2023 Easter message

A time to reflect on Jesus as a symbol of hope

How do we make sense of all this?

This is a question being asked around us quite a bit lately. Over the last twelve months, we have seen some good, but also a lot of challenging times – in our own contexts as well as across the world. We’re navigating the challenges of an ever increasing cost of living. We’ve seen a lot of political change at state and federal levels, and an important referendum is on the near horizon.

On the world stage, we are confronted once again with calamity and conflict in various parts. Ukraine is under attack, Turkey and Syria are rebuilding after disasters and closer to our neighbourhood, the tensions and acts of violence in Myanmar (pictured below) are a cause for great concern even among many who live in our region. Earlier this year I was able to see and hear firsthand the stories of displaced people in a Thai refugee camp as more and more people are driven from their homes and rendered stateless.

How do we make sense of it all? And, who can make sense of it all?

I’m reminded of a wonderful story in the Bible where Jesus is having a conversation with a woman from a neighbouring community called Samaria (pictured right). She is surrounded by tensions – her own social standing being the most pressing, but also religious and political ones as well. She has loads of questions about the world she lives in, but also has hope that somebody will come to make sense of it all: “When the Messiah comes, he will explain it all.” The crescendo of this conversation is the declaration of Jesus: “You’re speaking to him! I am that person you’re looking for!”

While we struggle to make sense of life all around us, we can have confidence that somebody beyond us knows the way this will all play out. He alone can make sense of it all, and we can trust him to see us through. This may come across as a lofty statement, but for Christians the Easter weekend helps us understand our confidence in this statement.

The events of that first Easter in AD30 gave the opportunity for all of humanity to make sense of things again, if they would dare to believe. This is not a promise that all our problems disappear, but a far greater sense of understanding the big picture of life. Jesus received in himself the punishment for sin for all of humanity on the cross (we remember this on Good Friday). The source of our senseless world – including our own individual senseless ways – is our slavery to sin; but freedom is available through this event which Jesus did for us. And on Easter Sunday we remember that death was completely defeated by Jesus when he rose from the dead. We have every confidence that life will eventually make perfect sense in eternity when our risen Lord makes everything new again. If he didn’t rise, this future hope does not exist!

So, how do we make sense of it all? We can’t!

Who can make sense of it all? Jesus can! Would you be willing to engage a little more deeply with that possibility this Easter?

On behalf of all the churches of Mount Gambier, and the ministers who lead them, I would like to invite you to join us for our Easter services. There are events from Thursday through to Sunday which will all tell the same Easter story, but in a variety of ways. While we all have our unique styles and ways at times, we are ALL on the same page with the events of this long weekend. If you are looking for a way where things make greater sense in your world, we invite you to look to the claims of Jesus Christ, and the Easter weekend is a great time to do just that.

On behalf of the Minister’s Association, let me wish you all a happy Easter. May it be a time of safety and good health. May it be a time of refreshment and recharging. And may it even be a time for things to start making sense again, with a new understanding of the One who understands it all!

Cam Buchanan
Senior Pastor
Mount Gambier Baptist Church
Mount Gambier District Minister’s Association President