My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord:

Happy Easter! The peace of the Risen Lord be with you and with your loved ones! May the celebration of Jesus' Resurrection from the dead give you peace and joy and strengthen your faith.

One of the greatest and most meaningful signs of Jesus' Resurrection is His empty tomb. Tombs are meant for the dead. They are not places where the living reside. However, Jesus' tomb is very different.

"On the first day of the week" (Mark 16:2) the women who go to Jesus' tomb to anoint His body with perfumed oil are struck with amazement when they find the tomb empty. They were the first to hear the news that Jesus was alive. The white robed young man whom they met in the tomb told them, "There is no need for alarm. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here. See, here is the place where they laid him." (Mark 16:6) "He is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him, just as He told you." (Mark 16:7)

Yet the women are bewildered and afraid. (Cf. Mark 16:8) They are told by the young man to tell the good news to Peter and to Jesus' disciples. They are the first to be instructed to tell this good news to others. When the women tell the Eleven and "all the others," their listeners thought it was "pure nonsense." (Cf. Luke 24:11) But Peter and John went to see the empty tomb. (Cf. John 20:3) John writes that he entered the tomb; "he saw and believed." (John 20:9)

The amazing news of the empty tomb grips Jesus' disciples in fear and bewilderment. Deeply aware of His death on the Cross, the women knew that Jesus' body had been placed in a tomb. They find the tomb empty and they learn that Jesus is alive. Death has been dealt a mortal blow and in its wake sin has been defeated.

This Easter is not too different from that first one. As we listen to the report of the empty tomb and hear that Jesus is alive, we can experience the amazement and bewilderment of this great event. We recall that just a few days ago there had been so much hope, then, betrayal, denial, abandonment, and finally loss. In the midst of that, comes the news that He is alive, He has risen from the dead. Confronting His disciples' fear and guilt, Jesus greets them with His Peace, in essence, telling them all is forgiven. Through the power of the Resurrection, Jesus does the same for us so that our fear can be overcome and all can be forgiven.

The Resurrection releases His power in us and His Spirit flows into our lives like streams of living water (cf. John 4:11-15 and 7:38-39). His Spirit of love and mercy restores true peace in our lives through the forgiveness of our sins. "By dying on the Cross…Jesus 'gave up His Spirit' (John 19:30), anticipating the gift of the Holy Spirit that He would make after His Resurrection (cf. John 20:22)." (God Is Love, Pope Benedict XVI, Para 19). Filled with His Spirit, you and I now carry on Jesus' mission. We are empowered to bring His peace to the world.

Too often we are entombed by evil, fear, and guilt that hold us prisoner. But Jesus' empty tomb convinces us of the hope that even our most deadly sins can be forgiven and we can be released from sin's bondage. When we look for Jesus, when we turn to Him in our weakness and welcome Him in our hearts, His Resurrection gives all who believe in Him the means to achieve forgiveness for sins and it releases the power to embrace His way of life.

Like that first Easter, Jesus greets us, His disciples of 2006, with those powerful, life-giving words, "Peace be with you." (John: 20:20) His peace calms fears, restores courage, and strengthens virtue. Jesus "…comes towards us, He seeks to win our hearts all the way to the Last Supper, to the piercing of His heart on the Cross, to His appearances after the Resurrection…." (God Is Love, Pope Benedict XVI, Para. 17) As Jesus reveals God to us, we must make Jesus real to others. In our words as well as our deeds we must show others that Jesus is alive in us.

On Easter we symbolically renew His life in us by renewing our baptismal promises. But Easter is more than symbolism; it is the celebration of Jesus' Resurrection. The first step in beginning to share His Risen life is to embrace the Gospel and to live its message. The Easter event fills our lives with Christ's convincing love and in response to that great gift, we sing out our praise of God Who has done so much for us.

Rejoice in the good news of the empty tomb and Jesus' Resurrection. Like the women who went to the tomb in the early hours of that first Easter, share this good news with everyone. Tell them that Jesus died for them and for us, that Jesus has risen from the dead for them and for us, and that Jesus loves all of us. Each day we will know the power of Jesus' Resurrection, the power to live His Gospel. For Jesus lives eternally and with Him we live in God forever. Alleluia!

Happy Easter!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Bishop of Norwich