Dear friends,
Sometimes when I am leading a Communion service, I notice that the steward has provided us with a lot more bread and wine than we need to share with the number of people present at the service. Of course, we do not want to waste bread and wine, but to have more than enough of these reminds us of God’s bountiful provision of grace: that God provides us not just with the basic minimum but is more than generous in meeting our spiritual needs.
One of the Easter stories in which I am always finding new depths is the occasion recorded in John’s gospel, chapter 21, where the risen Jesus meets the disciples after they have gone out fishing. With Jesus’ help they make a bumper catch of fish, but the interesting thing is that, even before they bring the fish ashore, Jesus already has other fish cooking ready for their breakfast. Again, we note this message of God in Christ not just providing what we need but doing so with such generosity.
It seems to me that this is part of the message of Easter too. For God does not just resuscitate Jesus but brings Him to life in the fullest way possible. And then, through the risen Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, God offers to each person resurrection life in such a generous way. For the life He offers is of a quality we can hardly begin to imagine and is also something that will last just not for a short time, but for eternity.
How can we ever begin to thank God for such life and such generosity? The very least we can do is to seek to live our lives in this world with a similar generous spirit. When people need our help and support , we should not merely give them the bare minimum of our time and attention but seek to show the same overwhelming love and concern that God has offered us through Christ. Or when we consider our service to God both within the Church and beyond it, we should make that one of our top priorities and not something to which we only give time and attention when we have arranged everything else that we want to do.
Jesus lived, died, and rose again so that we might “have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). This Easter may we seek to live our lives in this abundant way as we share the life and the love of Jesu with everyone we can.
Your friend & minister,
Adam Nyawo
