Archbishop’s 2007 Easter message

Amazing Grace this Easter

Two hundred years ago the British Parliament passed laws that brought an end of the transatlantic slave trade. This trade in human flesh is a dark stain on human history.

Some time ago I read a collection of letters written by the 18th century Christian, John Newton, the writer of the well-known song "Amazing Grace'. He was for many years a slave trader himself, so his letters described in vivid and authentic detail the sufferings of the slaves and the appalling nature of the trade.

I was horrified at his description of the inhumanity and cruelty of the traders; I was outraged that they treated other people " men, women and children just like you and me, - as though they were commodities to be bought and sold.

We humans are all, no matter what our origin or the colour of our skin, bearers of the image and likeness of God. We are therefore of great worth and we all deserve to be treated with the dignity belonging to our God-given humanity.

In later years after he left the trade because he realised both its frightful nature and his own sin - and his need for God's forgiveness - Newton joined with other Christians, such as William Wilberforce, to fight to bring an end to the slave trade. Yet he always thanked God that he forgave him even though he knew he did not deserve God's amazing love and grace.

Listen to his words of his song:
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.

T’was grace that taught my heart to fear.
And grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed."

This Easter we remember the doing away of another slavery in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, our Saviour, who died to free us from our sin and to bring us to new life of reconciliation with God and the promise of eternal life with Him.

The New Testament describes our human sin as a slavery to sin, and it says that Jesus’ death frees us from that slavery. None of us like to be told that we are sinful people, but we are well aware that we, each one of us, fail in our own life to live up to God's standards for life and relationships.

One more sign of human sinfulness is that though the slave trade was ended in 1807, in our own time, the 21st century, there is still a slave trade. Human trafficking of men, women and children to be economic slaves or sex slaves, or child soldiers exists today. People are still treated as objects and possessions to be bought and sold. This is also a scar on humanity. We must support those who fight against it.

But at the same time each of us needs to appreciate the grace, love and forgiveness of God for sinners through the death of Jesus, just as John Newton did.

May we all know and experience God's forgiving grace this Easter time.