By Mr David Janzen, College Chaplain

Easter is one of those celebrations in Aussie culture which has so many associations with family and community traditions that it can become easy to lose sight of just what this long weekend means. For most it means fresh hot-cross buns, easter-egg hunts in the back yard, maybe a good family BBQ to celebrate a long weekend.

As a Christian community, Penrith Anglican College recognises that while Easter is all of those things, it is so much more.

Our College is founded on the truth that Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of all of God’s plans for humanity. That is why we exist To Serve Christ at the core of our values. Jesus himself recognised that this was the purpose for his coming into the world. The gospel writer and historian Luke records that Jesus went back to his hometown at the beginning of his Earthly ministry to teach his peers, his friends, and family, Luke says this:

Luke 4:16-21
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read,17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus, we are told, came to proclaim God’s favour to all people. That is why Easter is so important. It is the culmination of God’s great plan to free humanity from a terrible enslavement, to sin. As we celebrate good times with the people we love this Easter break, let us also celebrate God showing favour to all of us through Jesus.

Grace and peace.

Mr David Janzen
College Chaplain