Tower and Town, May 2023 (view the full edition)Clergy LetterDear friends, At the time of writing, Easter has passed and the summer term lies open before us... But in the Anglican tradition, the season of Easter, or 'Easter-tide', lasts several weeks. (Best keep the chocolate consumption limited to a few days, mind you). The given Bible readings for the Sundays after Easter focus on what it is to be Easter People. Living in the light of the resurrection of Christ is to follow the two on the road to Emmaus, encountering the risen Christ as you 'do life'. It's to be a questioner like Thomas and encounter the trueness of the risen Christ. It's to be like Peter at the Lakeside Breakfast (see John's gospel, chapter 21), still riven by the failure of denial but to be restored with food, friendship and fond love. It's to be in crisis, but then to have the risen Christ come to you in prayer and worship, and gain a sense of the 'long game' of Bible hope. These are just some examples of what is to be an Easter Person. The resurrection power of Christ is of course not limited to one time of the year, but our wonder in the resurrection takes on a wonderful focus in these weeks. Spend some in chapters 20 and 21 of John's gospel before coming to the great story of Pentecost in late May. The encounters described in those chapters are both deeply human and really rather awesomely divine.Pete Sainsbury |