An Easter Reflection from Bishop Mark

From the first Easter until now the message of the cross has spoken powerfully across languages and cultures.

The Bible tells us that the Roman Governor Pilate ordered Jesus to be executed with a sign that read “This is the King of the Jews”. The message was written in Hebrew, the language of the locals, Latin, the language of their conquerors and in Greek, the language of global commerce and culture. Pilate meant it as a mockery directed both at Jesus and his fellow Jews. But it disclosed a profound truth. Jesus died both in solidarity with His own people and for the sake of all the peoples of the world.

Last year I visited the suburban church where I first came to trust in Christ as a teenager. A lot has changed in those forty or so years. Red-tiled houses on quarter-acre blocks have been replaced by townhouses and multi-storey developments. What was once a working-class Anglo and southern European community is now home to many people from the Asian sub-continent. The Chinese and Australian meals of memory have given way to desi food and culture.

My childhood church is still part of that rich local life. A little smaller but much more culturally diverse than I remember it and more representative of its community. Some individuals and couples who mentored me in my younger years continue to live and worship there, because they love their neighbours and their neighbourhood and are convinced that the Risen Lord Jesus does as well. I continue to thank God for their witness. Grounded in the knowledge that through Jesus God has forgiven them and gifted them new life they are free to engage the changing world around them with hope and with hospitality.

At a time when change can feel rapid and unsettling and social cohesion is under pressure there is no word more worthy of our attention and trust than the message of the cross.

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