Christians around the world are today celebrating Easter also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday.
Easter is a Christian festival and holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day after his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD.
There are over 2.3 billion adherents accounting for about 31.2% of the total world population. Rwanda’s population is more than 95% affiliated to Christian faiths. Nigeria has the largest Christian population in Africa.
Reports from the UK’s Church of Canterbury the highest seat of the Anglican faith indicate that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (pictured above) is for the first time giving his Easter sermon across television, local and national radio and the Church of England digital platforms.
A service is premiering on the Church of England website, Facebook and YouTube channels starting at 9 a.m., while viewers of BBC One are able to tune in to a live Eucharist from Canterbury at 10 a.m.
Welby’s Easter sermon proclaims the resurrection as the turning point of history. In raising Jesus to new life, he will say, God makes a “lie” of death.
For the Roman Catholics, Pope Francis their representative with seat in the Vatican is Celebrating the 9th Easter of his pontificate.
Pope Francis delivered a homily at the Easter Vigil Mass, reflecting on what it means to go to Galilee, where the Risen Lord would precede His disciples.
Reflecting on the Easter episode of the women at the tomb, the Pope drew attention to what the angel told them.
“Wonder at hearing the words: ‘Do not be afraid!” the Pope said. “You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen’. And a message: ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him’.”
Ushering in the 9th Easter of his pontificate, the 84-year-old pontiff in his homily reflected on what it means to go to Galilee. First of all, it means to begin anew.
Galilee was the place of the first encounter of the disciples with the Lord, their first love. It was here that they listened to Him preach and perform miracles. It was also where they misunderstood His words and in the face of the cross abandoned Him and fled.
In spite of everything, the Lord invites them to start over from where they began. “In this Galilee,” the Pope said, “we learn to be amazed by the Lord’s infinite love, which opens new trails along the path of our defeats.”
Hence, he said, the first Easter message of returning to Galilee is that “it is always possible to begin anew despite all our failures.
“From the rubble of our hearts,” the Pope said, “God can create a work of art; from the ruined remnants of our humanity, God can prepare a new history.”
“In these dark months of the pandemic,” the Pope urged all to “listen to the Risen Lord as He invites us to begin anew and never lose hope”.
Going to Galilee also means going to the peripheries. Galilee, an outpost farthest from the ritual purity of Jerusalem, was where Jesus began His mission.
There, He brought His message to “those struggling to live from day to day, the excluded, the vulnerable and the poor”.
It is in the peripheries that God tirelessly seeks out those who are discouraged or lost. He goes to the “very peripheries of existence, since in His eyes no one is least, no one is excluded”.
Thus, the Risen Lord is asking His disciples to go to the settings of daily life, the streets we travel every day, the corners of our cities.
“There the Lord goes ahead of us and makes Himself present in the lives of those around us, those who share in our day, our home, our work, our difficulties, and hopes.”
The Pope said, “We will be amazed how the greatness of God is revealed in littleness, how His beauty shines forth in the poor and simple.”
