Easter Sunday: Hope is here!

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” (Matthew 28:6)

Do you ever find yourself living like the resurrection didn’t happen? 

I sometimes find myself living like it’s still Good Friday. Good Friday was characterised by mourning, disappointment and grief. The world went dark and hope seemed like a distant memory. 

But the story didn’t end on Friday. 

It just got started on Sunday!

Easter Sunday 2020 holds tension. We live in a celebration of hope, yet are mourning for the world’s events around us.

Just as the disciples didn’t anticipate Jesus’ death being the ultimate victory, we didn’t anticipate the story we find ourselves in. Despite this, when Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem with cheering and palm leaves, he knew he was walking towards a reimagined victory. 

"It is only when our own ideas of hope are teared down that we can fully realise who our trust really needs to be placed in."

When he resurrected on Sunday morning, no one expected hope to look like this. 

It is only when our own ideas of hope are teared down that we can fully realise who our trust really needs to be placed in. 

I once asked a friend, “if you lost everything, your job, your home, your money, your loved ones, what would you have?”. Hopelessness hit her square in the face when she realised the answer would be nothing. 

Soon after this, she gave her life to Jesus and she declared at her baptism, “if I lost everything, I’d still have Jesus and that’s what gives me hope.” 

Hope isn’t dependent on our circumstances. 

Hope isn’t dependent on statistics in the news, fear-mongering media campaigns and unmet plans and expectations. 

Hope is dependent on Jesus alone, therefore, we can stand in the tension and still choose to celebrate because Easter Sunday has come.

Victoria Seithel

Communications Developer

Viki loves raising up new leaders and is committed to sharing the hope-filled story of student mission with the churches she serves.

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