Easter Statement from Bishop Doctor Sani Ibrahim Azar

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ

“Al Masih Qam” “Ha-Kan Qam”  (Christ is risen. He is risen indeed)

Jesus Christ is risen indeed! Theresurrection of Jesus is the center of our faith and the heart of the church. Right here in the holy city of Jerusalem, God raised Jesus from the dead to live forever, breaking all the powers of sin and death.

The symbols of Easter are the empty cross and the empty tomb. The cross and the tomb are still important, reminding us that the death of Jesus Christ was real, and that suffering and death are still part of our daily reality and well. But today, at Easter, the cross and the tomb are empty! This reminds us that God empties sin and death of their power so that the cross and the tomb will never have the final word. The good news of Easter is that, in the end, life conquers death: love conquers hate, faith conquers fear. God’s grace conquers our sin, and God’s justice conquers all injustice. This is how resurrection transforms our reality.

And we still need resurrection today. Today, the Christian community in the Holy Land in facing a challenging reality. We have experienced harassment and anti-Christian attacks, restricions on our gatherings and festivals, and as Palestinians we also face the ongoing hardships of occupation. And we are not the only ones. The people of Ukraine and Syria continue to suffer through occupation and war, people around the world face violence, poverty, illness, and grief.

Here, and around the world, too many people know the pain of the cross and the tomb. And it is easy for us to turn inward to think of ourselves instead of others, to hate rather than to love, to fear rather that to hope. But today is our reminder that this is not the only option. We do not have to choose fear and hatred to isolate ourselves and imagine that there is no hope. We are not alone! On the first Easter God came to the cross and the tomb. The place of death was the very place God choose to bring new life. Therefore, Easter is not a holiday only for people who live easy lives. Quite the opposite, Resurrection always comes where it is most needed – resurrection arrives in the midst of pain, suffering and death.

Today we celebrate the resurrection as a promise that is also for us today. God still comes to us when we most need et. Resurrection did not only happen 2.000 years ago –resurrection still happens every day! Every day God gives us the gift of new life, new hope and renewed relationships. Not only that, bud God calls us as the church, as the body of Christ to be a part of creating resurrection in the world. Resurrection happens in our congregatins and schools, in environmental justice and gender justice, in diakonia, in all the ways we love and serve God and our neighbors. Resurrection is not just a promise for the future. God makes resurrection real in our worl today.

As we celebrate Easter this year, let us be hold to pray for resurrection for Palestine and for Israel, for Ukraine and for Russia, for every broken community and every broken heart. And together, let us recommit to making resurrection the center of our faith and the heart of our churce, the promise that guides all that we believe and all that we do.

Al Masih Qam! Ha-Kan Qam!  Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluja. Amen

With Grace and Peace.

Bishop Doctor Sani Ibrahim Azar