This month we celebrate Easter. Easter is perhaps the most important festival of the church year. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas and the celebration of the incarnation is important. And Pentecost, the birthday of the global church is important too, but Easter, is absolutely central to the church because without Easter there would be no need for the church.

Through the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ all things are made new, liberation is proclaimed and brokenness is forgiven.

As a global Church we are left to reflect on the “Good News”, the “gospel” of Jesus Christ. And this Good News is proclaimed widely.

When we proclaim this Good News we can speak of heaven, of eternal life, words of eternal hope. And as a vicar it is a privilege to be able to speak about these things at the funerals of those who have died. To speak hope to those who mourn. And I believe these things with all my heart.

Yet when I think of the fullness of this Good News that is birthed at Easter, it’s not just the heaven-stuff that I want to speak about. In fact, outside of the very precious funeral ministry of the church, I don’t really think about heaven much, I’m not motivated to live out my faith because of it.

Rather, for me, at the heart of the Good News of Easter is Jesus’ words articulated in John 10:10

“I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.” John 10:10 (GNT)

What excites me about my faith, and the Good News of Easter, is the desire to live life in such a way as to seek to live with an awareness of God and in fellowship with Jesus and the hope of bringing the richness of that idea into every experience. That through trying to follow the way of Jesus, I might live my life in step with the Spirit. For me, that’s a key part of the Good News of Easter.

One well-worn and widely attributed anecdote that sums this up might be said to be, “it’s not about pie in the sky when you die, but cake on your plate while you wait”.

Rev Tim