Reverend Archer delivers Good Friday message

Members of the local Christian community are being reminded to draw on the example of Christ as they continue to bear the ‘cross’ of Covid-19.

This was the message from, Assistant Curate at the St George Parish Church, Reverend Suzette Archer as she delivered one of many messages of hope on Good Friday.

The congregation at St George was one of many across the island were Christians reflected on the significance of the sacred tradition that commemorates the Crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary.

On this occasion, Anglicans, Catholics, Methodists who attended church had to do so under strict Covid-19 protocols.

Reverend Archer acknowledged that for many, the ongoing pandemic has been the cause of economic turmoil, illness and death.

But quoting the words of Jesus in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, she reminded the congregation and many others watching online, of the challenge to “take up their cross and follow me.”

“For many of us, Easter Sunday Christians, the cross of the Covid-19 pandemic seems too much for us to bear. In the face of job losses, sickness, death or even the betrayal of loved ones, we grope and grieve not only our afflictions, but the fact that we can be inflicted and spend too much time bearing our souls and licking our wounds,” the religious leader declared.

“My brothers and sisters, these are our crosses which we must bear and though they can cause us to feel sad and defeated and as if we are not doing faith right, or even that God has let us down, we must remember that it is an honour to carry our crosses like Jesus and ultimately, to be victorious because of Jesus’ victory won at the cross,” she added.

During the church’s Good Friday family devotion, the Reverend, sought to dispel the notion that when one chooses Christianity, the journey would be void of trials. Instead she explained that while the size of each person’s cross may differ, the important thing was how it is carried.

“My friends I am sure that all of us can testify about the crosses we have to bear and the only variant is the size and weight of our crosses, which are both relative and subjective,” she explained.

“But as the old adage says, it is not the size of the boat, but how it floats on the ocean. In the same way, it is not the size of our cross, but the way we carry it through life.” (KS)