Easter

I am away on Holiday for a week, so you can all have a break from me adding irritating comments to your blogs.

What does Easter mean to us?

I have never really been one for celebrating the church calendar. In the 1980s My Aunt once called me "Godless" because my church at that time didn't have a service on Good Friday. In turn I diapproved of her attention to such ritualism with its 'pagan' connotations. I am happy to sing about the Incarnation (Christmas carols) in summer. The death and resuurection of Christ is of equal importance to me throughout the year - it is not less important in winter than spring. I tend to see the faith in terms of lifestyle, holiness, witness, walk with God etc, which are not measured in terms of days of the week or year any more than you can measure sound with a theodolite.

However, as part of my training and particlarly through reading Kyle's 'Vindicated' blog, I have come to appreciate the value of a calendar, re-enacting the faith, as a form of witness. And Easter does have important cultural links to the wider society to help us present the message of the cross. also, although I very much doubt that Jesus was born on 25th December, Easter does have some chronological relevance to the events it commemorates.

So, we don't want to be enslaved by a calendar (Gal 4v9-10), but we are perfectly entitled to use one where appropriate and desirable (Rom 14 v5-7).

Therefore, whether you celebrate your freedom in Christ by spending time with your family or by vestments and insence in a decorated church, I pray that you will both experience and share the blessing of being found in Christ at this time.