CHRISTIANS from all walks of life would have spent the past few days reflecting on the significance and true meaning of Easter and the Lenten period.
Today marks the end of the Holy Week and Easter as Christians believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion, marking the triumph of good over evil, sin and death.
It is one of the most important events in the Christian calendar that signifies renewed hope and love through the belief in Christ’s life, death and resurrection.
Easter means different things to different people. And for many Christian denominations in Fiji, Easter is often a time for personal and spiritual reflection.
This year, Catholic Church in Fiji head Archbishop Peter Loy Chong chose to focus the Easter mission for Fijian Christians on climate change and the need to care for the environment — something different from past year’s messages and one that remains relevant especially when climate change continues to threaten our livelihoods and survival.
While Easter highlighted the message of “hope” to the Jews and early Christians who had been oppressed for years, Rev Chong believes the Easter message also spoke against the destruction of peoples, the environment and the planet.
For Methodists in Fiji, the message from church president Reverend Tevita Banivanua centred on hope and enriching one’s spirituality to overcome life’s difficulties and challenges as a “people of the cross”.
“Easter bears witness to the Grace of God, the unmerited, unconditional love of God, for all have exemplified in the atoning death and resurrection of His Son,” Rev Banivanua had said.
When there is so much destruction and sadness in a world plagued with unthinkable crimes, some that go against the morals and values we hold close to our hearts, we are reminded today of the simple message to have faith and hope that things will get better as we reflect on the role we can play to build a sustainable, healthy and peaceful future.
On a lighter note, another kind of religion will definitely creep into many households today.
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series continues this weekend with the Singapore 7s and all eyes will again be on our gladiators to maintain top form after an epic outing in Hong Kong last week.
The national sevens team is pooled with Hong Kong, Russia and Canada, and left fans reeling with excitement after defeating Hong Kong 40-0 and Russia 38-7 last night.
The team was set to meet Canada in the early hours of this morning and whatever the outcome, we are certain the boys would have given it their best shot.
The message, as always, is to show our support for the boys, win or lose.
