Sundays 11th & 18th May, 4th & 5th Sundays of Easter, 3rd & 4th after Easter

“Freedom isn’t free”. As I write this, we are just beginning the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of VE Day. At the heart of the services, parades and acts of remembrance will be the awareness of the price paid by literally a whole generation to secure the freedoms which many of us have taken for granted our whole lives. Many, many people offered up, as Winston Churchill put it, “blood, sweat, and tears” for the sake of future generations. As Christians we understand this: as we continue to celebrate Easter season we remember the price of our own spiritual freedom and new life in God, paid by Jesus on the cross. Freedom is not free – someone always has to pay for it. But in one sense freedom is free, in that it is a gift to those who come after, and we value that gift by living fully in that freedom, not by being burdened with the cost of it. At the same time, though, freedom does come with an obligation. I receive my own freedom as a gift – but if I value that gift I will seek to pass it on to others, and that might sometimes be costly. “Freely you have received,” said Jesus, “freely give.” If we understand the value of grace, we will be gracious to others; if we understand the importance of forgiveness, we will be forgiving; if we understand the liberation of not being judged, we will not be judgemental; if we value our own freedom, we will seek freedom for others. What are we prepared to do so that others might live free?

Every blessing, Roger.