He is Risen – Your Easter Reflection from CMMB

“Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ ” – Matthew 28:5-7

The goodness of creation and the goodness of the body is lifted up and celebrated in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. We are together both body and soul. His resurrection defies the finality of death. It is not an end but a beginning.

The great message of Easter is that every life is a sacred gift, every person a unity of body, mind and spirit and that our bodies and souls have an eternal spirit. These words too are a reflection of CMMB’s vision, that every human life is valued, and health and human dignity are shared by all.

Please see the Easter Reflection written to you, from Bruce Wilkinson, CMMB’s President and CEO.

Bruce during a community visit with a child in Haiti

I pray that you will be able to utilize Easter to reflect on the blessing of Jesus’ resurrection. Easter is a special time, a moment when we recall both the tragic and the transformative – Jesus’ death and resurrection. We too, are in a moment of global suffering. It weighs on each of us heavily, be it our concern for our friends and family, or for the many who are suffering that we do not know.

It is easy to get lost in the tragedy of our situation, just as many who saw Jesus on the cross suffer were consumed with grief. In a time of grief, we can lose sight of love – closing ourselves and our hearts to God and to others. And make no mistake – the mix of emotions you have been experiencing play too in the space of grief; the loss of normalcy, a sense of safety and certainty, human connection and even possibly your purpose, all of it has shifted and with that comes a level of grief.

We must not despair in the face of this suffering, we must believe in the resurrection of Christ, in the truth of the Lord our God, that love wins in the end. Chaos, uncertainty and suffering have lived alongside humankind for all eternity, it is we who mistake modernity for control of such. The sooner we disabuse ourselves of the notion of control, of the idea that our suffering is singular, the sooner we will find peace in the truth that we already are saved. Christ gave his life for us. He is with us each day, and so I urge you to open your hearts to Christ’s love, grace and forgiveness. Allow it to filter through you like a ray of sunlight which you then reflect to others.

This Easter weekend I wish you and your families a resurrective moment. May you feel restored and renewed, bolstered in your faith and the promise that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. 

In grace and peace,

Bruce Wilkinson

President & CEO, CMMB