Easter 2017

Christ is Risen!

Today we celebrate the day of the glorious Resurrection of Christ! This day Jesus encountered women and the apostles several times. Even you can encounter the Risen Christ today!

However, Christ’s resurrection was preceded by suffering and death.

In 2015, radical Muslims in Egypt captured several young workers, Coptic Christians. They gave them three days to decide if they would renounce Christ. When all of them refused to, they were dressed in red and marched along a beach where they were ritually beheaded with knives. The murderers themselves shot a video showing the martyrs kneeling on the beach handcuffed, some of them moving their lips and whispering the name of Jesus, facing the cruel death with peace in their faces. Then they entered into death with Christ and saw Him face to face. They already experienced an encounter with Jesus risen and glorified. The wife of one of the young martyrs did not learn of her husband’s death until after she saw the video. She lived through the last moments before his death as well as his very death with her whole being. When interviewed by reporters afterwards, she said: “A few days before they were captured, my husband spoke to me by phone about our two-year-old son. He sensed that death was near. He emphasized several times that I should bring up our son in the faith in Christ! That’s the most important thing, he said. Then there were no more phone calls from him. I was tormented by suspicions that something happened to him. When the murderers released the video, I was waiting with tension to see if he was among the martyrs. I saw him there; he was moving his lips and whispering the name of Jesus. And then he was brutally killed. I am proud of my husband – he remained faithful to Jesus! When our son grows up, I will tell him that his dad is a martyr for Christ, that he is in heaven and is waiting for us there. We shall meet Jesus and meet together in eternal glory!”

Other Christians too have already met Jesus face to face when they became victims of bomb attacks in two churches in Egypt a week ago on Palm Sunday, 9 April. 30 Christians died in one church and 11 in the other. Many other Christians were injured.

At the moment of our death, we will see Jesus in all His glory. Maybe some of us very soon. But how shall we encounter the living Jesus today? Jesus is in our midst, even though we cannot see Him with our physical eyes. He is present not only in the sacraments but He is also in us when we show true repentance. We experience His powerful presence especially in the hard trials of life, such as the death of our loved ones. If we abide and believe in His Word, we experience His closeness and comfort. Like a blind person who feels the closeness of the one who loves him, hears his voice and feels his presence, even though he does not see him. In such moments, Jesus speaks to our heart.

Let us imagine Easter morning in Jerusalem. Jesus first appeared to those who had stood by the cross at Calvary on Good Friday. The Mother of Jesus was the first to whom Jesus appeared during the night. On Sunday morning, at dawn, Jesus announces His resurrection indirectly through an angel. An angel descended from heaven in a blinding light, accompanied by a great noise. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, who were the first to come to the tomb, stared at him in amazement. Even the Roman soldiers were witnesses of that appearance, and they were so terrified that they became like dead men. When they recovered, they fled from the place where they had been on guard duty. The angel said to the women that Jesus was risen in glory and that the tomb was empty! He also told them to go and tell the apostles. Meanwhile, another group of women came to the tomb and when they saw that the stone had been rolled away, they went in. They saw the linen cloths lying there, but the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up in a place by itself. Two young men standing there in shining garments were the saints who had died and appeared to many in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday as the first-fruits of the resurrection. The two young men who had been raised to life said to the women: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!” The women were sent to tell the disciples of Christ’s resurrection. Peter and John ran to the tomb. John outran Peter, but he did not enter the tomb. Peter went into the tomb first, and saw the linen cloths lying there. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw the empty tomb and believed! For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead. Then the two disciples went back to their homes.

Mary Magdalene stood outside the tomb crying. She saw Jesus, but did not recognize Him. Jesus said to her: “Why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She supposed Him to be the gardener. Jesus called her by her name. She cried out in Hebrew: “Rabboni!”, which means Teacher. Mary then told the disciples: “I have seen the Lord!” Soon after that, the Lord Jesus appeared to the women bearing spices. They fell down and worshipped Him. Jesus said to them: “Do not be afraid!”

How did the apostles react when the women told them that they had seen Jesus? John believed immediately when he saw the empty tomb, so he did not go to the tomb for the second time. But Peter decided to go to the tomb again. There Jesus appeared to him. Before that, he thought of his betrayal when he denied his Lord three times. When he wept over his sin again, Jesus Himself appeared to him.

Our ancestors used to prepare for the Resurrection Day by keeping a strict 40-day fast. We are not able to imitate their asceticism. But it is important that we imitate the apostles John and Peter in particular – John’s faith and Peter’s repentance coupled with sorrow for sins.

In the afternoon on the same day, Jesus appeared to two disciples who went to Emmaus. They did not recognize Him until He opened their eyes in the breaking of the bread, i.e. Holy Communion. May Jesus open the eyes of our heart too in Holy Communion today, that we may encounter Him like the Emmaus disciples!

In the evening, Jesus appeared to the apostles. If only we could spend this Easter evening during the Holy Hour from 8 to 9 p.m. in our homes, awaiting in prayer our encounter with the living Jesus! We can also loudly confess our sins against love of neighbour, be it anger, a sharp word, rashness or thoughtlessness. We hurt each other by these sins, and so we need to confess it both to God and to one another and to forgive each other. Through sincere repentance we will experience an encounter with the Risen Christ, and if we reflect on His Word He will open our eyes and our mind that we may recognize Him!

That evening Jesus talked with the apostles and then opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and sent them to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins in His name to all nations.

We believe not only in the resurrection of Christ but also in the spiritual resurrection of our nation. But the condition for this resurrection is to “preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins”. Then Jesus will not only open our minds but He will also open the mind of our nation! Does our nation show sincere repentance today amid all the trials? Not only ordinary Christians but even priests, monks and bishops must repent! This will lead to the spiritual resurrection of the entire nation. Peter, an apostle, bishop and the first Pope, showed sincere repentance and is an example to us all! Through repentance we likewise will encounter the Risen Jesus now and then in the hour of our death too. We will then see Jesus not just for a short time, but we will be together with Him in His glory in eternal life. But this is not possible without repentance!

We live in extremely difficult historic time. In case of a global conflict our departure from this life may come earlier. Are you ready? Are you ready to meet the living Jesus today? What if today was the last day of your life? If you stand in the faith and show contrition for your sins like Peter and John, today you would see Jesus in His glory. The Christian martyrs in Egypt encountered Him in this way a week ago.

If you accept the Risen Jesus by faith like the Apostle John, this faith has great power. God wants to work through your faith to save the whole nation! Thanks are due to all who pray with perseverance especially the prophetic prayer according to Eze 37 as well as to all who pray the prayer of unity and power. Furthermore, thanks are due to all of you who offer sacrifices, prayers and humiliations in secret in any way for the spiritual resurrection of your nation. The resurrection was preceded by the humiliation of Christ, the way of the cross and the shameful death at Calvary. If you are united to Christ by faith like the Apostle John and if you weep sincerely over your sins and betrayals of Jesus like the Apostle Peter, you will encounter the Risen Jesus this Easter Day! If you persevere in the faith and repentance, you will certainly see Him not just for a while but for all eternity!

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!