The act of remembrance is important because remembrance is not just about the past, but about the present.

We remember where we were, so we know where we are. We remember our mistakes, so we know what we have learnt. We remember what we lost, so we know what we have found. We remember moments of success, heartache, and joy (to name a few) because they offer directions on how to live in the present. And this matters because how we live in the present determines the future we move towards.

And so, at Easter, we remember the death & resurrection of Jesus because as mentioned, it affects our present, how we live in it, and subsequently, our tomorrow’s.

It is an opportunity once again to really stop, to think, to recalibrate. So here are some thoughts on what it all means to me.

One of my favourite thoughts from Walter Bruggeman, which has been so helpful for me in my journey, is –

“The riddle and insight of biblical faith is the awareness that only anguish leads to life, only grieving leads to joy, and only embraced endings permit new beginnings.”

W. Bruggeman – The Prophetic Imagination – 2nd ed

It is one of many mysteries within Scripture which declares that alongside desolation lies the potential for glory, alongside agony, resurrection.

We will all experience ‘Friday’ in some capacity in our lifetimes.

Ideally, we would like things to be more black and white. To know that bad things really only happen to bad people, or because of bad people, but reality says otherwise. And if the disciples of Jesus are anything to go by, the line between good and bad, right and wrong, success or failure runs through us all; we all succeed and fail and that should bring some comfort to any of us who struggle along the path of discipleship at times.

However, what we find in Jesus is that Friday is not the end, but that if we are ‘in Christ’ (to use an Apostle Paul term), it can be the pathway to new life, new beginnings.

It doesn’t lessen the pain, but to believe in resurrection is to believe that death is not all powerful, that beyond despair, beyond heartache and loss, there really is hope.

This does not mean, however, that we will always feel this truth deep down. Faith is at least partially about keeping going despite what we feel today, tomorrow or the day after. Living the resurrection life includes expecting the sudden, powerful presence of the risen Jesus in the midst of our uncertainty and loss but trudging on whether we feel this presence or not.

P. Gooder – This Risen Existence: The Spirit of Easter

Belief in the resurrection is an act of rebellion, it is a refusal to accept things as they are, a refusal to believe that the world, that I, can never change.

Belief in the resurrection should alter how I see the world, how I see myself, how I see others. It involves seeing life where there appears to be only death, possibility in the impossible. The church should be life identifying rather than death discovering. We should be a people that see, draws out and celebrates life in others.  Every act of generosity, selflessness, honest humility & faithfulness should be celebrated and encouraged.

For me, the resurrection means death does not have the last word. It means my worst day does not have to have the final say in my life, that my lowest moments don’t have to be my legacy.

It means the darkest night is not the end but that it can be an agent of transformation.

It means what I do now matters.

It means hope is not lost.

It means looking for life in others.

It means living expectantly that the God who raised Jesus from the dead can, and is, raising me and my family into something new – into life again.

It means I believe he can for you as well.

B.