Easter Messages

The Easter Message from the University Vice Chancellor (Manu Folau), Rev Prof. Dr Upolu Luma Vaai. I write this message as the world is absorbed by so much grief, wounded by multiple converging forces, overwhelmed by a growing conviction of the deficit of grace. The interplay of growth, power, and ecological violence; the vagueness of global peace due to wars and genocides; the re-emergence of racism and violence against migrants and indigenous peoples; poverty and the recurrence of slavery ideologies; the leadership crisis and corruption; the intensifying climate change and biodiversity loss; the increasing extractive economic interests against planetary boundaries; are all multiple convergences that are contributing to the wounds of the world. More disturbing is that this grief conceals a wounded God who has become a victim to political and theological advantages to warrant the many wounds we see today. Is there hope in a wounded world? The answer to this question lies in the woundedness of God in Christ in the Spirit. While the world sees woundedness as a sign of a deficit of grace, Easter exposes it as a sign for a surplus of grace. The resurrection did not remove the scars of violence from the hands

The Easter Message from the College Principal, Rev Prof. Dr Upolu Luma Vaai “Both the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ remain the sources of meaning for Christian living. One without the other is not only meaningless, it is risky. The resurrection without the death of Jesus is like drinking from someone else’s water without the need to fight for it. And the death of Jesus without the resurrection is like drinking from our own water without meaning and purpose. The risky part is that, the death of Jesus without the resurrection can become a warrant to justify oppressive systems and structures. And the resurrection without the death of Jesus can become a warrant for a dependency system that conceals the fire for freedom and self-determination. The Holy Week communicates in depth this ‘whole of life’ mystery of God, that we must always hold both together: the death of Jesus on the one hand, and resurrection on the other. One guides our sense of sacrificial restraint and humility. The other guides our sense of freedom and liberation. This is a healthy tension that is at the heart of the life of God poured out through Jesus Christ in Spirit in