Christ is Risen Alleluia! There is a beautiful poem in the Hebrew Scriptures in the Book of the prophet Isaiah chapter 25 verses 6-9.
Isaiah has a vision of plenty as a great magiti for everyone to share.
He envisages God removing the great cloud of fear of death and all the sorrows of the nations and the injustices that people suffer.
Isaiah sees the people acknowledging God and rejoicing in this deliverance. This poem is a dream of a future that the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Day promises.
God expects us humans to join in the work of bringing the dream to reality. Imagine all of us working together, disregarding our differences, each one of us doing whatever we can to fulfil the dream.
Easter reminds us that God knows our weakness and will forgive our sins when we are truly sorry, no matter who we are.
So now is an opportune moment to think seriously about the many problems that surround us: to not be afraid of failing in whatever we try to do to bring justice, love, and compassion to all. It is a time to consider the practical things.
Much of our bad behaviour has a great impact on others. First of all, we should treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves.
God accepts us regardless of ethnicity, culture, gender, and religion.
Why are we so quick to notice our differences and so slow to appreciate the variety of people who surround us? Why do we criticise others and post unkind messages and worse on the social media pages?
Our modern technology brings us closer together and should help to build our communities into fellowships of good neighbours and friends.
Consider the way we throw rubbish thoughtlessly everywhere, leading to blocked drains, broken roads and water supplies and badly affecting everyone’s life and We all know it is a bother to take home the plastic or cardboard containers and wrappings from the takeaways we enjoy, along with our empty drink bottles, or to find a proper place of disposal.
Our children should be trained never to drop even a lolly wrapper but to carry it to a proper place of disposal. This was the lesson we were taught as children 80 years ago in England.
Why has the world changed? Too many children are never taught such rules by their parents and this means that new generations are succeeding the older people with no understanding of such realities of life.
It is not only Fiji that suffers from this lack of the basic understanding of the now all engulfing rubbish disposal problem. Why do we not appreciate the beauty of the world that God has created for us to enjoy?
We are losing our sense of love for creation around us.
We allow dogs to give birth to puppies and make no provision for their future. Now our urban areas are full of unwanted dogs. It is the same with cats.
The cats are better at fending for themselves than the dogs and so they become feral and a danger to our birds and other native creatures.
We need to re-learn to respect our natural surroundings as our ancestors did, and respect the property of others.
I am willing to share ripe fruit but the unripe fruits of my fruit trees disappear over night! Isaiah’s poem envisages a shared feast.
The “uneven playing field” and lack of justice that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer can be relieved, if we reconsider how we distribute wealth, how we recompense people for work completed.
Why are some people paid enormous sums and others have little or nothing? Of course responsibility requires appropriate compensation but so does manual labour.
About one hundred and fifty years ago my grandfather was involved in the newly growing trade union movement in Britain.
Somehow that well-intentioned movement, now much more worldwide has a bad reputation in the richer echelons of society and unions have to battle for justice.
We could slow down our lives, and live old Fiji style, especially when on the road with a steering wheel in our hands and an accelerator pedal under our feet. That would certainly save lives!
As we go about our daily life and work we could walk slowly enough to notice the needs of others and offer help where and when we can.
Live less in an endless hurry and give time to thank people more along the way, like the check-out girl in the supermarket and the bus driver.
There is more that we could do if we rethink the way we live our lives. We would then find that the joy that both Isaiah’s poem and the Easter message promise.
Please take time to reshape your life. Whatever your response to this article, I hope you had a very happy Easter Day.
