Let's not go back to how it was before

‘Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel!’ Jeremiah 31.1-6 (https://www.biblegateway.com NRSVA)

Although the long exile of the people of Israel from their homeland has barely begun, Jeremiah envisages what their return will be like. Banished to the wilderness they will nonetheless find grace and rest there. God loves the exiles with an everlasting love and continue to be faithful to them even when they are far from home. He will use this as an opportunity to rebuild the nation, giving it a completely fresh start, a new beginning.

So when they return the people will not be coming back to how things were in the past, when they messed everything up. This will be a time for rejoicing and dancing, for planting new initiatives and reaping the benefits, for worshipping God and thanking him for what has come to pass.

The parallels with our current situation are obvious. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said in his Easter message to the nation: ‘We cannot be content to go back to what was before as if all is normal.There needs to be a resurrection of our common life. Even in the dark days of this Easter we can feed on hope. We can dream of what our country and our world will look like after the pandemic.’

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