AN EASTER MESSAGE TO GHANAIANS FROM MOST REV. JOSEPH OSEI-BONSU PRESIDENT, GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE, AND BISHOP OF KONONGO-MAMPONG DIOCESE

Introduction

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Easter is once again with us and we, your Bishops, greet you, our Catholic faithful, Christians of other churches, all other believers in God and all men and women of goodwill in our dear country Ghana, in the name of the triune God.

The Significance of Easter

As we celebrate the feast of Easter, the feast of the resurrection of Christ from the dead, we are called upon, together with the psalmist, to rejoice and be glad.  We should rejoice and be glad because Christ has indeed risen from the dead and by his resurrection has overcome death and won life for us.

The importance of Christ’s resurrection is stated by St. Paul: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor. 15:14).  For us Christians it is crucial that Christ was raised from the dead.  If he had not risen from the dead, then what would have been the point of following him?  What would have been so special about him? Why would people have to believe in him rather than in some other founder of another religion?  But it is the belief of Christians that Christ indeed rose from the dead.  We also believe as Christians that as Christ was raised from the dead, we too shall be raised from the dead.  As St. Paul says, “…Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20).

The Implications of Easter for Our Christian Lives

Avoiding Materialism

If we believe in the resurrection, then we should always keep in mind the heavenly dimension of our Christian lives.  As St. Paul tells us his letter to the Colossians, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (Colossians 3:1-2).

If we believe in the resurrection, we should not be engrossed in earthly, material things.  Certainly we need material things to live in this world.  We need money, houses, cars, clothes, shoes, food, drinks, etc., to be able to live in this world.  But when we are obsessed with having material things to the extent that we lose sight of “the things that are above”, then we have got our priorities upside down. In this connection we should also bear in mind the words of Christ: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19‑20).

Easter and Newness of Life

Belief in the resurrection should make us regard our lives on earth as something transitory, something that will not last.  We are people in transit; we are “strangers and foreigners on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13).  If heaven is our goal, then we must remain focused during our pilgrimage on earth.  If we believe that we shall one day share in Christ’s resurrection, then we must continually seek to become better people, new people liberated from the shackles of sin, people who are a new creation.

Easter and the Need for Peace

The first gift of the risen Christ to his disciples was peace.  On the first Easter morning, when he met his disciples, he said to them: “Peace be with you” (John 20:20, 21).  It is our prayer that Christ will bestow on us and on our country the same gift of peace that he gave to his disciples.  We must pray for and work towards the realization of peace in all sectors of our lives and ensure that we put an end to everything that does not promote peace, especially conflict and violence.

Easter and the Need for National Unity

The celebration of Easter should make us rise above all negative or harmful ethnic sentiments and see ourselves as members of one nation.  As members of the one family of Ghanaians, let us realize that there is the need for us to live in unity and eschew all harmful ethnocentric tendencies and sentiments.  As Christians and as children of God we should realize, as St. Paul says, that “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

Easter and Morality

On the moral front, if we have died and risen with Christ, then we should put an end to immoral acts.  We need to put an end to corruption, immoral sexual living, the embezzlement of public funds, armed robbery, the taking of illicit drugs such as cocaine and Indian hemp, drunkenness, reckless driving, internet fraud, the practice of “sakawa” and other forms of fraud that are destroying the nation.  It is our prayer that the resurrection of Christ will help us to rise above these and other evils and live better lives as Ghanaians.

Easter and Our Political Life

On the political front, our politicians should take a cue from Christ’s rising from death to life and rise above the unhealthy politics that we are experiencing.  They should not do politics along ethnic lines.  They should also put an end to pulling down their political colleagues in the interests of their own political agenda.  They should desist from unnecessary and unhealthy rivalry between political parties.  They should also put an end to the culture of insults that is a common phenomenon these days in political discourse.  They should refrain from making pronouncements that do not promote peace, but rather create confusion, rancour, bitterness and resentment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as we celebrate Easter it is the prayer of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference that we will always keep in mind the heavenly or other-worldly dimension of our Christian lives, that we will endeavour to fight against evil in our lives and that we will try to become better Christians and citizens who will ensure that the peace of the risen Christ will be in our hearts and in the hearts of all Ghanaians and other people of good will.  It is also the prayer of the Bishops’ Conference that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit will be with you all in this Easter season.