It's here again.
Easter weekend - Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Every year we go back to it again.
Jesus on the cross . . . again.
Oh, look! He's alive . . . again.
I know that it is central to who we are and what we believe. I know that if it isn't true our faith is pointless and we are to be pitied. I know all that, but still . . ..
As churches and as a community it can get hard to know how to explore Easter in a way that is at all fresh. We've rehearsed this story over and over and over. And it is here upon us . . . again.
Or maybe it isn't here again. Maybe it never left.
The love and sacrifice of Jesus, displayed on the cross, never stopped being expressed to us. He loves us . . . still.
His prayer for forgiveness has never ceased being prayed. He intercedes for us . . . still.
The work completed is completed . . . still.
The life he brought back with him from the grave is ours to enjoy . . . still.
Perhaps rather than struggling to see Jesus on the cross . . . again. We simply need to recentre into the powerful, but simple truth that he loves us that much . . . still. That he offers us hope and life . . . still. We aren't remembering and enjoying something that comes around once a year. We are recentring around the Truth that has always been there and is there . . . still.
Dear, God. Thank you for never leaving us. Thank you for always being there and being ready to embrace us with open arms when we return to your love and your life. Help us to see, this Easter weekend, that you are still there inviting us into more of you. Amen.