Easter is a whole season, not just a long Bank Holiday weekend - YEP opinion

The increasing number of cracks in its glaze mirroring the increasing number of wrinkles on my face – laughter lines surely. But then the inevitable happened. The mug is, I am afraid, no more. A parable of life maybe?

Whether it’s a mug, a favourite piece of clothing, a car, an amazing day in the countryside, a rewarding job, a relationship, our very existence,…’nothing lasts forever’ can be a lurking fear in the back of our mind that sometimes creeps forward and begins to take up too much space in our head.

It can be kept in its place by being present in the moment, by gratitude, by sharing generously, but it feasts on anxiety, makes us restless and unsatisfied, and fuels a desire for more of what we already have, regardless of what it costs us or other people.

We need to make sure we get our slice of the cake…and perhaps a second one just in case.

At the moment Christians around the world are celebrating Easter. It is meant to be a season of 50 days of feasting in celebration of Jesus Christ’s victory over death following the 40 days of fasting where we remembered his giving of himself in solidarity with all the world’s pain and injustice: his choice to remain with us through the worst the world can throw at us so that we are never alone – even in death.

It is easy to think of Easter as just a long Bank Holiday weekend near the start of Spring with a starring role given to eggs and a random bunny. Even in churches, the good news of the resurrection can get reduced down to a caricature of all it makes possible, something like ‘pie in the sky for when you die.’

But actually Easter is a whole season in the year when we are invited to open up our minds and allow our worldview to be completely transformed.

What Easter is trying to show us is that with God the things that matter most, including love and life, actually do last forever, and that with the God of infinite love and power, there is enough for everyone.

It sets us free. It sets us free from the fear that ‘nothing lasts for ever’; it sets us free from the fear that fuels our grasping and our greed; it sets us free to allow others to enjoy their share of all that we all need; it sets us free from worry.

It is a freedom that gives us every reason to rejoice.

Well, none of that gives me back my beloved mug. But it is a reminder that all the things it represented are real, are held out to me and will last forever. Now that really is something to enjoy and share with everyone.

‘More tea Vicar?’ Go on then…