Maybe I ought to explain the title first. It comes as a snippet of an overheard conversation with a child and went something like this:

“ Mum, what are we celebrating at Easter.”

“ Oh darling, we’re celebrating chocolate.”

According to Supermarket data each of us will consume two and a half Easter eggs this weekend, but one in four of us doesn’t know what the Easter egg symbolises. Here are some of the answers they received in the survey.

1. Why do we have Easter bunnies?

Because on Easter day the Easter Bunny led the disciples to the tomb of Jesus.

2. Why do we give each other chocolates at Easter?

Because it was the first thing that Jesus ate after the Resurrection.

The real history of the Easter Egg is a little more prosaic. Both eggs and chocolate were forbidden foods during Easter, so it made sense to bring them together to celebrate Easter and they became symbols of the Resurrection.

Our Easter story has a mix of both bitter chocolate and sweet chocolate.

The Bitter

As the Angel meets with the women at the Garden Tomb he tells them that:

You are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen’ Matt 28: 5/6

I don’t think the Angel needed to remind them of the Crucifixion it was fresh in their memory, but he did need to tell them that they could not move on until they had come to terms with the crucifixion. Jesus' resurrection body still carried the scars of the crucifixion reminding the disciples of their part in his betrayal and death.

So the first and most painful part of the Easter drama, even for those he greets as friends is to recognise Jesus as the victim of their sin. In his wounded body, they see the face of those they have betrayed and wounded.

He is also the victim of all the world’s injustice and betrayal. We see in his face our share in the wounded and silenced, the excluded and judged, the victims of war, and the victims of famine. We see in his face our own faults and failures.

The presence of the risen Jesus painfully exposes humanity's failures and frailties.

The Sweet

But Easter is good news, for in exposing our share in his death the risen Jesus makes peace and reconciliation possible. The accounts of the resurrection record that Jesus often met with his disciples to share a meal with them, breaking bread together as we do in Communion, as a sign of a restored relationship. The wounds of Jesus bring us peace not only with our God but with our friends and neighbours.

We are reminded this Easter that we are celebrating 25 years of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, but that process has involved the exposure of the crimes of the past on both sides of the divided community and indeed on the part of the police and army.

Only through the recognition of accountability for crimes, both past and present, has it been possible for the people of Northern Ireland to come together and prosper. The wounds of Jesus remind us that the past cannot be buried but must be exposed to the healing light of truth in order for reconciliation to take place.

Alleluia, Christ is risen!

So we return to the significance of Easter.

The Resurrection gospel teaches us that the recognition and acceptance of our share in this world’s pain and sorrow takes place in the presence of the Risen Jesus as we see his wounds.

The Resurrection gospel tells us that Jesus returns to those who he is closest to because it is their task to tell the world of the possibility of peace and reconciliation with God and with each other.

The Resurrection gospel tells us that Jesus, who came to the disciples with the marks of the nails still on his feet and hands, has taken the sting of all the world’s evil.

The Resurrection gospel tells us that the wounds of Jesus are a sign that love is able to overcome this world’s darkness and heal a wounded world.

That is why today we cry:

‘Alleluia, Jesus is risen!’

Prayer for Ukraine

God of peace and justice

we pray for the people of Ukraine today,

and the laying down of weapons.

we pray for all those who fear for tomorrow,

that your spirit of comfort would draw near to them.

We pray for those with power over war and peace,

for wisdom, discernment, and compassion to guide their decisions

Above all, we pray for all your precious children at risk and in fear,

That you would hold and protect them.

We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Amen

Best wishes

Rev Simon Brignall

I am contactable from Thursday to Sunday.