On Easter Sunday or afterwards you may have sung the hymn by Francis Pott, ‘The strife is o’er, the battle done.’ The words remind us of the three days of intense sadness that elapsed while everyone thought Jesus was dead, and before he rose again, ending the strangle hold of death over people of faith.
Today. 8th May is eighty years since the end of the second world war in Europe. In his often-quoted VE Day speech, Sir Winston Churchill said, “we may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing, but let us not forget for a moment the toils and efforts that lie ahead.” The war in the ‘Far East’ was continuing unabated and all those people with connections to what was happening in Japan had much to fear.
What a contrast there is when the positive and long-lasting outcome of the crisis of the cross is compared with the brief pause in the efforts of the Allies in May 1945. As I write this, almost a fortnight ahead of May 8th, I cannot know what the situation concerning the war in Ukraine will be by the time will be you read it. I can be sure that even if that conflict is on its way to resolution there will be plenty of people who have reasons for anxiety.
It is easy to become cynical over the state of affairs in the world or obsessed with the problems of our own lives. That is natural and human. We must all live life, held up by the healthy tension between the two poles described by Churchill and Potts. On one level, human celebration cannot last for long before living intervenes, but meanwhile, no power on earth can reverse the victory of life over death at the Resurrection.
A Prayer
Lord of all history, help us to recall with healthy thanksgiving, important moments from the past and simultaneously to intercede for all who have cause for care and concern. May we rejoice in all that is good but above all, glory in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus from the dead which is the only lasting victory that matters. Thanks be to God. Amen.