God crossing the Road

Last week I had the very unusual experience of being rung up by a reporter from The Sun. She was very pleasant and had my phone number because of the Malmesbury Abbey skateboarding events we run each February. I was asked to write an Easter message for 3 million Sun readers. It would be good, she said, if I included the meaning of Easter, something about the local community, skateboarding and maybe make some of Jesus teaching relevant to young people—in 200 words, maybe 300. As well as writing this I had a photographer come a take my picture, for about an hour. (Apparently he struggled to find that good side.) Anyway, I think this might be a first for the vicar of Malmesbury Abbey, so in case you missed it, it’s printed below in the version I submitted. Happy Easter.

‘Life doesn’t always work. People lie, relationships fail, jobs disappear, bills get left unpaid, family get sick. We all get that, young and old. So if Easter means anything at all, it must mean something about that, about reality. It can’t be just a bunch of songs in an old building - although I like the songs, and the building I work in is awesome.

Jesus tells a story about a man, the Good Samaritan, who crossed the road to help a badly beaten up stranger. And on our better days we’d probably give it a go too, because people matter. But the bigger picture is this: Easter means that God crosses the road towards us when we’re beaten up. When life doesn’t work.

Each year in February we put a skatepark in Malmesbury Abbey. Yes, a 21st century load of noise and wheels in a 12^th century Abbey. We don’t do it because we think the world would be a better place if everybody skateboarded – that would be one slightly weird world. We do it because nobody can afford a holiday in the February half term, and because we want to cross the road to young people and families in our community and say Easter means something.

God looks at the mistakes and struggles of our lives and says the story doesn’t have to end there, with the despair of Good Friday. There is hope on Easter Day, because where there was death, now there’s life. And if God can conquer death, God can conquer anything. Easter means God is crossing the road.’