This was good, from the BBC. It says a lot about Easter. The Lectionary for next Sunday is here. Psalm 16:5 goes like this, “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.” It’s happy days, but as we read in the Gospels, both in Jesus’ prayer in the garden, and in Matthew 20:22 or Mark 10:38, where Jesus speaks to James and John or their mother (depending on whose version you read), “the cup” of doing God’s will can be bitter. It’s as they said on the radio, tears and alleluias around the graveside.
Thomas the Twin (John’s gospel reading) is one of my heroes, both for his scepticism, and for the way he believes (which he does in the end) – for his belief is not about just agreeing to a statement, it is about something deeper, ‘faith’, relating to God: it’s about following Jesus, walking his way, for he says “my Lord and my God”.
Meanwhile, a virus which started as a small thing far away is now causing massive grief and hardship. We continue to fight it with science and prayer. Science and prayer can be a good team – pity they seem to fall out sometimes. When we eventually clamber out of this dark valley, may we do so with more respect and love for one another, and a heightened sense of social justice.