Easter Friday reflections on Day 16 of Lockdown...

The cross as symbolic of my Christian faith

This Easter Friday there are many things to reflect upon in Day 16 of our COVID-19 Lockdown. As Christians, this will be the first time that many believers have not had the opportunity to worship together with friends and family on this special day.

This morning, I, like many Christians around the world traded in attending an Easter service for watching it online. For me it was watching our Senior Paster Paul de Jong on www.lifenz.org

For my family and I, it's a time of acknowledging the powerful story of our faith in the Easter story starting from the Passover and then in remembrance of the last supper, the betrayal, the crucifixion of Jesus and then the ultimate Resurrection.

The 'Stations of the cross' are another timely reminder of the Easter story as observed in other church faiths i.e. Catholic and Anglican etc. and I, unfortunately, was not able to attend our annual 'The Watch' which is a contemplative session before Easter but will be observing www.lifenz.org/easterwatch

It's also a time to reflect on what is currently happening around the world with the fight against COVID-19 coronavirus and how there are many frontline workers who are sacrificing their lives for the lives of many.

This is a time of prayer to be thankful for our health and also praying for protection for those who are working directly with those who are sick and especially for those who have lost loved ones to this novel virus that is no respecter of persons.

As far as the National NZ strategy goes it has cautiously been lauded as a success insofar as in comparison with other nations who locked down later with higher death tolls. Although behind every statistic there is an individual, a family and a story. It's for these nations with their high death tolls that we will be praying for...