Let Easter be about peace, hope and love
Easter is upon us again. Here in Samoa, we deem Easter the holiest and most sacred time of the year. For some, it is a time of reflection and living the message Jesus left us, dying for our sins.
For some, it will be time for family. Some might load the kids into the car and head to the highlands or the beach for a long weekend away.
As we celebrate Easter this weekend, let us keep in mind the things that we need to worry about: peace, compassion, safety, and law and order.
Or we might prefer to stay at home, using the extra days off to catch up on those jobs around the house, or the final season of some TV series. For some, it’s just an excuse to stuff ourselves full of chocolate, hot cross buns, and copious amounts of food.
No matter how you plan to spend this weekend, we hope you take some time to consider the Easter message of renewal, peace and hope.
These are messages that resonate as loudly today as ever before as there will be more than 100 families of Leauvuaa who would probably spend their last Easter in what had been home for decades.
Let us keep them in our prayers and let us hope for a non-violent end to the land dispute and relocation to places where they can build a better future for their families.
To those who would be celebrating this weekend with alcohol, you have the right and freedom to do so, unless you are under the legal age. Drink responsibly, do not become a nuisance, and start fights. Alcohol has been the reason why some fights in the past week have started and as we know how some people have lost their lives.
Please lock away those guns if anyone you know has access to them and would be engaged in parties. The same should be done for vehicle keys. If alcohol is being consumed, do not get behind the wheel of any vehicle. Not only will you be putting your life in danger but of other road users as well.
The long weekends are also when there are drowning cases. If someone does not know how to swim, please do not tread in water higher than your waist and always have someone supervising children. If the weatherman has issued a marine warning for not-so-calm seas, please do not take your small boat out beyond the reef.
For those who will dress up in their fanciest clothes for church, think about what it really means to be Christian. It is not about just talking, it is about walking the path that Jesus did.
It is also the time to think about how a culture of violence and abuse against our women and children can be tackled. Be responsible and look after the vulnerable and not be their abusers.
It is also the time when the authorities seriously consider taking children off the streets and into schools by making education free for them. It is time to think about real social packages for those living below the poverty line.
Then we have the real marginalised people, the disabled. They do not yet have the same level of access to education and employment opportunities. Let us not have people rolling themselves in wheelchairs on the main road because there are no footpaths or when we have footpaths, there is no access for wheelchairs.
All politicians who would be going to church, do so with the intent of being a true Christian. That also means it should translate into the work that they are supposed to be doing for their people with transparency and accountability.
From a spiritual perspective, no sin is hidden from the eyes of God and one day we all will be accountable for what we have done in our lives.
On a global scale, the war in Ukraine drags on and so does the violence in Gaza. The conflicts have seen thousands killed, destroyed cities, seen millions displaced and had a knock-on effect that has destabilised the global economy. Let us pray for peace.
Locally, the cost-of-living pressures are continuing to bite. Pressures for family commitments are piling up and rents are rising, making paying for the essentials difficult. Food has never been more expensive and for some, there will be no Easter roasts, just a can of ‘elegi’.
It is disheartening, but as the Easter story tells us, it is through the hours of greatest despair that we must continue to maintain hope.