A few weeks ago, the last of the scaffolding came down. Since then the spring sunshine has streamed into the nave, illuminating the stone carvings and – in late morning – lending the pulpit a bright glow. But the repair work also allowed us to see the church from new angles and new perspectives, through photos taken from the cherry-picker platform high in the nave. One of these photos really struck me: in it the shape of the pulpit is elongated, it looks almost like the font.

Perhaps this effect is chance, a trick of the light. But perhaps it also reflects the metaphors and imagery in the scripture, especially John’s gospel where Jesus offers both the water and the words of eternal life. It reminds us too that sometimes we get so used to one way of seeing things that we can overlook connections, or a sense of the whole. When we take the time and the opportunity to look from a different place, our imagination becomes engaged and suddenly what has been so familiar can gain new meaning.

In these days after Easter, we are invited to see all creation anew, to be drawn away from our usual viewpoints and to see our world instead in the light of the resurrection and in the context of God’s story of hope and liberation. High-tech machines and new photos can surprise us and help us, but sometimes it is simply the joyful alleluias which remind us of that Easter light.