from Stephen Cottrell, Archibishop of York
Spring is a time of new life—delicate green leaves on the trees, daffodils blooming, birds chirping. This isn’t only the dormant earth renewing its life and nature reawakening, but it is also a reminder of the cycle of all of life. For me, it is a reminder of hope.
There is so much in the world that is hard to talk about and hard to live with—rising living costs, the devasting impact of war on so many lives, natural disasters wreaking havoc. How do we make sense of the suffering? Of the injustice? Of the pain so many experience on a daily basis?
But just like year after year spring follows winter, so too do I keep coming back to hope. Hope that the way things are is not the way they will always be. On that first Easter morning, while it was still dark, a woman went to the tomb where Jesus was buried, only to find it empty. She ran off to tell her friends. Suddenly, there was a promise of life beyond death, the first realisation that death is not the end. The hope that filled Jesus’ friends that first Easter, is the same hope that keeps me going.
Hope for a world where the humanity of every person is valued.
Hope for a world where there is no longer violence, but healthy and life-giving relationships.
Hope for a world where no one is hungry or cold or lonely.
This is what I will be praying for when I go to Church on Easter Sunday. Can I encourage you to consider joining in the Holy Week and Easter services at your local church, proclaiming as has been done for 2000 years: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Happy Easter!
Stephen Cottrell
Archbishop of York