Transcript
Each time we’ve tuned into the news over recent months, there seems to be more and more that is worrying and depressing. The attacks on innocent participants at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration in Bondi last December shocked us all and made us reassess the tolerance, harmony, and solidarity that we value so highly as a central part of our Australian community. Then the recent eruption of war in the Middle East has made clear how unstable the global situation is. Alongside these broader concerns, families continue to face personal struggles, tensions, separations, sickness, and bereavements which are exacerbated by worries about the ongoing pressure from rising costs of living. In the midst of this pain, suffering and uncertainty which is so much part of our human experience, Christians proclaim an Easter message of joy and hope. In His crucifixion, Jesus entered into the depths of the pain that is part of our human experience, assuring us that God walks with us in the darkest moments of our lives and never abandons us. Then in His resurrection, we see that God’s love and faithfulness is more powerful even than death. At Easter each year, we renew our baptismal promises, recalling our commitment to follow Jesus as His disciples, even to the giving of Himself on the cross. And at the same time, celebrating our confidence in God’s promise to share with us the new life of Jesus resurrection. As we celebrate Easter, may we continue our journey of discipleship, renewing our trust in Jesus’ faithful presence alongside us and our joy and hope in the power of God’s saving love, which in Jesus resurrection triumphs even over death.