Photo Credit: Patrick Joubert / Seychelles News Agency
An Easter message from the Primate of the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean, Archbishop James Wong.
Alleluia, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and he is alive. The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
My dear brothers and sisters, greetings! We are once again celebrating the joyous feast of Easter. I hope that you had a blessed Lenten season during which we have journeyed from the life of a believer to a life of a disciple and you were blessed. Lent has been a season of movement, transformation and commitment.
Easter is an extension of the movement, transformation and commitment. Very early, this very morning of the first Easter, we see Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved were moving to and from the grave. The stone was removed. The strips of linen lying in the tomb and the body of our Lord was removed?
No, the body was resurrected, transformed into a glorious one. The curse of the cross has been changed, transformed into a blessing. The cross is now seen as a symbol of hope, and a reminder of God’s love for us. The grave was seen as the final destination of a person, a door we close on our earthly life. Now, we can rejoice that beyond death is where life really begins, and it will never end.
Easter teaches us that death has been transformed; we have the hope of life after death because Jesus is risen from the dead and He is alive. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Dear fellow pilgrims on our earthly journey, have you been moving from a believer to a disciple? Has your life been transformed into one which is an expression of our active faith as a disciple?
The lives of Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved were transformed and they committed themselves to sharing the message of the resurrection to the community of the Apostles, disciples and believers and eventually to the world. And they did it. Have we committed our lives to serve actively God and the Church? If yes, Praise the Lord and if no, now is the time for us to commit our lives to do so.
Choosing to be a disciple is a choice that we commit to in a radical way. Each one of us is, in this world, to live for Jesus Christ and do His will straight forwardly without reserve.
We are as Christians celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us also celebrate our commitment to be Christlike.
Easter reminds us how God has been good to us.
He gave His own precious son to save us from our sins.
Let’s return the favour by sharing our blessings to others.
Happy Easter to you and your love ones!
Together for the glory of God,
Archbishop James Wong Yin Song
Your fellow pilgrim and Bishop