In the time and space we are living in our 3rd week of lockdown from the Covid-19 outbreak and it is also Holy week on the lead up to Easter. I think it is quite easy right now to think about sacrifice. During this time, the idea is that we all do something for the greater good, that simply staying at home is your sacrifice to make. For a lot of people but especially teenagers this wouldn't have seen like much of a challenge 12 months ago. If I asked you to stay home for 3 weeks not having to do anything, a lot of people would say I could do that no problem. However doing it for a lot of people is proving harder than you would think.
But that simple sacrifice of not being able to go out, not being able to see your friends and some family is small in comparison to some at the moment.
The NHS is currently working overtime to help vulnerable people that have got this incredibly infectious disease. During this time a lot of them are self-isolating from family, working long shifts and have been told that they cannot take any holiday for up to the next 6 months. Not only this but currently 16 NHS members of staff have sadly passed away from the disease, all whilst helping other people.
However in Sacrifice there is Hope.
Watch the Video about the way the NHS staff are working.
But that simple sacrifice of not being able to go out, not being able to see your friends and some family is small in comparison to some at the moment.
The NHS is currently working overtime to help vulnerable people that have got this incredibly infectious disease. During this time a lot of them are self-isolating from family, working long shifts and have been told that they cannot take any holiday for up to the next 6 months. Not only this but currently 16 NHS members of staff have sadly passed away from the disease, all whilst helping other people.
However in Sacrifice there is Hope.
Watch the Video about the way the NHS staff are working.
The sacrifice these people are making is clearly hard, but all of us doing our bit and showing appreciation is really key. This works for our NHS Staff but also the people close to us, the people we live with, our family and friends, it all matters.
Sacrifice isn't easy. I think we are discovering that right now.
During Holy Week we think about Jesus's sacrifice on the cross, the story leading up to it, the hardship, the pain, the suffering. However when we get to the end of the week, when we get Easter Sunday, whatever you think about Jesus's resurrection it is a story of Hope. Hope at the end of true great Sacrifice. Things are extremely bleak in the Good Friday narrative, friends being displaced, family left not being able to see their loved one, torture, pain, suffering, injustice.
I think its fair to say that we understand this a little more right now, currently a person passes away every 2 minutes due to Covid-19 in the UK alone. Each one with a story of someone who is loved, a worker that just saw a patient pass away another statistic but so much. But just like during Holy Week the story hasn't come to an end.
Easter Sunday arrives, the tomb empty and Hope arises. Friends and family are brought together over breakfast, people tell stories, ask questions and have a good time. The world seeming changed, but the sacrifices have been worth it. The story is one of Hope.
I don't know what the future holds, none of us do really. However the world will have changed, the sacrifices I'm sure will be worth it and we will hold a story of Hope. One that came from loss, pain, and suffering.
Do your bit STAY AT HOME!
Think about the Sacrifice the NHS and so many others are making, think about Jesus's sacrifice. Know that there is Hope at the end of it all.
Give a listen to the song below and have a time to reflect.
