An Easter message from the Bishop of Warwick, the Right Reverend John Stroyan
IF Christmas teaches us that God became human in Jesus Christ to demonstrate his love for us, Easter teaches us something more. At Easter we are reminded of the cost of that love to God. If we want to know how much God loves us, we have only to look at the Cross of Jesus, how he suffered and died but continued, even on the cross, loving and forgiving. In the suffering of God on the Cross we see that God is not remote or distant from us, but One who is with us always, in and through all the struggles, pains and suffering we face.
There can be no Easter without Good Friday. The good news of Easter – the very best news of all – is that Jesus rose again and met with his disciples. He showed that death and darkness and suffering do not have the last word. It took time for those disciples to recognize him, but when they did, their lives were changed forever. They could not contain their joy. The experience of encountering their risen Lord transformed those fearful, dejected and leaderless disciples into confident witnesses who could not stop themselves sharing the good news that Jesus is alive. And that is why the Church is here today, to tell us that God is alive, God is with us – and most importantly of all, God wants to meet with us today and to know his love and experience his presence.
