Our letter this month comes from Revd Anne Futcher

“An event, seen from one point of view gives one impression.  Seen from another point of view it gives quite a different impression.  But it’s only when you get the whole picture, you can fully understand what’s going on.”

That’s the voiceover of a television commercial for a national newspaper, back in 1986.

It shows a series of three scenes.  In the first we see the figure of a young man.  His head is closely shaven.   He’s casually dressed.  He runs furiously round a street corner.  Clearly he’s running away.

In the second, the young man runs straight towards a smartly dressed older man whom he pushes roughly. Clearly he’s assaulting the second man.

As the final shot pans out to show the whole scene, we begin to understand what’s going on.  The younger man did push the older.  But he pushed him out of the path of some masonry that was about to fall on him from a nearby building.  The older man’s life was in danger, but not from the young man.  He turns out to be his rescuer, not his assailant, after all.

In the space of just three seconds, our perspective is changed completely. Everything looks different.

One of the familiar Easter stories tells of the risen and unrecognised Jesus walking along the road to Emmaus with two of his bereft followers.  As they walk together, Jesus listens to them speaking of recent events. You can almost hear their incredulity at what’s happened; their disappointment and sadness as all their former hopes lie in tatters.  The person they’d put their faith in as king and saviour has turned out to be just a nobody – who’s died a criminal’s death on a cross.

But then there’s the concluding frame.  Jesus starts talking to them about what really happened, about how his death has fulfilled the promises of scripture.  And as their eyes are opened, they recognise him.  The disciples begin to see the whole picture.  Their perspective is changed completely.  Everything looks different.

Christ is risen. There’s a new world.  There is hope after all.

And when we recognise Jesus among us today, when we recognise him in one another, our perspective is changed completely too.  Everything looks different.  We have a new perception of our world.   Death and destruction don’t have the last word.  Life and love do.

This is the Easter message.  It is very Good News indeed.  Happy Easter!