An Easter Sunday message from the Moderator

The Easter Sunday message "whispers wisdom to a weary world" and represents the defeat of death and hope reborn.

To mark the Resurrection of Jesus during unprecedented times for the Church of Scotland and wider society, Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, Moderator of the General Assembly, said Christ is risen - He is risen indeed. Hallelujah.

"The ancient Easter story, for so many of us difficult to decipher, if we consider it at all," she said.

"There are still hints of a deeper meaning hidden in hunts for painted eggs, then the race to roll them downhill, and the now less fashionable ‘new clothes for Easter Sunday'.

"We still nod to its message when we give chocolate eggs.

"Laden with language so distanced from us, words we struggle to translate into something that speaks to us today – crucifixion, resurrection, the symbolism of an empty tomb and the resurgence of a group who had scattered fear-filled and desolate.

"They claimed that the one they followed was still amongst them, still transforming the world through them.

"The story still whispers wisdom to a weary world.

"The story still heralds an audacious hope we need to hear, still has the power to hold us fast and firm to each other.

"The story, when heard and heeded, still sends us home to live a different, difficult, divinely inspired way.

"Easter - the truth that love is so persistent that it penetrates and overpowers death itself – that it will not be doused like a candle in the wind, but rises up in the lives of those who were loved, taught, healed, fed, forgiven and freed.

"They will believe it enough to put their weight behind it, enough to stand up for it, speak out for it, act in ways that bring its truth to life again and again. So, one Easter message for today.

"One life, your life matters.

"One life, your life makes its mark on those you share yourself with.

"One life, your life makes an impact much more far-reaching than your limited sight and time allows you to witness.

"One life, your life will bear witness to those who follow.

"A question the story asks, maybe the question the story asks is ‘who will resurrect in you?'

"When your one life resonates with the world, what will your life resurrect (bring back to life) in others?

"Will it be love, peace, justice for the most vulnerable? Will it spark life in the world we share long after your beautiful, brief flicker of time has ended?

"The ancient Easter story, echoing through the eons whispers to a weary world – ‘love wins.' And it begins, but certainly does not end, with you."