Mark 16:1-4
1 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint the body of Jesus. 2And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’4When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.
“They saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.”
The past 12 plus months, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, have been a steep learning curve for just about every one of us.
This steep learning curve has impacted our consciousness to the degree that our awareness of God, of self, and of others, would have undergone a significant quota of review and likely realignment.
When one considers the enormity of the loss some of our sisters and brothers have had to cope with over the past months, it is nothing short of exigent to simply try and put into words what they are having to face today. Loss of a job, loss of a livelihood, loss of a loved one, loss of a relationship, loss of an opportunity, loss of confidence, loss of hope, loss of a sense of value and purpose, loss of faith; these may just be the beginning of an attempt to articulate the notion of meaning in the midst of what otherwise seems confusing and meaningless.
The stringent measures we have had to take to try and control the spread of the virus have forced upon us both the time and opportunity to do some serious reflection and introspection, the result of which, by now at least, should have led to a few adjustments in our lifestyle.
The occasional lockdowns and the enduring curfew should have been enough for even the most casual, and carefree among us, to pause and take note of the unprecedented nature of the reality we are still facing. It should really be enough for us to avoid the pitfalls of complacency, and the lure of a false sense of security, which can naturally follow any perceived improvement in the state of affairs.
Of course, being forced to think more deeply about our assumptions and presuppositions, and about the people and things we value yet sometimes take for granted in life, can also be beneficial. It can help us in setting better priorities for our way forward as we take stock of what is most important and what is unnecessary for the journey ahead.
Interestingly, as I look back over the past year, I feel compelled to credit the emergence of COVID-19 with forcing me to advance in my knowledge of things electronic, digital and relating to cyberspace and the Internet. (Part of my version of the steep learning curve.) It has been quite an amazing expedition, notwithstanding the risks and negative exposure we are frequently being warned of. I am sure I am speaking for countless others when I make such an assertion.
For instance, I now have a profound and renewed respect for the value of ‘updates’ on the computer. And with just about every one of these ‘updates’ comes the need to restart the computer – a sometimes frustrating and inconvenient task, I must say. But it is important all the same.
Being reminded to push that ‘restart button’, so to speak, becomes a critically important matter for the ongoing efficient and stable operation of the devices we seem more and more unable to do without. We ignore the alerts to our own peril and that of the device.
Politically speaking, elections can amount to pushing the nations’ ‘restart button’. We have had two such in recent months. It is always the hope that the necessary upgrade has taken full effect. However, time always reveals what is true and the updated device needs time to determine the efficacy of the actions taken.
Yet, in an even more wonderfully unique way, our contemplation on, and celebration of, the events connected with the resurrection of Jesus from the dead at Eastertime, can also be seen as a sort of ‘pushing of the restart button’. The bold and unapologetic acclamation of the Church at this time is that, as a result of the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has signalled to humanity that the restart button with respect to our relationship with him (and others) has been activated. We have been sent the necessary alert via the faithful witness of scripture, the voices of prophets and others down through the centuries.
It is now for us to take action to ensure the outcomes of this rebooting of our spiritual lives are satisfactorily registered and put into full effect. We all now have the opportunity to be upgraded and updated.
As with our electronic devices, the upgrade signals that the previous version has been replaced by a better one. Better opportunities and greater expectations lie ahead. A renewal has taken place and looking backwards too often, clinging to the past too zealously, can only serve to retard and, potentially, retire the more promising future.
There is always a choice to make, my sisters and brothers. The extent to which we are prepared to incorporate the life of the Risen Christ into our daily lives, will surely determine what the quality of our remaining sojourn on earth can be.
New beginnings, fresh starts, upgrades, updates, whatever term we are prepared to apply to the transformation and renewal God offers us; it ought to convey the belief and conviction that something profoundly and essentially better is instore for us.
The women who came to the tomb of Jesus that first Resurrection Morn, who saw and experienced something they had never done through before in life; who had their greatest fear and inhibition rolled away before their very eyes, became the bearers of a message that would ripple through and change the course of centuries and millennia of human history.
In our own time, we too, renewed and empowered by our encounter with divine Love, can be a force for good in the world.
Amen.
– Bishop Philip Wright M.A., OBE