A world without Easter: the ultimate shaggy dog story

The other Sunday I tuned into Desert Island Discs. I happened to be on the journey from Rawtenstall to Manchester and I was taken with the "castaway" and what he might say. He was Sebastian Faulks the author of Birdsong and On Green Dolphin Street amongst other best sellers.

You may know the format of the programme. A well known person is interviewed and asked to select a number of records to take with him or her to a desert island in the event of a shipwreck.

It was his analysis of life that struck me - the ultimate shaggy dog story. Now a shaggy dog story is

"A lengthy, improbable and ultimately pointless story, often told in an attempt at humour."

And I thought that was rather striking. Because in all our activities we sometimes have that nagging wondering "What's the point of it all?" And that is not very funny. Paul wrote about the pity which should be heaped on Christians if Jesus had not broken out of the grave and returned full of life on the first Easter Sunday morning; if there is no resurrection from the dead.

Easter was the start of God breaking into our lives often in the most unexpected places.

Tuesday was going to be a hectic day beginning with a visit to the dentist. So why does his radio play "how great thou art" just as I have a mouth full of the instruments of torture? And what did it mean to me when I passed a white van with "The Lord's my shepherd" written at the top of the Baggies badge on the windscreen (this being the West Brom equivalent to Liverpool's "You'll never walk alone").

No Easter - now that would be the ultimate shaggy dog story.