The Bishop of Manchester is reminding people that Easter is a new beginning in his uplifting Easter message.
Rt Rev David Walker described how the joyful season is a transformative time for communities, particularly as there are no Covid restrictions preventing families and friends from gathering to celebrate Easter this year.
He also encouraged people not to view Easter as an ending, but as a time to be hopeful and look forward to the future.
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Here is the Bishop of Manchester's Easter message in full:
All four gospels conclude fairly quickly after Easter. It’s a natural place to stop for books whose primary purpose is to tell the story of the earthly life and ministry of Jesus. And yet an unintended consequence of finishing where they do is to give the impression that Easter is somehow a conclusion - a joyful note on which to end the fast of Lent; a happy ending tacked on to the tragedy of Holy Week.
Yet Easter is much less an ending than a beginning. It’s the dawn of a world in which death has been defeated; the start of an era where love is proven stronger than the worst that evil can do; the issuing of an invitation, to people of all races and cultures, to live lives transformed by knowing that Jesus lives.
In the northern hemisphere, we celebrate Easter at the very time of year when new leaves and fresh blossom are covering so many trees, when flowers are once more abundant in parks and gardens, when countless newborn creatures are first opening their eyes to their surroundings.
The cycle of the year in itself should help spur us on to discover new ways to be a transforming Christian presence, both as individuals and churches, in our communities. This year particularly, we can congregate and meet in far less limited circumstances than in either of the two previous Easters.
So, let us make the most of this joyful season, not as an end to what is past, but as the beginning of what is yet to come. Happy Easter!
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