Easter and ANZAC Day
Remembering those who gave everything
Many of our holiday celebrations are about remembrance. On 26 January we remember the coming of the First Fleet to Sydney and all the tragedy and triumph that have followed this event. This year, on 12 June, we remember our ties to the monarchy as we celebrate, for the first time for most of us, the King’s Birthday long weekend. Labour Day, celebrated on various dates throughout the year but occurring on the first Monday in October in New South Wales, in part remembers the successful direct action by the labour movement in achieving the eight-hour day.
In April there are two events that are commemorated rather than celebrated, ANZAC Day and Easter. Two holidays that are concerned with the remembrance of sacrifice. ANZAC Day is a day of honouring the service of the over one and a half million Australians who have served our country in times of conflicts, war and on peacekeeping operations. It is a day of sad remembrance as we recall the fate of the over 103,000 Australians who given their lives in our country’s name.
On ANZAC Day we remember countless thousands. At Easter we remember one man, Jesus Christ. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, less than 1,000 miles from Gallipoli but around 1,900 years earlier than that fateful conflict. Unlike the first ANZACs who travelled thousands of miles across the sea, the record of his travels indicate that never travelled more than 100 miles from the place of his birth.
Yet despite the differences between ANZAC Day and Easter, the theme of sacrifice, of giving one’s life for the good of another, ultimately links them. On the night he celebrated the Passover with his disciples, Jesus told them “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” By the end of the next day Jesus had been betrayed by a friend, tried, abandoned, flogged, executed and laid in a borrowed tomb.
Yet in the Easter story we find a hope that is not normally associated with death and sacrifice. Easter is not only remembering that Jesus died an unjust death, but also remembering that he rose again. On the first Easter Day the tomb was found empty, and Jesus appeared to his followers, resurrected and alive.
For me, ANZAC Day is a day of sad remembrance as I remember family members who fought in far-off places. Most of my family members returned home, but they were always scarred, physically and emotionally, by their experiences. It is a day when to take time to remember the service of others and the benefits we enjoy because of their sacrifices.
Easter is also a time of sadness, but it is sadness tempered by joy. We remember the service and sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God who gave his life to take away the sins of the many. In his death and resurrection, we find hope in times of great sadness.
Join with us this Easter as the Church of the good Shepherd remembers the events of Easter and all that Jesus accomplished by his sacrifice.
Church of the Good Shepherd Easter Service Times:
Palm Sunday, 2 April,
10am Children’s Service
Good Friday, 7 April, 9am Traditional Good Friday Service
Easter Day, 9 April, 8:30am Easter Communion Service and 10am Family Easter Service.
We look forward to seeing you at our services over Easter.
Yours in Christ,
Andrew Heron
