by Rev Colin Sinclair, Moderator of the Church of Scotland
Living God,
we come to you in the afterglow of Easter,
rejoicing that after the bleakness of Good Friday,
we can rediscover renewed hope on Easter Day.
We want to live as the Easter people of God,
though sometimes it feels as if, at present,
we are stuck in an endless Easter Saturday.
However we thank you that, after 70 days,
the lockdown at Wuhan has been lifted.
We hang on to the hope
that the same will happen around the world.
So help us to live as people who look forward,
May our love make a difference,
shape our attitude and our actions
and our joy lift weary spirits.
We remember that, while we might feel
stuck at home, in fact we are safe at home.
Others, we know, do not have that luxury:
those in close proximity in shanty towns;
those living in refugee camps;
those seeking refuge and asylum
on the migrant trail;
and those in cramped prison conditions.
We remember that that while
we carp at social distancing,
some do not have their own personal space,
and inevitably are in too close contact
with too many for the good of their health.
We worry rightly about
ensuring that front line staff
in the NHS and in social care situations
have the right personal protection equipment
and that hospital have enough
intensive care beds and ventilators
while many countries will never have
that equipment or those facilities
where many people’s auto-immune systems
have been weakened by other factors.
So today, on Easter Monday
we thank you for everyone
who looks beyond themselves
to the needs of your world
to all those who serve as best as they are able
in a professional, volunteer or neighbourly role
and those who look beyond themselves
to give and pray and serve a world in need
May the truth of the resurrection empower us
the power of the Resurrection motivate us
and praise for the resurrection
make us the compassionate people of God
for Jesus’ sake.