April Message

This year the month of April begins half way through Holy Week. This is a time when we think of vastly contrasting events in close proximity. It begins on Palm Sunday with the crowds cheering Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. On Maundy Thursday we remember Jesus celebrating the Passover meal with his disciples and as they eat bread and drink wine together he tells them “do this in remembrance of me”.

Shortly after this fellowship meal Jesus is betrayed by one of these disciples, arrested and then tried before the High Priest and then before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. On Good Friday, Jesus is led out to be crucified at Calvary along with two others. At this point his followers must have been in the depths of sorrow and despair.

Fast forward three days and we come to Easter Sunday, a great day of celebration in the Christian calendar, when we remember the many stories of Jesus appearing to his disciples after he has risen from the dead. Despite the darkness of Good Friday, God reversed the outcome. Destructive forces thought they had won, but God was victorious.

Easter is not just an event to remember, but a present reality that brings hope to a broken world. Just now there is much in our news each day that might make us think that dark forces have the upper hand. But we are called to be people of the resurrection, carrying the light and joy of Jesus’ victory into the daily lives of our communities. Jesus is alive today and has the power to transform lives that are open to receive him.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

(Read: Romans 8 verses 31 to 39)

Brian Turner … Churchwarden St Mary’s Knockin.