Fellow Ugandans and all God’s people near and far, Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Happy Easter! The Bible narrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead in Luke chapter 24. In verses 5 and 6, when the women come to the tomb, they are asked, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ;He is not here; he has risen!” That’s a very relevant question and it’s why one of my favorite Easter Hymns is “Because He Lives.” The chorus says, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow Because He lives, all fear is gone because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living, just because He lives” ;Easter proclaims that Jesus is alive! His empty grave is proof of it. That’s why the last line of the first verse says, “An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.” Jesus’ resurrection is God’s declaration that everything Jesus said about Himself is true. Many people today are not trustworthy. But, Jesus is trustworthy. You can entrust your life, your future, and your eternal destiny to Him. When God raised Jesus from the dead, He also declared that He values life.
Death no longer has the last word, so there is always ;And, we need hope. Hope beyond the grave, Hope beyond this world.
HOPE in Christ alone who lives forever! Amen! We offer our condolences to those who have lost their loved ones since the last Easter. We especially remember Bishop Professor Michael Senyimba, the retired Bishop of Mukono, who recently passed away.
We offer our condolences to Rev. Mama Esther and his entire family. Be assured that he is not only resting in peace, but that, with Jesus, he has also risen in glory. Death does not have the last word. We also need hope in the face of climate change. This year’s dry season was especially hot and we’ve been told to expect more weather extremes in the future. That means we shall get more rain, which leads to more flooding, and more drought. We want to thank the Office of the Prime Minister and our partner, Compassion International, for developing a five-year disaster risk management plan. As Church of Uganda, we pledge to support the effort, particularly in affected regions.
The Church of Uganda is also promoting Environmental Awareness and we just completed a week of focused activities to sensitize our communities on the need to be good stewards of God’s creation. We shall have another week of Environmental Awareness later this year. We need to preserve and conserve our environment but more so protecting our lands from land grabbers by planting trees.
Corruption is rampant in our society, and it is leading to destruction of our mother earth and it hinders development. It deprives us of proper service delivery. May the risen Lord set free many in prison of corruption in every office.
Corruption kills hope, focus and development. As much as there is terrible fighting and war taking place in many parts of the world, I am equally concerned about the ongoing conflicts, wars, and insecurity in our own region, especially in South Sudan, Sudan, and eastern DRC. We continue to receive and care for many refugees whose displacement seems very unnecessary.
However, we thank the government of Uganda, for their policy and approach to caring for our neighbors. They need even more hope – the only kind of hope that can come from a resurrection. I thank our ;dioceses and churches in the host communities for supporting and encouraging our neighbors – displaced from their homes.
As a country, we also live under the constant threat of terrorist attacks from some of the same groups in the DRC that are systematically killing people for ethnic and religious reasons. Just because CNN and the BBC do not feature 24-hour coverage of this crisis on our borders, does not mean it is not serious. I urge us to pray into the hope that Jesus’ resurrection gives for peace, stability, and security. Our children also need hope for a better future. In our commitment to end Gender Based Violence, particularly among girls, I have been known to advocate for the boy-child. When we support our boys to learn how to respect the dignity of girls and women, we will make a lot of progress in reducing Gender-Based Violence. The Bible says that men and women are equally made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). We must teach our children to respect
others and resolve conflicts without resorting to violence. To all parents – this also means that husbands and wives need to stop fighting each other. Exchanging angry-hateful words and blows
before your children, traumatizes them. Children learn more by what they see their parents do than what their parents tell them. I urge husbands and wives to learn better ways of resolving conflict other than fighting each other. I was shocked by the behavior of the “some people” in Kumi who who were hired by the Reformed Anglican Cult to carry sticks to church in a mob to block my entrance to the church during my recent pastoral visit to Kumi Diocese.
These were not Christians at all but people who need the touch of the resurrected Christ to redeem them from violent ways and behaviours. This is totally unacceptable behaviour. I thank Bishop Michael Okwii Esakhan and his team in Kumi Diocese for seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Kumi. I appeal to the government to intervene with the local politicians in Kumi who appear to be fueling the conflict.
I also congratulate the Diocese of Luweero on getting their new Bishop peacefully last Sunday (Palm Sunday).
I am so grateful to Bishop Ssebbaggala for his willingness to come out of retirement and serve on my behalf as the Caretaker Bishop for the past one year. I thank him for his wise guidance to them to the point when they could joyfully receive their new Bishop; Bishop Kisekka. As the hymn says, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,” When God raised Jesus from the dead, death no longer had the last word.
There is now always a reason to have hope. And, hope won last Sunday in Luweero. Hope can also win in your life when you put your faith and trust your life to the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ.
No one else in the whole world has ever been raised from the dead like Jesus. He is the only one who can give hope to us in the challenges we are facing in this life. We send warm Easter greetings to the President of the Republic of Uganda, H.E. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his dear wife,
Mama Janet, all Government leaders, to all Members of Parliament, the Judiciary, to all the Security Organs and to all Church of Uganda partners. I also greet all the bishops and their wives, the clergy, Lay Readers, and Christians of the Church of Uganda.
Finally, I send my sincere greetings, with prayers for a blessed Holy Week and glorious Easter for our Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Pentecostal brethren, and to all those who have put their trust and faith in the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. This Easter, as a country and in our families, may we all know this truth about Jesus – “Because he lives, we can face tomorrow.”
Blessed Easter!
The Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu
ARCHBISHOP OF THE CHURCH OF UGANDA.
