As I write, it is Holy Saturday, and that very strange day between Good Friday and Easter Day. Yesterday felt very heavy, as we remembered Jesus’ execution, death and burial, and tomorrow we will be full of joy and lightness as we celebrate once more Jesus’ resurrection.
But today we are between the 2 extremes. Today I went to Rev’d David Hardman’s talk on the situation in Gaza. He spoke of Gazans, and in particular Palestinian Christians living not only in Gaza but in the West Bank and other Palestinian areas occupied by Israel saying that their whole lives are like Holy Saturday; full of sadness, despair; and he quoted one of them as saying ‘As humans we are without hope, as Christians we live hope’.
How much do we take for granted? Listening to David explaining just some of the difficulties Palestinians encounter in their daily lives – they absolutely must carry their identity papers with them at all times, otherwise they can be arrested and held without charge for a period of time. and even with them all in order, they might not be allowed through checkpoints if the Israeli soldiers don’t feel like letting people through.
Even before October 7th, only 500 trucks of aid were allowed into Gaza, enough to provide Gazans with food to survive on, but not enough for nutritious meals. The amount of aid allowed in was very carefully calculated – calorie counted – to provide enough for survival only. Now, on a good day, 200 truckloads get in.
Next month, on May 2nd, we will be able to vote in local elections. Will we? Will we ensure that we are aware of those standing for election and what they are stating in their manifestos? We might be tempted not to bother. But that is to take for granted our democracy and our opportunity to change things. Pretty much everything we do has political implications and we need to choose carefully. We need to remember, too, that there are many, many people across the world who don’t have free and fair elections, and those countries where any political opponents are silenced – sometimes permanently, as we saw recently in our news
And later on in the year we will have our chance to make our voice heard at the General Election. We need to think through the promises that are being made – are they for the good of all, or for the good of the few? And why are the promises being made? Who is going to benefit most? Those who need most help, or the political party making the promises?
We have so many freedoms to enjoy and use. The freedom to come and go as we please; The freedom to vote for whom we choose, the freedom to worship as and when we choose, in whatever style of worship we choose – we might even move around to suit our mood on a given Sunday – or on a Tuesday, Wednesday or whatever day a service is being offered for that matter. We are free to choose the faith we wish to follow, and free to buy any number of materials to help us study.
So, this Eastertide, as we celebrate once again Christ’s resurrection and with it his overcoming sin and death for our sakes, please hold in your thoughts and prayers our brothers and sisters across the world who are not free, who do not have the same privileges we do. And please, please, resolve not to squander the rights and freedoms through negligence, ignorance, laziness, or apathy.
This month I’ll be away from 12th April and will be back on 25th April. . Please note that my usual rest day is Friday. Until next time …
HAPPY EASTER!!
Yours, Lindsay