HAVE you ever seen those salt and pepper pots that hug each other, perhaps in a seaside gift shop or on eBay? There are various kinds, such as animals or angels in contrasting colours. Mine are black and white human figures, arms entwined, embracing, maybe dancing.
The wistful faces on the tiny flowing bodies gaze over each other's shoulders as if they're meant for one another. It's brilliant how they fit together: opposites yet complementary. They remind me of how spring sunshine and April showers intermingle, bringing a great surge of new life. These thoughts help me when I need to pray about difficult situations which have no easy answers.
Perhaps the frightened followers of Jesus felt like this in the weeks following the first Easter. Although Jesus had appeared amongst them, they still needed to make sense of what had happened: to reconcile the darkness of the Cross with the joy of the Resurrection.
This meant working through painful memories. Jesus didn't push them, didn't bombard them with theology. He walked, talked, ate with them. He gave them time to adjust, to heal, to re-kindle hope and confidence until, out of this vulnerable, humbled but forgiven community, there emerged the infant Church, filled with surging new life.
For Christians today, this same Jesus is alive and with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. It's as if he is the salt to our pepper, arms always open to receive us.
Whether we need to talk, wrestle, cry or be hugged, he is there, longing to take us deeper into his love. Why not give him a try?