The following piece was first written for the April 5, 2026 pew sheet at St Augustine’s Anglican Church. I share it here again in the hope that it may continue to encourage and bless.
Today we celebrate the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ – the astounding truth that he who died on the cross on Good Friday is now alive again. This is not resuscitation, nor reincarnation, but resurrection: a decisive, once-for-all victory over death itself. In all of history, this has happened to no one else in the same way. Jesus stands alone as the risen Lord.
In the Bible, Jesus is described as the "first fruits" of the dead. This rich harvest image tells us that his resurrection is both the guarantee and pattern of what is to come. Just as the first sheaf of a harvest signals that more is on the way, so Christ's rising is the foretaste and promise of the future resurrection of all who belong to him. His victory is not his alone; it is the beginning of God's great renewal of all things. Because of this, the resurrection is truly good news – news that gives us a living hope.
Hope today can feel in short supply. Many feel overwhelmed by the constant stream of troubling headlines and the weight of a broken world. It is easy to question God's goodness or wonder how he is at work amid so much suffering. I once spoke with a man who said he could not believe in God because, if God existed, he would surely disagree with how the world is being run. Perhaps he, like many, had been overcome by the sheer volume of bad news.
Yet it is precisely into this world that Jesus comes, bringing good news and offering a living hope. Easter is the feast of that hope. It does not deny the reality of suffering, but declares that it matters so deeply that God has acted in Christ to make all things new. So our calling is clear: to embrace this hope, to celebrate it, and to share it. As Easter people, we live with joy and purpose, serving faithfully in a broken world, reaching out to the last, the least and the lost.
May God bless you and your family richly this Easter season.
