EASTER celebrates freedom from slavery; victory of God over death and sin. Jews and Christians remember God’s saving and liberating acts. Moses led Israel to freedom from slavery. Jesus died and rose from the dead. He passed over sin and death and leading us beyond sin and death.
God instructed the Jews to celebrate the Passover Meal to remember God’s deliverance. Likewise, Jesus during the Last Supper instructed his disciples to celebrate the Eucharist as a remembrance of his saving acts.
In the Christian tradition, remembrance comes from the Greek word – anamenesis, which means active
remembrance or recollection. It implies making a past event present. Unlike passive memory, anamnesis is a living memory that brings the past into the present.
Therefore, ‘Do this in memory of me’ means;
– We don’t just remember what Jesus did—we participate in His saving action;
� We don’t just recall the Last Supper—we enter into the mystery of His self-giving love;
� We don’t just think about the Cross—we unite our sufferings with His;
� We don’t just celebrate that He rose—we experience the power of His resurrection in our lives; and
� We make present the saving works of Jesus.
In the Easter remembering and celebration we make present Christ’s saving – liberating work, freeing people from all forms of slavery. Therefore, as Easter People we are committed to freeing people from slavery.
Fiji Easter What are the forms of slavery in Fiji? We will think of the different contexts of slavery in Fiji: political, economic, cultural, emotional, mental, drugs and substance abuse, and trauma from domestic violence.
Fijian people are victims of British colonial politics, coup culture, and neo-colonialism -in the form of economic globalisation. Fiji’s political history leaves a trail of domination.
The Itaukei Cultural tradition treats women and young people as second class people. Moreover, Fiji has a high rate of domestic and gender-based violence, exposing the exploitation of women, girls and children.
In most cases of domestic violence, men are perpetrators.
We need to free women and children from post violence trauma.
We also need to free men from the sin of domination.
In recent years drugs and substance abuse emerged as another form of slavery. Drugs rob people, especially young people of their dignity and freedom.
Jesus Christ through his passion, death and resurrection has overcome sin and death. He commanded us to remember and make present his saving acts.
May the Easter Celebration inspire us to be agents and prophets of God’s liberation; to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to give people hope beyond sin and death. (Luke 4: 18) Alleluia.
