The past is over and the future has yet to come. We cannot but live in the “now” of this particular year - 2012.
We have war from Afghanistan to Africa.
People want and go hungry in countries rich and poor. Nations like our own are bowed down under the yoke of economic woes. Violence on our streets and heartbreak in our homes is common. Our church stands in need of renewal.
Loved ones have left our shores in search of work. Friends or family may have been diagnosed with difficult illnesses. For some the loss and mourning of a loved one has marked the months gone by.
Yet it is into each and every one of these 2012 situations, that this year, the Easter Message is proclaimed just as it has been since that first Easter morning. Proclaimed with vigour by Christian people everywhere - “The Lord has really Risen! He has appeared to Peter.” (Lk 24:32)
After the pain and suffering of the passion and cross; after the stillness of death and burial in the tomb there comes that great news that for Jesus this was not to be his end. God’s last word is not suffering and dying but rather transformation and new life.
As the Paschal candle gradually lights up the darkness of the churches of our diocese during the great vigil of Easter, may the light of the Risen Christ shine in our lives and in our world.
As the message that HE IS RISEN is proclaimed and reverberates around our churches, I pray that it will echo not just in our ears but also in our minds and hearts.
May it give new hope, consolation and peace, in particular, to those weighed down by life’s troubles. That it will inspire us to better things and fill our hearts and our world with hope as we face the future in faith.
“The Lord has really risen. He appeared to Peter.”
Alleluia! Alleluia!