2017 Easter Message for Mid-West Archdeaconry

Dear Brethren,

Greetings.

The question why Easter is not celebrated in a fixed day like Christmas is answered with this fact. Easter Sunday is tied to the transitions of nature so that the date moves from year to year. There are lots of reason why it was set up this way. Here are two I like. First, Easter is connected to a change in the seasons. Something new is happening. The world is on the brink of change and will look different soon with spring. Second, Easter doesn’t have a specific date. That connects with the church’s view that every Sunday is a celebration of Easter. It isn’t just once a year that we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. Easter is the way we live our faith, ask our questions, offer our prayers, gather as the body of Christ, serve in and through our shared ministry, mature as disciples of Jesus Christ.

The Bible never says celebrate Easter on one specific day. Instead, it encourages disciples to live Easter’s good news of new life in the resurrection of Jesus Christ every day. The greatest way we can do that is to do what the first disciples did. They gave testimony to how they saw the Lord.
Jesus appeared in all kinds of places — in locked rooms, along the road, in the midst of fear and doubt, injustice and despair, to people who longed for meaning, purpose, wholeness and faith, and certainly in the joys of being found, healings, people being fed, the discovery of God’s way and will.

Where do you see Jesus? How are you experiencing new life in this Easter season? The good news of Easter tells us that wherever we look, regardless of what day it is, Jesus is there, waiting to be seen, waiting for our eyes to open and see new life and new possibilities.

As we gather on this Easter Sunday, I hope that your eyes will be opened to the wonderful ways God is working through us and calling you into new life and encouraging you to be a part of sharing it in your own life and in our life together. God’s new life is at work in us and around us! When I see the breadth and impact of our ministry in our Archdeaconry and Diocese, I can’t help but say, “I have seen the Lord!” I pray that you and your loved ones have a blessed Easter!

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!

Yours for the Risen Lord Jesus,

Rev. Canon Abiodun Alegbeleye
Priest in Charge,
Mid-West Archdeaconry