<span style="font-size: 1rem;">This is the Sunday when we remember ‘Doubting Thomas’. Thomas refused to believe that the resurrected Jesus had appeared to the ten other disciples until he had seen and felt the wounds received by Jesus on the cross.</span>Doubt is often ridiculed, but doubt is an important element of a living faith. Thomas’ honesty and openness in questioning his friends’ experience of the resurrected Jesus creates a space into which the Risen Lord breathes new life and new understanding.This year, the week following Easter Day has been a great struggle for our nation. The tragic loss of so many fellow citizens to the Coronavirus inevitably leads us to doubt and uncertainty enters our minds.This week we salute front line health workers whose lives are being put at risk due to a lack of Personal Protective Equipment. Yet, in the face of practical doubts and uncertainties they heroically, sacrificially care for those most in need.Thomas’ doubt and uncertainty makes us all appreciate the reality of faith. Doubt and uncertainty is transformed by Jesus’ love for Thomas and his acceptance of our holy questioning on our journey of faith. Ultimately, we are drawn from honest and holy doubt into the resurrection experience of a faith made all the deeper for the struggle. Easter breathes new life into us all.May the God of love and Resurrection breathe new hope into us all as we keep all Key Workers in our prayers in the days and weeks ahead.Every blessing,Christian
On Maundy Thursday, Jesus met with his disciples for what was their Last Supper. In humility and love he washed his disciples’ feet. He really was the Servant King. Jesus knew what lay ahead of him and he prepared his friends. Later he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemene by Roman Guards and on Good Friday, following his trial, the crowds called for him to be crucified! He died on the cross, next to two thieves.The light seemed to have gone out. The hope of the world seemed to have been taken away.This last week has been a very difficult one for everybody. The numbers of those who have lost their lives to the COVID disease in hospital each day are scarcely believable. Sadly, the actual number of deceased persons is even bigger because those who have died at home or in Care and Residential homes are not included.Despite the sunshine on Easter Saturday it may seem that the light of our nation has dimmed. However, Easter Day brings both light and hope to us all. It is the day when God raised Jesus from the dead. The Resurrection story reminds us that God defeated both sin and death as His Son was raised in glory from the dead. Light and hope returned to the hearts of the disciples and we are all reminded that God knows us all by name and welcomes all the departed with the Easter promise of eternal life.This Easter, live in the light and hope of the Resurrection story and be light and hope in your local community, to your neighbours and families and friends. Be light and hope to those in need and in support of all Key Workers, not least those who offer us all light and hope in our darkest hours. We remember in particular the thousands of professional health care workers throughout the UK.Worship may be suspended in our church building this year, but our joy in the light and hope provided by the Resurrection story certainly is not!Happy Easter everybody from St Peter’s Church, Sheringham. Every Blessing,Christian
There is an Act of Worship on our Facebook Page here:https://www.facebook.com/StPetersSheringham/
A tough week ahead...Sunday, 5th April is Palm Sunday in the Church’s calendar.This day commemorates Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem on a donkey, welcomed by crowds of people waving palms and laying them in his path. Jesus was welcomed as a king, treated like royalty. He had become a celebrity to those who had heard of the miraculous raising of his friend Lazarus from the dead. But religious leaders were in uproar after hearing the story and the people’s reaction to it. Jesus knew his life would be under threat.Jesus knew he faced a tough week as he entered the city. By Thursday of that Holy Week he would be arrested and by Friday he would be crucified. The people who welcomed him so majestically at he start of the week had largely abandoned him to his death by Friday.The week ahead of us will be a difficult one. The number of those infected by the coronavirus continues to rise and the number of beloved family and friends lost is beyond comprehension.So many people who had initially welcomed Jesus soon abandoned him in his hour of need and as soon as things got difficult. The heart-warming and life-giving stories of local people supporting one another through this current health emergency are testament to the fact we have learnt much from the story of Holy Week and other historic failures. We stand shoulder to shoulder to protect the most vulnerable and one another in great adversity. We celebrate and give thanks for key workers, not least health care professionals.The story of Holy Week and Jesus’ unconditional love for humankind is only fully understood as we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death on Easter morning. The story of our love for our local communities and for one another will only be fully understood when we look back at what was achieved in this great crisis. The unconditional love Jesus showed to those who abandoned him is a love we can only hope to mirror. The commitment and love we show to one another in the days ahead and in the years beyond this crisis will be the true measure of what community and society actually mean to all of us.Every Blessing,Christian
