Remembering Jesus’ death
Rev Christopher Foster, the Bishop of Portsmouth
It is Good Friday – and another bank holiday we won’t be spending as we’d want.
How much does that matter? Most of us are disappointed or frustrated in one or more ways. But we hope that significant easing of restrictions is coming.
‘What matters most?’ is a question that arises about all sorts of things at the moment. Once we are free to move about again, where do we want to go? Who do you want to meet? Suddenly the everyday cup of tea with a friend or browse in a shop is feeling like a treat, like an adventure.
During the past year we have perhaps got a new sense of what we really miss, and therefore what we most want. While some restrictions remain, there are difficult decisions to be made, not least as numbers at weddings and funerals are limited.
We have to make choices and that is not always easy. Perhaps more than ever before we are now alert to the impact on us of decisions made by central government.
The recent budget as well as announcements about foreign aid, spending on defence, recommendations about public pay, and challenges faced by a large number of charities all show how government must make choices. It is not just the business of balancing the books that is difficult.
At Easter, Christians celebrate the decision that Jesus made when facing a huge choice. His decision was to risk choosing God’s way, which we believe opened for everyone the fullness of life which is God’s wish for all people. It was a selfless choice, bringing death for Jesus but life for all.
His death, which we remember today, paved the way for us to experience genuine forgiveness for those things we all do wrong. His resurrection, which we remember on Sunday, confirmed that he was who he claimed to be – the son of God himself.
As restrictions come to an end, we can reflect on that as we face choosing what matters most too. We can remember that the Easter choice was not just for me or for you, but for the thriving of everyone in our communities, families and friends.