It’s a tradition for me to get up super early on Good Friday to make Hot Cross Buns. I didn’t feel like it last night when I’d fallen asleep reading on the couch and woke up at 11.50pm. I debated with myself whether to measure out the dry ingredients before bed or wait until the morning. In a sleepy fug I decided that better now than in the morning when my brain would certainly not function properly. I’d forget to add sugar or something if I did that, I’ve done that before, so I made myself get on with it. It took a few tries for my brain to work out how early I’d have to get up for them to be ready in time. I then collapsed into bed and woke this morning just a couple of minutes before my alarm went off.

Now the house is quiet, the dough is rising (I hope) and I’ve done a little first aid with the computer to get it going so I can write a post. The past few weeks have flown by in a flurry of activity and excitement, and now there are four glorious days to rest a little.  Everyone is home, kind of. Eldest daughter returned and then a few hours later went over to a friend’s house for the night. Everyone will be home…

…and this is Easter. How grateful I am that we still have a holiday assigned for this celebration. Though it has become a little too much about chocolate eggs and bunnies which I can never work out, it’s still there. We set aside time to remember the death of Jesus and his resurrection, that’s what Good Friday and Easter Sunday are really all about.

How sad if this is confined to Easter though. It really is good news for every day of the year, because really if we’re deep down honest and look around, this world needs help. We all need help. We are flawed human beings and we make a mess of things. Simple as that. It has been the same since the dawn of time. No one likes the ‘sin’ word much any more, but it’s our sin, our living apart from God, that has spoiled us and the world around us. Some think that we can make ourselves better, that we can be the change and transform ourselves, and make things all right for everyone else. I’ve been reading a book in the last few days where the author suggests just that. I wanted to say to her, in a very loving way of course, ‘No!’ How can flawed human beings completely fix other flawed human beings? It makes no sense to me.

What does make sense is a Saviour who is alive and active in the world today, really changing people’s lives. If what the Bible says is true – that God loved us so much that Jesus died, taking the penalty for all of our wrong-doing and living apart from God, then He rose again, defeating death – this is powerful stuff. Jesus is risen in the most non-zombie way possible. He is not the living dead – He is alive and brings life. I know this because I have experienced and do experience His work in my life, and I see it in other people. I’ve seen the way Jesus can transform the hardest of hearts, heal the sick and work in amazing ways. From kids in New York to the most determined atheist, every time I hear a story of how Jesus has met someone in their life it gives me prickles on my skin. I never tire of the stories. I recognise my Saviour in their experience. So many people from so many different nationalities and backgrounds experiencing God intervening in their lives and changing them. It is awesome. He doesn’t want rituals and traditions, Jesus loves a relationship with us.

So by all means enjoy all the food and chocolate and the Easter bunny, but don’t forget Jesus…

…and now I’ve run out of time, the dough has risen and I must go. Happy Easter.