Keeping going

Easter is a turning point, a point of transformation – from death into life. However, you cannot have that transforming new life without first going through the suffering, pain and death of Good Friday. Spring and nature show us the signs of that new life and that transformation too, as plants, insects and animals show forth new life all around us. Spring is the world breaking free of the bonds of Winters death and bleakness in a blur of colours and new life and reminds us that Easter hope is ongoing as it transforms our world. Just a Spring is a Season, not a day, so Easter is also a Season too. These 50 days of Easter are full of reminders of Christ’s resurrection and His presence, often fleeting, with His followers. Each story brings a new image, a new way of seeing Jesus and enables us to understand better who Christ is and what resurrection means to us as individuals and as Church too.

Our communities need transforming, they need the hope and life of Christ in them. There is too much poverty, too much struggle and too little hope. On the news last week a story about the lack of NHS dentistry and how a mobile charity run dentistry unit has spent 5 days in Newcastle helping the poorest people there get dental care they needed that wasn’t available to them on the NHS. Within that story a horrifying statistic was almost thrown away. The journalist delivering the story said “In the North East of England one in three children live in poverty”. That is in the 8th richest economy in the world, where we have more and more billionaires – but more and more children in poverty. More and more children going to school without breakfast, more taking in empty lunch boxes. Hunger means they aren’t able to concentrate properly, to get the education offered and that they deserve. We need to transform this horror story, we need to ensure that all our children get the education and opportunities they deserve. That they also have the opportunity to have a healthy diet, a healthy home life. We are asking for much – simple human rights, simple rights for all children – health, education and food. We are a nation that can easily provide these things – but seems to fail to do so. Time for the transforming new life of Easter to positively change our children’s lives.