The Easter message

RAISED TO NEW LIFE

There is an ancient tradition that at Easter the Christians greet each other with the saying, “The Lord is risen”, and the response is then given, “He is risen indeed”. The saying expresses the joyful faith of Christians as they celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Resurrection of Jesus is the single most important element to the Christian faith. The Resurrection of Jesus changes everything, not only for Christians but for all human beings. It means that death is not the end to human existence. This single truth shapes everything about our lives. We live in the expectation of being raised to new life. Faith in the Resurrection gives perspective to the way we live. We no longer just live for what this world offers. We live with an eternal destiny in view. Confidence in life after death also enables us to bear with the burdens and sufferings that we may encounter. We are not fatalistic, but fervently believe that good can come from the trials of life, provided we accept them, trusting in God. Thus, at Easter when the Christian proclaims that Jesus has truly risen from the dead, we embrace a vision of life that is full of hope. The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead does indeed change everything. The Most Reverend Julian Porteous Catholic Archbishop of Hobart

GOD WILL FIND YOU

I love the movie Forrest Gump. I am especially fond of the scene where Lieutenant Dan turns to Forrest and says, “Have you found Jesus yet, Gump?”, to which he replies; “I didn’t know we was supposed to be looking for him, sir”. As funny as this is, the deeper truth under this humorous and/or naive observation is that we as sinful, fallen human beings do not, in our natural state, ‘look for Jesus’. We’re not interested. We don’t naturally go to church services. In fact our Lutheran Confessions reflect this as we speak on ‘Concerning the Free Will’, Article II, in the Formula of Concord published, 1580. On this article it is our teaching, faith, and confession that human reason and understanding are blind in spiritual matters and understand nothing on the basis of their own powers, as it is written, “Those who are natural do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them and they are unable to understand them” [1 Cor. 2:14*] when they are asked about spiritual matters. In other words, the Law of God says you cannot look for Christ or find him – but rather God finds you. As Lutherans we believe, teach and confess that God comes to you and finds you through his Word, through Baptism and through Holy Communion. By these means you may know concretely that God is for you and has forgiven you all your sins, therefore you are now free to go to church at Easter. You are not forgiven because you go to church or do anything. You are forgiven because God loves you. May God the Father fill you with his peace and joy by the Holy Spirit as you contemplate his son Jesus’ death and resurrection for you this Easter. Pastor (Reverend) Peter Noble Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church.

DO NOT BE AFRAID

Friday evening news headlines read ‘Jesus defeated at Calvary’. On Sunday the announcement came, ‘He is risen!’ A few women were making their way towards the tomb where the body of Jesus lay. However, the tomb was open, the stone rolled away when they entered, the body was gone. Who knows what must have gone through their minds. Fear, had someone stolen the body of Jesus? Worry, over who that would have been, for a moment their whole world would have stopped. Jesus, their teacher, friend, saviour was gone. An angel there seeing their fear begins to speak to them; he delivers a message of hope, even for us these words bring hope. He says, “Do not be afraid,” Straight away he addresses their fear. It’s a message of peace. It’s like he said no need to fear. 2000 years later these same words, do not be afraid can bring peace to our hearts. There are times when I haven’t known what to pray except to ask God for His peace and I am encouraged when the words ‘do not be afraid’ are spoken to my heart. Once their fears are addressed the message becomes one of power. He is risen! I’m not sure that I can even contemplate how much power it took but I do know this: because Jesus was able to conquer death, the living Lord can work miracles in any life – even mine, even yours. I pray this Easter you will discover God’s peace and power. Major Tracy Biggs Salvation Army

‘WONDROUS’ FIRST EASTER

For rock climbers, the crux of a climb is the hardest section, the biggest challenge requiring the most courage, persistence and skill to work through. The crux is the heart of a climb, the most difficult and demanding part, and requires your full attention. In the Christian cycle of religious celebrations each year, Easter is seen as the crux point, literally: the heart and hardest part of the Christian story and message, the pivot point around which the rest of history is seen to turn. The crucifixion and resurrection are the inseparable Easter events whose meaning relies on each other: one without the other makes less sense, or non-sense. For the early disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, who later became known as Christians, the first Easter was both devastating and wondrous. The leader they had followed was brutally put to death by the religious and imperial powers of the day, but they shared real experiences of Jesus alive again, transformed but familiar, and wondered how to make sense of their experiences in their context. Two of those devastated disciples on the road to Emmaus reported that Jesus walked with them, talked with them about all that had happened and ‘broke bread’ with them (Luke 24). When they realised they had seen the risen Jesus, they rushed to share that good news with others, just as the women who visited the tomb early on Easter morning had done. These religious stories in the Christian scriptures attest to this mystery of Jesus crucified and risen, resurrected and transformed, as Christ, holy Word and divine Wisdom. The ancient stories still do not solve ancient and modern questions about possible resuscitation, removal or substitution of a body. But the Easter stories do show disciples working through the difficult and demanding challenges of the crux with courage and persistence, and together finding abundant life in communities of care, compassion and equality. Modern disciples in the Christian churches still face these challenges of making sense of devastating and wondrous experiences, and together sustaining communities of care and compassion in a world still rent by violence and war. As followers of Jesus the Christ, inspired by the spirit of God’s Wisdom, Christians continue the demanding work of praying and working for peace, everywhere. Rohan Pryor Chairperson, Uniting Church Presbytery of Tasmania

DISCOVERY OF TRUE HOPE

There is this belief that an election, particularly with a new government elected, will change everything. Problems will be solved, everything will be better, old things will be made new, etcetera. But is that ever the case? It tends more towards same old, same old – but with a different colour. True hope for a better tomorrow is rarely found in politics. True hope only exists when we look beyond ourselves. Jesus of Nazareth said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), meaning that in

