path is unclear.

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The Risen Christ gives us an invitation to live differently. To step out of our old ways of thinking and being. He wants us to walk forward with him, not back. Let’s take his hand and see where he leads us, both personally and within our community. Let Him lead us into something new.

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An Easter Prayer

 

Risen Christ Jesus, help us to trust you in the midst of change. Just as the Resurrection turned sorrow into joy and despair into hope, renew our hearts and minds. Give us the courage to step forward, remind us that you are always ahead of us, preparing the way. In Jesus’ name. Amen

I wish you a Joyful and Blessed Easter