The Hope of Easter by Stewart Perry
It’s almost Easter… but… Easter isn’t just one day…it even isn’t just a season in the Church that runs for 50 days until Pentecost… Easter is a way of life & we are called to be “Easter People.”
And no I don’t mean we dress up like the Easter Bunny & eat egg shaped chocolates all year round… although you can pretty much find Easter Eggs in the shops all year round… along with Hot cross buns… but don’t get me started on that! I was raised that you have your first Hot Cross Bun on Good Friday… but I’ve learnt to get over that!
Easter declares to the world that Jesus is alive! Death is defeated! Grace is poured out! The Holy Spirit is moving!
We are invited to have the most intimate relationship we can possibly have with the maker of the universe, all because of Jesus. Easter declares to us personally that we are worth it, chosen, transformed & released to bring hope to an uncertain world.
And this isn’t just a new thing… we’re almost 2000 years in & this is still as real & raw, as exciting & unexpected as it was when the women experienced who came to the tomb, found the stone had been rolled away & it finally clicked that Jesus is alive.
But notice what happens next… They ran to share the hope with others… & so should we. And couldn’t we use a little hope in our lives right now?
The kind of hope that changes lives, the kind of hope that shines light into dark places. Hope that calms the anxious & lifts up those dragged down by depression. Hope that doesn’t just last for a moment & then leaves you with a sense of emptiness or regret but a hope that is ever-present whether you’re feeling amazing, at you your lowest & everything in between.
As Easter people, we find hope in an uncertain world & we live it out. As so freely hope is given to us, so freely we bring hope as a gift to others. Hope is so much better than Easter Eggs & despite the rising price of cocoa sending chocolate prices through the roof, hope is way more costly. Jesus gave his very life so we can have hope & it will likely cost us something to share hope with others.
From Easter Day through to Pentecost the Anglican Church all over Australia has committed to the Hope25 project which is a movement to show hope through our local churches to our community. Even the sections of the Anglican Church that don’t normally get along are laying aside their differences for this project. We all know that laying aside our differences can be costly.
Hope can’t be stored in the fridge like an Easter Egg until we’re ready for it. Hope needs to be shared right away. People are waiting for it & they’re searching for it but often in the wrong places & people. As Easter people we have the words of eternal life (just look up John 6:68). We’re invited to encounter Jesus so we can pass on hope for the benefit of others. There’s no prescription for the best way to show & share hope, it’s versatile, adaptable, demographically transferable.
Jesus is the hope we need in an uncertain world & Jesus needs his Easter people to get busy sharing, showing & sowing hope. Over this Easter weekend & for the 50 days that follow I pray that our churches can be a lighthouse of Hope to an uncertain world.
Happy Easter