Village Shepherd

On a recent visit to Sweden to a parish just south of the Arctic Circle, we took Easter eggs as gifts for the children of our host family. They were greeted with delight and considerable interest, for although the Easter tradition in Sweden is for decorated eggs, their eggs are of the hard-boiled variety rather than chocolate eggs. Chocolate eggs were a great novelty for the youngsters and they displayed them with pride to all their friends.

Although change can sometimes be difficult to accept, new things and new experiences often give a lift to the spirits and provide us with much-needed refreshment. Holidays with a change of scenery and a change from the usual working pattern help to revive us and re-create us. And recreational activities allow us to relax and recover from the demands of work, whether that work is paid employment or voluntary work or work at home bringing up a family.

Perhaps when we think of rest and recreation, the longed-for ideal for many of us is whatever we might call heaven. After a particularly good experience people often say, "It was heaven!" Probably we all have different ideas and different desires concerning heaven, but most of us would be looking for a place or a state of peace and happiness, enjoyment and contentment. We may not desire something utterly bland with no excitement and no fun, but equally we probably don't look for our excitement in violence and anger and negative emotions, so we'd probably prefer heaven to be free of those.

Today's reading from the book of Isaiah describes somewhere perfect, somewhere heavenly. "For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind," says God. "I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. No more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress."

And God is concerned that people will live long and healthy lives without succumbing to sickness, for he adds, "No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth."

God is also concerned with the injustice of many people's lives and is aware that most people work hard in order that somebody else might make a large profit. Clearly God finds this iniquitous for he says, "They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands." In this state of perfection we'll all work for what we have. There'll be no more slave labour or people working for a pittance so that fat cats can grow even fatter.

And God will be so close to his people that he'll always hear them. "Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain," says the Lord.

It's a wonderful picture of Utopia, a place free from pain or sorrow, a place where all are rich, a place where people can commune with God whenever they wish, but it also sounds very much like pie-in-the-sky. Life just isn't like that. It's the sort of picture to hold in mind when thinking about Heaven or life after death, but is much too idealistic for life on this earth.

And yet for a brief interlude around 2,000 years ago, life was like that. Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled.

The Messiah was quite unlike anything anyone had ever imagined. He was real, human and down to earth. He was poor but it didn't bother him and he chose disciples who were politically powerless, as poor as he was and not very well educated. He started a great reform movement in which people turned back to God in a new way. He was concerned for the poor and the outcast and those shunned by polite society. After just three years of teaching and preaching and healing he died on a cross, but two days later he rose from death. That first Easter Sunday 2,000 years ago made all the difference, for his friends saw him again and experienced him, alive and fit and well.

In the evening of the first Easter Day according to John's gospel, Jesus breathed his spirit into them and empowered them, and after that their lives changed completely. Those in the early church made their own Utopia. Isaiah's dream came true, for they shared all their goods equally, they cared for each other and for the powerless and God "created Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight." So strong was their love for each other and for God that they were able to heal the sick and even on occasion to raise the dead. They were blessed by the Lord and God heard their prayers and responded to them.

It all seems a long time ago now and to be honest, the Utopia didn't last very long. But there in the Acts of the Apostles is a glimpse of how life could be if we really loved each other and we really loved God. If we were so filled by the Holy Spirit that we were empowered with God's power, what wonderful things we could achieve. We could make our own heaven here on earth, just as Jesus came to demonstrate.

What stops us?

Perhaps it all seems too remote. Two thousand years is a long time to sustain any sense of excitement or novelty over the events of the first Easter. And for those of us who have heard it all before from the cradle onwards, perhaps it all seems too familiar.

Perhaps we need something new. But this is the real excitement of Easter -- we can have something new! The empowering of human beings that Jesus gave on the first Easter Day has never stopped. God continues to empower human beings today. When God fills human beings with his spirit, they experience excitement such as they've never felt before. They experience a closeness to God, a real sense of his love and the power to change their lives. When God fills human beings with his spirit, miracles happen.

Utopia is still possible today. Isaiah's dream can be realised again. If we open ourselves to receive God's spirit and to express that spirit in love for God and in love for each other, we too will experience heaven on earth.