Easter Day.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 31, Issue 1, 1 March 1940, Page 8

Easter Day.

" -Easter Day is the most glorious of all feast, days,'. because it was our Lord's victory over the devil and all his works. Victory over death: victory over sin, which.causes death: victory over the devil, who tempts us to sin. Victory! Victory! Victory! for man's new Leader, the Second Adam. So we sing three times "Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Now is the Victor's triumph won," - Long ago,, whenthe first Adam was defeated, God made a promise. "Thy seed shall bruise the serpent's head" (the serpent was the devil). On Easter Day the promise came true. Our Lord's Easter Victory set us free from the power of evil. The devil had got the world very much into his power: now his power was broken. .He can never make us do wrong again. He can't bully us into it, only tempt us. He used to bully people before our Lord's victory over 1 him. He could say, "There's no forgiveness; you're m my poWer nowj and you must go on, for I've got! you, and God can't get you" away from me." But since our Lord's victory we know there is forgiveness, and that our Lord has beaten him, and can save us from him. We never need sin: and, if we do sin, we can get forgiveness; and if we die, we shall rise again; that is what Easter means to us. Our Lord's Passion was a great war to rescue, or redeem, a weak race from a strong enemy. Our Lord won the war, and set us free. The deciding battle was on Good Friday, but the day of victory which actually set us free was Easter Day.