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“Easter is an event and a message about power and powerlessness.

“Technology and wealth give us the perception that we are in control of our lives. The mad rush to accumulate more and more may give us a fleeting feeling that we are in control of our own destiny. But for an increasing number of Australians the ever elusive goal of achievement leaves them empty and sometimes burnt out.

“In the workplace, in our homes and more disturbingly on our roads, we feel powerless and overwhelmed. We feel we have an inability to change our circumstances. Parents feel powerless in relationship to their children, workers often feel unacknowledged and stressed and all too often our roads and highways become an extremely dangerous setting where people seek to purge their insecurities and fears.

“For many people the real tension emerges when they realise their inability to change their situation. Some people retreat into increasing isolation, others lash out in anger; some grow despondent and depressed.
“At Wesley Mission we care for thousands of people who have struggled along the path of powerlessness. They are people who are homeless, broken-hearted, the struggling sole parent, the lonely and the aged, the unemployed and the mentally ill. These are people who have been weighed down by life’s challenges. But they have also found that there is someone willing to walk with them as they begin again.

“It is for these people that the Easter message is especially relevant and important. Jesus Christ understands what it is like to be alone, powerless and abandoned – even by His friends. He was betrayed by a few and scorned by many. His walk to the cross was humiliating and terrible.

“Jesus Christ - God in human flesh – the creator of our universe… and the very air we breathe. Yet He chose the path of suffering and gave himself completely on the cross to set us free from death and give us new life.

“Jesus once said: ‘Come to me all who have heavy burdens and I will give you rest’. Embracing Jesus Christ and handing the deep concerns of our lives to Him is the most powerful thing we can do this Easter.” 

Rev Keith Garner, Superintendent, Wesley Mission, Sydney

• Listen to Keith Garner’s Easter message (Audio Download MP3, 3.34 MB, 2:26)

Graeme Cole
Public Affairs Manager
Wesley Mission 
Mobile: 0408 470 722

Dinoo Kellegan
Public Affairs Officer
Wesley Mission
Mobile: 0434 076 644