Skimming Stones

St. Michael’s Vicarage
Alnwick

Dear People of Alnwick,

I may be taken to task for saying this (so, apologies in advance) but throwing stones into water does seem to be a peculiarly male thing!

For some, perfecting the art of making a stone skim across the surface of the water can occupy them for hours whilst others seem to be happy finding the largest stone around and making as big a splash as possible. Not that it takes a very big stone to have a profound effect – the tiniest of pebbles tossed into the centre of a pool can send ripples which radiate outwards until they eventually reach the bank.

In a sense, the same could be said of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

It all began so quietly, in a stable in Bethlehem and a baby lying in a manger and, even at the height of his ministry, the majority of the world’s population would have been oblivious to his existence. What could one man hope to achieve through his life, his death – or even his resurrection?

In global terms, it was a drop in the ocean – but what a drop! For still today the ripples of Christ’s actions are reaching outwards.

Who would have believed two thousand years ago that the good news of the gospel would still be changing lives and that people would still be coming together regularly in worship to acknowledge the love God demonstrated through his Son?

The effect of that one solitary life was beyond the worst nightmares of Christ’s enemies and greater than the wildest dreams of his followers. Yet that is the nature of our God; the God who, in his sovereign power, plunged himself into the pool of human history in such a way that the world would never be the same again.

As we revel once again in miracle of Easter and celebrate that Christ has “overcome the sharpness of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers”, so we praise God for everything that he achieved in Christ – transforming not just individuals but the very course of history through his life, death and resurrection.

In sending his Son to earth, God involved himself in human history in a way that has never been known before or since. Rather than standing aloof from our need, God, in Christ, shared our humanity in order that we might share his eternity.

As we are caught up in the ripples of this timeless truth, may we feel the power of the risen Christ in our lives and ever work to his praise and glory.

A happy and blessed Easter to you all!

With every blessing,

Paul.

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