Easter - A Time of Death and Grief, a Time of Life and Hope - by SC Skillman

 As I write this on Easter Sunday the day has been full of words and signs and images of hope and joy. This morning in his service from Canterbury Cathedral, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, spoke of death as the great lie: death doesn't have the last word. I found his words inspiring and uplifting.

Later today I heard from a friend of the death of her sister, just yesterday, on Easter Saturday. And I was immediately reminded of the Archbishop's words.  This was a very sad death, and the lady who died was someone I have known since the age of 16, of whom I have many happy memories. She was funny, lively, kind and caring.  Yet she came to a very sad end.

This picture of tulips, a palm cross and a lighted candle to me summarises my feelings.  The tulips represent hope and life and beauty, and the sheer joy that is in this world. The palm cross represents Christ's passion, his suffering, and his resurrection, in which so many have placed their faith over the centuries. And the lighted candle represents the eternal spirit, which cannot be quenched by the unreality and lies of death.

I hope this Easter finds many of you full of joy; but for those who grieve, surely, there is hope and comfort and the promise of future joy in the the events of that morning in the garden, when a weeping woman met someone she thought was the gardener, and discovered instead something that changed the world for all of us.