On Easter Sunday, following the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord, I sat down and feasted with friends. I ate too much, talked too much, and basically enjoyed the gift of friendship, and a rather indulgent vegan chocolate cake. That marked the beginning of Easter Week, the end of which is marked this weekend by ‘Low Sunday’. It is followed by Low Week.

As someone with little theological study, I have often thought that Low Week is named as such because it reflects the ‘climb down’ from the exuberance of Easter to a more routine rhythm of life. Now we rest in the ‘what next’ of the Easter story. What next after the loss and bereavement of a dear friend and teacher? What next after the public humiliation and murder of a leader in which so much hope was placed? What next after the rumours that he has been seen, suggestions that defy all human logic and understanding?

On Wednesday we marked the 50th anniversary of the death of Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr. His assassination in Memphis, on April 4 1968, marked a turning point in the Civil Rights movement. All involved in the fight for equality and dignity, black and white, were forced to ask ‘what next?’. An activist who was arrested 29 times, whose home was bombed with his family still inside, who spoke with a prophetic voice that reaches us today; Dr King’s life and death continue to act as a mirror of Christ-like service and sacrifice.

As Low Week begins, we have some time, after sharing in the questioning of our place in the passion story, to ask how we carry on as people whose lives are made possible because of what has gone before. How can and how should our lives respond to the events of last week and the weekend? Our answers will be personal, and dependent on our journeys and life stories. My hope and prayer is that our responses are sustained and life-giving, and that they “will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream”.