There's a silvery sky today, it feels like the sun is trying to get through. It's like a metaphor for where we are in the progress of this pandemic. There is a sense that better days are coming when the pandemic will be under control and lockdown measures are lifted. It was good to see children going into their schools this morning as a first step on the route out of this lockdown. We can hope this really is the beginning of the end, even if we now have to learn to live with Covid as an endemic disease.
But I have a concern. I see no sign of any regard for God. We've been struck by pestilence on a global scale. It has wrought havoc with daily life, health, families, businesses, education, leisure and so much else that we hold dear, and, above all, it has claimed millions of lives. Yet still we do not repent and seek God. It is as though the message of the pandemic is falling on deaf ears.
May it be that the cloud of this pandemic parts and the sunshine of normality shines through again - but the looming clouds of divine judgement remain above us. This church preaches 'Jesus Christ and Him crucified' (1 Corinthians 2:2) and, as we approach Easter, we invite you to come and to hear about Jesus who alone can reconcile you to God and who is truly the light of the world and the light of life.