I know so many parishioners are delighted that the House of Bishops have re-opened churches from Good Friday 2021. The positivity at the start of this year when we first heard about vaccines seems to have evaporated in these last 3 months of lockdown. The freedom of 3 days of Christmas was not worth the restrictions of the 3 months afterwards.
The vaccine rollout will hopefully bring freedom from fear. The new normal will be different, but we must learn to live with this virus and for society to go about its business without looking over its shoulder.
The first Easter Day changed everything for the disciples. They could now look forward into a future that was unknown, but full of promise. Jesus spent 40 days with his friends (and 40 days is where we get the word quarantine from) to teach them and to get them ready for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
The future is still unknown, we may have to face further waves of the virus, but it is to the future we must look, in confidence and courage asking for the “confirmation” of the Holy Spirit, so that the health of our souls never becomes less that the precautions we take to keep the virus at bay.
Here is a little gem from the famous Dr Spurgeon
Some go to church to take a walk; Some go there to laugh and talk; Some to there to meet a friend; Some go there their time to spend; Some go there to meet a lover; Some go there a fault to cover; Some go there for speculation; Some go there for observation; Some go there to dose and nod; The wise go there to worship God.
Jesus said not to fear what can kill the body, but what can kill the soul. If we have vaccinated our bodies, we now need to keep our souls happy and healthy in God.