Bishop Cornelius Piong’s Easter Message: Jesus is our saviour

Happy Easter!

Whenever we say this greeting to someone or a group of people, are we really convinced that Jesus is alive, present and with us?

Easter is not merely a recollection of what Jesus had gone through — his suffering, death and resurrection — it is an opportunity for us to renew and affirm our confidence in God’s constant love which has saved us from the power of sin.

For the Apostles and the disciples of Jesus who met Him after His resurrection from death, the experience of joy rejuvenated their lives. Before the resurrection, they were afraid but the encounter with the Risen Jesus made them joyful and they fearlessly spoke about Jesus everywhere and in whatever the situation. It was because of their confidence and faith in the risen Jesus that the apostles and disciples could live a life marked by love, community, and witnessing (Acts.2: 42-47; 4: 32-36).

As disciples and followers of Jesus in the present time, how can we live a lifestyle that reflects love (John 13:35), community and witnessing? In my reflection on the celebration of Easter, I remember Jesus’ Prayer to God the Father at the Last Supper. Jesus prayed for three important areas of life for His followers and disciples before He left them. I believe that this is Jesus’ desire for us which we need to use as our guide in our daily lives.

The first thing Jesus prayed for was the unity between us, which is like his union with the Father so that the world would believe that He is the messenger of the Father (John 17: 11,21,23). But the spirit of unity will not be upon us if we do not have a personal union with Jesus. The willingness and desire to unite can only grow from our union with Jesus (John 15: 4-5). He is the only source of our unity and faithfulness in our families and communities.

The second thing Jesus prayed for was that His disciples be protected from evil (John 17:15). We are fully aware that in our desire to follow and live faithfully to Jesus and His words we are constantly experiencing temporal and misleading pleasures such as taking drugs, watching pornographic images and drinking alcohol excessively. There are times when we fall into the devil’s trap. It is not enough that we are baptised, ordained to the Priesthood, living a vow in marriage or religious life. We need to build a consistent relationship with Jesus, our source of strength and wisdom. We need to be on constant guard, so that we do not become a victim of sin and be deceived by the evil one, (John 8:44).

The third thing Jesus prayed for us was that we should live in holiness by His word (Jn.17: 17). We will live in holiness if we believe and are faithful to Jesus, the Word of God who becomes human and lives among us (John 1:14).

The important thing in our daily journey of faith is our unity with the Risen Jesus. We need to learn from the experiences of the two followers of Jesus who, on their journey to Emmaus, learnt to know and experience the Risen Jesus through the Word of God, the breaking of the bread and the Community life (Luke 24: 13-36). Let us use these channels to get to know, love and serve the Risen Jesus in our daily lives.

May we continue to be enlightened by the presence and wisdom of the Risen Jesus, so that we live in unity, faithfulness and holiness. The lifestyle which Jesus prayed for us is paramount, so that the world would believe that Jesus is the saviour, the messenger of God the Father (John 17:21).

Happy Easter!

+ Rt Rev Datuk Cornelius Piong 
Bishop of Keningau

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online