So this Easter presents a particular challenge for Christians wishing to spread the powerful message of hope that Jesus Christ brought to the world.
“As churches, we would normally be visible and active over Easter. We had planned to gather with other church congregations to sing at Rodney Place. But now we've changed direction,” Fr Simon said.
As a member of the Greater Shepparton Ministers Association, the Mooroopna priest is encouraging Christians of all denominations to tie balloons to a cross, or their mailbox at the front of their house.
“People are wanting a bit of hope over Easter. We may not be able to physically gather but we can brighten our neighbourhoods and show that the world is not ending with coronavirus,” Fr Simon said.
“There may even be a run on balloon-buying.”
He said Christians displayed the cross of Jesus as a sign that all the bad things of this age have already met their final end.
“We Christians believe this pandemic will end,” Fr Simon said.
“As he died on the cross, Jesus declared ‘it is finished!’ We Christians believe that all the evil, all the hardships, letdowns, sorrows and shortcomings of the world end up in one place in time and space — on the cross where Jesus died. They are finished,” Fr Simon said.
He said Jesus’s resurrection from the dead was the ultimate sign of hope in this world.
“When people go out to shop or for exercise, I'm hoping they'll see crosses and balloons and realise there is a larger movement of hope right across the world,” Fr Simon said.
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