UPCSA – Easter Message 2022 from the Moderator of General Assembly of the UPCSA – the Right Rev. Sipho J Mtetwa

TO ALL IN THE UPCSA

Matthew 28:5-8 “…He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay…..”

Easter Sunday marks the pinnacle point in our Christian journey of faith. “…He’s not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay…”.

And because my Lord Jesus lives, I can face tomorrow. The tomb is empty. Death has been eternally defeated. Death from cancer and Covid, from accident and from human hands, from fire and water, from  poverty and greed, from war and corruption – all death has lost.

This is where He was laid on Good Friday night. This is where our hope ended. This is where we finally gave up. This is where evil and forces of darkness won over good and light. When all that happened, the Lord lay here.

BUT now He’s risen. Now He’s up. Uvukile. O tsogile. He lives to say death has no power any more. Death, evil and darkness have been defeated. My faith has been restored. My hope has been restored. My life has been restored. My future has been restored. I have a new start. I have a new beginning.

Our death and that of those whom we love does not have the last word anymore because Jesus, our Lord has risen. Uvukile. O tsohile. This is the main reason we believe that Jesus is Lord. He died and rose again from the dead. Resurrection is, therefore, the bedrock of our faith, the reason why we believe. Our hope, our future, our eternity. Happy Easter Fellow Presbyterians!

Rt Rev Sipho J Mtetwa

Moderator of the UPCSA General Assembly