By Bishop Ken Howell
As we celebrate Easter this or any year, the realities of Good Friday are never far from us.
We know that we hold within us both the reality of Good Friday and Easter in the experiences of life.
On Good Friday we hear the prophet foretelling that there would be one who “was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins.
On him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are healed.” [Is 53:5]
Healing is a most needed thing.
The wounds of life can run deep, and our world is scarred by war, injustice, and terror.
Closer to home the scourge of domestic violence comes through wounded people that don’t know how their sufferings can be healed.
The sick, both physical and mental, seek solace from the questioning that accompanies them.
The wounded One of Good Friday submitted to the worst that humans can do.
Yes, God in Jesus has undergone treachery, contempt, abuse, violence and pain, so that when we walk into our Good Friday experiences in life, God has been there, and that makes all the difference.
The Easter life we all need comes through our Good Friday times that want to overwhelm us.
Yes, we know these dark times, however, as I once heard – the night is darkest just before the dawn and the steepest part of the mountain is just before the peak.
The life of the Risen Christ is our life, for we have been plunged into his death through baptism and have been raised to live Christ’s life at every step of our journey.
This Easter, as we once again celebrate death and life, we earnestly pray for peace in our troubled world.
May the Risen One bring all that his life offers to every situation of darkness at home and in our world.
Bishop Ken Howell is the Bishop of Toowoomba diocese
