It is wonderful to know that up and down the land this weekend men, women and children in their millions will be captivated by the good news that the Lord has risen to new life and I’m thrilled that it will all be broadcast on primetime TV.
Yep, some of you are ahead of me, of course what I am referring to is the brand new episode of Doctor Who where the beloved Time Lord will appear, risen again having cheated death for a tenth time (I know he’s the 11th Doctor – you do the maths) once again able to save to world.
Funny how we can get so excited about that and yet when it comes to the true Lord of time and space who died and rose again to new and eternal life, who conquered sin which cut us off from the awesome God of the Universe and defeated death, taking away its sting for all who will believe in him, we try to hide Jesus away behind fluffy bunnies, chicks and chocolate eggs.
Perhaps its easier to imagine our enemies being cybermen, or daleks rather than our own sin and rebellion against our loving and just God. If we distance ourself from the responsibility of our actions then we can turn disaster into entertainment - truly heaven must be filled with weeping angels.
But Easter is a time of amazingly Good News, that (as our verse for last year reminded us) “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” – pick out those important words; “God..loved..gave…only Son…whoever…not perish…eternal life” all wrapped up in belief, it’s no wonder that this year our verse is one of joy and celebration; “Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.” (Psalm 96:2)
I love Doctor Who, I can’t wait for the new series, but I love Jesus much, much more and I can’t help praising him and proclaiming his salvation, so I hope that you will encounter him for yourself this Easter, as the trailers on TV point out, “It’s about time”.