Him is true hope, one that is not coloured red, blue, green or independent. Scholar Tom Wright wrote, “The point of the resurrection is not simply that God has done something remarkable for one person (as some imagine is the thrust of Easter), but that, through the resurrection, the present age has been invaded by the age to come, the time of restoration, return, covenant renewal, and forgiveness. An event has occurred as a result of which the world is a different place, and human beings have the new possibility to become a different kind of people” (N.T Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God, vol. 3 [Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003], 332) Before his miraculous resurrection, Jesus raised three other people back to life – a community leader’s daughter (Matt 9:23-25), a widow’s son (Luke 7:1117) and his friend, Lazarus (John 11:38-44) – not to forget those who were said to have been raised along with Jesus (Matt 27:53). Resurrection hope is not just about Easter, it is about everyone. Senior Pastor Simon Clemow Hobart City Church of Christ

IN JESUS, LIES THE ANSWER

We all die. It’s not a very cheery thought, but we do all die in the end. We can simply believe that it is just natural and that the end is the end, and that’s it. But remember that this, in itself, is a belief, a ‘faith’ of sorts, and in the history of humanity, a pretty recent one. Most cultures in the world until fairly recently have appreciated the human soul, the spiritual dimension, the things that no one can explain, and suppose there is something more than we can taste and see. Most of us have at least an inkling of transcendence, a suspicion there is something more, and a hope that this life is not all there is. The nagging question is “how can we be certain”? The Easter story has been an enduring answer to that question. Two thousand years ago, Jesus traversed the unknown landscape of death and life. He lived, suffered, died and three days later he came back from the dead; long enough to be really dead, and seen by enough people to be sure he was really alive again. The answer for the death and life question is “Jesus”. He is the one who has passed through the great unknown and returned, blazing a trail so that believing in him, we too might know the answer. If you have an inkling that this life might not be all that there is, then come check out Jesus this Easter. You’ll be glad you did. The Right Reverend Dr Richard Condie Anglican Church of Tasmania

NOSTRADAMUS WAS AN AMATEUR

Because Easter rolls around each year we can fall into the trap that familiarity brings and completely miss the truth staring us in the face. And I’m not just talking about the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus. I’m talking about something that happened 700 years before he was born. If Jesus is truly the son of God and not just a misguided religious teacher in a long string of gurus, then there should be something about his life that no other religious leader could claim for themselves. 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah, a Jewish prophet gave a prophecy that leaves Nostradamus in the dust. Looking 700 years into the future Isaiah wrote these words about the coming saviour of the world: “Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins. But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed ... yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. “Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream ... he had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.” Jesus was only in his early 30s when he was unjustly accused by the Sanhedrin and handed over to the Romans for crucifixion. He was whipped and beaten before being nailed to a cross between two criminals. He was then buried in the borrowed tomb of a rich Jewish leader. And then three days later he came back to life. If the correlation between Isaiah’s prophecy and the life of Jesus doesn’t amaze you and cause you to think, try predicting who’s going to win the AFL Grand Final in 50 years’ time. Maybe that might drive home the unbelievable accuracy of Isaiah and the subsequent truth of Jesus’ claims about himself and the way to heaven. Pastor Dermot Cottuli Grace Church Clarence Plains, Australian Christian Churches and Assemblies of God

HE BORE THE SINS OF ALL PEOPLE

What is the big issue by which Christianity stands or falls? Good Friday is a time when many give special remembrance to the violent death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, around 2000 years ago. Actually, the followers of that same Jesus Christ remember His death on the cross every day of their lives. And here is the big issue: that death had to really occur in history for it to mean anything. Jesus’s death must be an historical fact for it to count. Why? Because in His death He bore the sins of all people who are His. People back then. People now. People from every nation. The Christian faith would be, if the death of Christ is fiction, a complete falsehood. Instead, the Bible testifies reliably to it. Also, millions upon millions of people have had their lives, and eternal state, transformed by the power of Christ’s death. The resurrection of Christ also matters. As we said regarding His death, the resurrection of Jesus must be an historical fact – otherwise Christians are to be the most pitied of all people. But if the resurrection is true, as Christians hold it to be, then those who believe in Jesus are raised with Him too – from spiritual death to life, and life eternal. You are lovingly implored to consider these matters. If it meant so much to God that He sent His only begotten son to die and raise again to life, then surely this requires our urgent attention. Moderator Nathan Patrick Presbyterian Church of Tasmania

LONGING FOR A BETTER WORLD

Hobart is a world away from Jerusalem. On average, our days are 3.3C colder, our year’s sunshine 1350 hours less, and our houses some 14,000km away. From this distance, the events now taking place in this complex part of the world are confronting and confusing. For many in Hobart, the meaning of Easter is just as distant. In the northern hemisphere, Easter is saturated with themes of new beginnings, of new life, and relief from cold winters. And the Easter story of Jesus’s death and resurrection sits cosy and inviting within it. Much of this is lost in our Easter, where the horizon is autumn not spring. Our hope is little more than a late blooming of summer before plunging into the wet and cold of another winter. In autumn, the hope of new life is somewhat obscured. All is not lost, however. In a world where darkness, hopelessness, and disappointment cast long shadows, an Easter tinged with the muted colours of autumn rather than the verdancy of spring is perhaps more than appropriate. After all, the darkness of death is the prerequisite for a resurrection. Hope only finds meaning in the dark context in which it was born. Despite our distance from Jerusalem, an autumn Easter can help us navigate the reality of the suffering of our world. Jesus longed for a better world and was willing to die for it. Easter reminds us he experienced the dark realities of life and pioneered a way through them. I pray we may know that pathway of hope this Easter. Senior Pastor Stephen Baxter Baptist Churches of Tasmania