Coco Calling No.234 - A Parrot’s Guide to Easter

I’ve just seen some young bunnies bouncing around on the back lawn, so I guess it’s nearly Eastertime. It’s funny how they always know when to appear. And this is also the time of year when humans lay claim to the idea of eggs. Yes, they either paint them, roll them down hills, or make poor replicas out of chocolate. It’s very strange behaviour, but there again, it all ties in with what I know about humans.

Now, eggs and bunnies are all very nice, in that they help to remind us that Easter is a time of new life and procreation here on Earth. They symbolise the passing of Winter and the arrival of the Spring. But that’s really as far as they go. Because Easter is about a lot more than that. It’s about Jesus, about resurrection, about salvation and about our own long-term future. And the very essence of Easter comes down to one mind-blowing fact. That Jesus, -Son of God, -would rather die on the cross to save us, than exist in Heaven without us.

He still wants to save us, even when we don’t deserve it. So at the very heart of Easter is the most extraordinary act of selfless love.

And irrespective of whether you’re a brightly coloured parrot, or a drab human being, the fact remains that we are all participants in the Easter story. Because:

· Jesus died for us, but He isn’t dead.

· Death is very real for us, but it isn’t the end.

· There really is HOPE in the midst of our sorrows and suffering.

· And while we can’t physically see or touch Jesus, He is very much alive and around us.

· And so our lives here on Earth are not meaningless or insignificant, as we struggle against the odds. Because of Jesus and His resurrection on Easter Day, eternity in Heaven is within the grasp of every one of us.

And that is despite our failings, our faults, our waywardness and our imperfections. The love of Jesus conquers everything and brings hope to the world.

So, how will it be for us all this Eastertime? Will the story of the empty tomb, and the resurrection of Jesus, mean very much to us? Will we see its relevance to our own story, including our own future resurrection, after death? Because on Easter Day, we should all be dancing on the ceiling, swinging from the chandeliers, and screeching from our highest perches!

Happy Easter everyone. Hallelujah and Happy Easter!

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair; we are the Easter people, and Hallelujah is our song.”

(Pope John Paul II: 1920-2005: Head of the Catholic Church between 1978-2005 and the first Polish Pope.)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

(John 3: 16).