Easter brings with it thoughts of spring (at least in the more northerly parts of the Northern Hemisphere) and flowers blooming and Easter bunnies and sunshine. For Christians this Easter, the first one since the horrors of last September, must also be a remembrance that this is a time to ponder on the meaning of life and death - and life again.

The message of Christ's death upon the cross is that he was God made man, and prepared to suffer like us. It is an unlikely message on which to build one of the world's great religions - but it happened, and brought to humankind the ideals of gentleness and love and forgiveness, of care for others, of a willingness to turn the other cheek, of the importance of helping others. In addition, it placed emphasis on healing the sick, and so we have developed pride in hospitals and the medical profession.

Christianity is the foundation on which the civilisation of which we are rightfully proud has been built - for, in spite of its many imperfections, it is a civilisation which, over and over again, turns back to the root ideas which Christ voiced.

Would his unlikely message have been successful if it had not been for the other side of Easter? The resurrection of the Messiah sent a thrill of hope through his disciples, who were shattered by the loss of so charismatic a leader, and it did more. It gave a hope that death was not final - at least not until the last trumpet - that there was hope of eternal life. While the exact meaning of this has been discussed by theologians throughout Christian history, the belief, given meaning by Easter Day, helps Christians to find the heroism sometimes needed to face torture and martyrdom to live out and give Christ's message to the world.

Death becomes a beginning - when perhaps we enter eternal time which has no beginning or end. On a worldly level, the death of thousands of people in the destruction of the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon, was the beginning of a new era of relationships between the civilised powers, and therefore a new time for the world. The fumbling steps with which the more civilised parts of the world had started to move against death-dealing and ethnic cleansing war lords were suddenly invigorated, and the possibility that the world might be heading to a time when war is no more gained greater credence.

Is this part of the meaning of Easter? On the one hand the means used to repel the attack on the United States are not really the Christian ideal, but on the other they may be the only ones which will work in the short term in an imperfect world. Let us hope that while the leaders of the anti-terrorism alliance use the means they have at hand, they never lose sight of the ideals which are central to Christ's life and death and life. May the meaning of Easter be always before their eyes - and, of course, ours too.

William S. Zuill is the editor of the Diocesan newsletter of the Anglican Church of Bermuda.