churches together in england l

Passiontide and Easter message

 
There are moments when life doesn't seem worth living anymore, when there is a sense of helplessness around us, when injustice piles on injustice and dreams are trampled underfoot. That was how the followers of Jesus felt on Good Friday. Jesus had been executed by the powers that be and the hopes of a kingdom full of justice, peace and love seemed buried with him. Many in our world experience such times of desolation as they endure war, insurrection, hunger, poverty and distress.
 
But early on Easter Sunday morning when the women came to anoint the body of Jesus, they found that something extraordinary and inexplicable had happened. The grave clothes were there, but the tomb was empty. They soon discovered that Jesus was alive. God had raised him from the dead and the power of death had been broken.
 
The earliest Christians gathered together, encountered the Risen Jesus among them, and experienced his forgiveness.  On Good Friday Jesus was lifted up on the cross, his resurrection on Easter is the assurance that God in Christ is with us, giving us hope and strength to grasp the opportunities available, to proclaim his resurrection and to seek his help in times of difficulty and struggle. With Christ in our midst we will overcome.
 
The good news of Easter is that God's kingdom of love, justice and peace is possible and that lives of individuals and peoples can be transformed. We pray that this Easter will be a time when the risen Jesus comes into your lives and that you feel a calling to be his witnesses that the world may see and believe.
 
(Join Christians in a local church this Easter, or visit www.christianity.org.uk to find out more about the joy of Easter)


www.cte.org.uk/easter2014