By Bishop Rev. P.J. Lawrence

Bishop Rev. P.J. Lawrence

Easter is one of the central holidays, or Holy Days, of Christianity. It commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus after three days after His death on the Cross. Easter is the joyful celebration wishing one another HAPPY EASTER! But how can we celebrate and be joyful in a world that groans under the weight of Tariff war as well as threat ofWorld War 3 filled with violence, and despair, from Gaza to Myanmar, from the favelas of Brazil to refugee camps in Sudan. The world aches under the weight of violence, the message of resurrection rings out with timeless urgency. For many, resurrection is the cornerstone of Christian faith- Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and risen again. But it is more than a doctrine to be affirmed or a story to be retold once a year at Easter. It is the heartbeat of Christian hope, a divine invitation to
participate in God’s ongoing work of redemption in the midst of a broken world.

As we look around at the chaos of our times-conflict in the headlines,
hatred in our streets, fear in our hearts-we might ask, What does resurrection mean here? Now? The answer is both deeply personal and profoundly communal: resurrection is God’s declaration that death does not have the final word. From the Tomb to New Life The resurrection of Christ was not only a miraculous event but a cosmic proclamation. In rising from the dead, Jesus shattered the power of sin, violence, and death. “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has
risen!” – Luke 24:5-6

In every corner of suffering, Christ’s resurrection whispers a promise: that God is at work bringing life out of death, hope out of despair, and justice out of oppression.

The Personal Power of Resurrection
The same power that raised Jesus from the grave is at work within us (Romans 8:11).

Personal resurrection may look like healing from trauma, breaking free from addiction, or simply finding the strength to keep going in the face of grief. These moments are quiet but sacred-proof that God is still raising the dead.

Resurrection as a Call to Justice:
Jesus did not rise simply to reassure us, but to commission us. After the Resurrection, He sent His disciples to proclaim the good news, love enemies, care for the poor, and build a kingdom of peace and grace.

Today, resurrection calls us to confront injustice, restore community, and
believe in God’s power to heal proclaiming Hope in the Shadow of Suffering

Resurrection as Hopeful Defiance:
To believe in resurrection is to resist despair. It is to see possibility where others see defeat. “Can these bones live?” asked the Lord in Ezekiel 37. Resurrection people say yes. We rise with wounds like Jesus-but we rise.

As Paul writes in Romans 6:4, “Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Today, in our globalized chaos, we must do the same. In the streets, in boardrooms, in places of worship. Even as we acknowledge the overwhelming weight of injustice, we remember the words of Jesus in John 11:25: Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life.The one who believes in me will live, even though
they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.

This is the scandal and the power of resurrection: not that it denies the grave, but that it transforms it. In the cross, God identifies himself with us. So let us rise. Not just on Easter, but every day. Let us rise against injustice, rise for the voiceless, rise with the powerless

Living the Resurrection:
In a world plagued by oppression, injustice, and chaos, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ continues to resound as a declaration of divine defiance against death, despair, and the systems that perpetuate suffering. Across nations scarred by war, racial inequality, political tyranny, and economic exploitation, the empty tomb remains a symbol of God’s enduring promise to overturn the
structures of darkness with the power of His light.

The resurrection is not just the miraculous end to Jesus’ earthly ministry; it is the beginning of a radical new reality. It breaks the silence of death and injustice with the thunder of hope. When the early Christians proclaimed, ‘He is risen,’ they were making more than a theological claim—they were resisting the empire. Rome thought it had silenced Jesus through crucifixion, a tool of state
terror. But God reversed their verdict. In raising Jesus from the dead, God exposed the emptiness of earthly power and vindicated the one who stood with the poor, touched the leper, and lifted the outcast.

Scripture reminds us of this transformative moment: ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!’ (Luke 24:5–6). These words are both announcement and invitation —an announcement that the worst is not the end, and an invitation to participate in God’s revolution of life over death.

The Resurrection also speaks to the heart of social justice. Jesus did not die for an abstract idea—He was executed by a state apparatus because His teachings disrupted the status quo. He flipped economic tables in the temple, challenged religious hypocrisy, and offered belonging to the marginalized. His
resurrection, therefore, is the divine affirmation that such lives— lives poured out for love and justice—matter. It tells the poor and oppressed that God sees them, stands with them, and will not abandon them to the forces of exploitation and violence.

In today’s global context, the relevance is unmistakable. In places like Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, and Haiti, where violence destroys homes and futures, the Resurrection speaks of peace that cannot
be bombed away. In economies where billionaires grow richer as millions go hungry, it offers a vision of shared abundance. In governments where political prisoners sit in dark cells, it declares
that truth, though buried, will rise.

We are called to be resurrection people in a crucified world—to speak life in the face of death, to walk in hope amid despair, to act justly even when injustice seems to prevail. We are to embody the risen Christ in every act of resistance, reconciliation, and renewal.

When churches advocate for the rights of refugees, they are proclaiming resurrection. When Christians walk alongside the hungry, visit the imprisoned, or campaign against racial violence, they are not just doing charity—they are practicing resurrection. As N.T. Wright puts it, ‘The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you’re now
invited to belong to it.’

The chaos and injustice around us may seem overwhelming, but the Resurrection of Jesus reminds us that no grave is too deep, no night too dark, for God’s light to shine. Just as the stone was rolled
away, so too can systems of greed, hate, and fear be dismantled. But this requires a Church willing to move beyond comfort, to risk in the name of love, and to join Christ in the work of new creation.

As Revelation declares, ‘Behold, I make all things new’ (Revelation 21:5). The resurrection is the first word of that promise. And we, as the body of Christ, are the voice through which that promise must now be spoken in our time.

This Easter and beyond, may we not simply celebrate the resurrection—we must live it. In every land and language, among every oppressed people and broken system, let the Church rise. Let us rise in protest, in prayer, in service, and in song, declaring with our lives what the angels declared on that first morning: ‘He is not here. He is risen.’

Resurrection is not an end. It is a beginning.
“Christ is risen-and so must we.”