Allelluia. The Lord is risen!
More than two thousand years ago, as recorded in John 20:19, the disciples of Jesus Christ were gathered in a room with the doors locked for fear of the Jews. The Lord has just been crucified in the most horrible manner possible and they fear they will also be subjected to the same fate. Today, everyone of us are locked in our own rooms for fear of death and violence brought about by wars in various parts of the globe, for fear of bombs and missiles dropping on our heads, for fear of the economic crisis triggered by these violent conflicts, for fear of the powerful who amass vast resources at the expense of the suffering multitude in our land, and for fear of the destruction of our earthly abodes. With these and countless other fears and anxieties gripping everyone, especially those in the margins of our society, we are forced to find safety and comfort in locked doors.
In the midst of the fears of the disciples, Jesus Christ whom they thought had already perished and had abandoned them, appeared and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And the world was turned upside down. Suddenly, they found fresh hope and energy, liberation and salvation and, with God with them, they travelled to the ends of the earth living out and proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
On this Great Easter day of the year 2026, our Lord Jesus Christ also appears to everyone of us, individually and collectively, saying “Peace be with you.” Similarly, our world continues to be turned upside down for we are assured that despite the desolate landscape that we see around us, there is newness of life and fresh hope for liberation and salvation. With His resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ affirmed his inauguration of the blooming of a new world, a new space, a new time and a new way where God’s love, grace, peace, justice and forgiveness will reign forever. It inaugurates a world liberated from all forms of material and spiritual oppression and marginalization, restoration of sight from all forms of blindness and of right relationship with the divine and salvation from sin and death. He has made real the Good News of the Kingdom in a world wracked by poverty, captivity, blindness and oppression.
We see and experience God’s Kingdom when sisters and brothers come together out of locked doors to bring love, peace and justice in their communities, when everyone shares their resources and even of themselves in service to others, when the multitude join hands to rid our world of sin, corruption and greed, death and destruction. We see and experience God’s Kingdom when Church people consider their respective faiths as gifts from God that should complement the faiths of others and work towards a truly just and humane society. There are so many signs and expressions of God’s Kingdom and we are all invited to participate or continue our participation in these as we all journey towards that massive transformative reality of the created order.
Our Lord is risen, indeed. Alleluia!
THE MOST REV. BRENT H.W. ALAWAS
Chairperson, National Council of Churches in the Philippines
05 April 2026
