From the pulpit

Easter is the most important date of the Christian calender. Archbishop Sean Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland believes it is important for all of us to listen to the Easter message.

I SEND warm Easter greetings to the readers of the Sunday News.

Why look among the dead for someone who is alive? This was the question of the angels to the women who went to the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter morning.

Jesus had died on Good Friday. There were witnesses to his death and it was a very public event.

His lifeless body was taken down from the cross. He was laid in the tomb.

The Gospels tell us that a sentry was posted at the tomb to make it all the more secure. The women, his faithful friends, were on their way to the tomb with heavy hearts.

Their encounter with the Angel, and the question which the Angel posed, must have puzzled them greatly.

What did it mean? The answer they sought was actually contained in the Angel's question - "why look among the dead for someone who is alive?"

To their great astonishment they came to realise that Jesus had risen from the dead.

The message is clear, the Risen Christ is alive, the Risen Christ is alive today.

It is important that we meet him, that we find him, that we get in contact with him and that we are united with him. Otherwise the greeting - Happy Easter - is going to sound very hollow.

The Easter joy is a discovery of the joy of what Jesus has done for us, of what he has achieved for us. Easter calls us to believe that Christ is alive and active in our lives and the lives of others, and that he is present, loving and helpful in our lives.

Jesus was not found where people expected him to be, he was not in the tomb. We too come to meet him in unexpected places, particularly among the weak and the poor of the world.

Christ is risen indeed. His body walks the earth today, healing, teaching, feeding, suffering, dying and rising.

Easter is the most important of all the Christian festivals. It marks the triumph of goodness.

Christ died so that we may have life. By his Passion, Death and Resurrection he redeemed us.

At Easter we celebrate Christ's victory over sin and death. We celebrate the birth of new life.

For Christians it is a time for profound hope. It is our earnest hope here in Northern Ireland that progress will continue to be made in the peace process so that we may never return to the sin and death of violence and turmoil which Christ came to free us from.

We must continue to pray for our political leaders that they may have the courage to face up to the onerous responsibilities which have been placed upon them. They carry the hopes for peace of this generation and many generations to come.

However, we all have a responsibility in building peace - we cannot divest ourselves of this responsibility and load it all onto politicians.

We all have our part to play: we must reach out across the divide and attempt to build trust and remove the suspicion which exists between our divided communities.

I appeal to people to encourage in every way a willingness to understand feelings of mistrust, fear, insecurity and resentment, even when they believe them to be unfounded.

Accepting each other as we are, not as we wish each other to be, respecting each other's culture, celebrating diversity, above all rejoicing in our shared faith in Jesus Christ Our Risen Saviour: that is our Christian task.

We should celebrate the fact that Catholics and Protestants are united by our common belief in Jesus Christ. The love of Christ is powerful enough to drive out hatred and anger from our hearts.

I wish all readers a very happy Easter. May the risen Christ fill your hearts and lives with joy, peace and love.

Copyright 1999 MGN LTD
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