Latin Patriarchate – Jerusalem
Easter Homily 2004
Dear Brothers and
Sisters
1. Here we are meeting anew by the holy
tomb of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. We meet to glorify God who “in
his great mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into a heritage that can never
be spoiled or soiled and never fade away” (I Pt 1:3-4). Our joy today, as
the Resurrection itself, is entrenched in the mystery of the cross. “The pains
of Jesus Christ are the source of salvation for every individual. For this,
Jesus has scarified his life to forsake us all, so that if we have full faith
in him, we can enjoy eternal life. For a period of time, He wanted to be like
us and among us so that when we accept the eternity promises, we will live with
him an everlasting life. This is the gift of Easter, and that is the dawn of a
new world” [An old Easter sermon- The Second Reading;
Wednesday after Easter]
Dear Brothers and
sisters,
2. We are gathered in front of the tomb
of our salvation, and here we bring in our prayer, all our daily ordeals. In his First Letter Saint Peter says: “Be
glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a
while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer” [1 Pt 1: 6]. Our hope
and contentment should surmount all the daily tribulations which certain men
can impose upon their societies. We have to be valiantly capable, and amidst
these ordeals and trials to joyfully receive the commandment of the apostle
saying: “Instead, be holy in all that you do, just as God who called you is
holy. The scripture says: Be holy because I am holy” [1 Pt 1: 15-16].
The holiness of our
life can genuinely appear in our love of all people, whatever be their religion
or nationality, and whatever be their role in the sufferings which they are
imposing upon us. Again Saint Peter says: “Since by your obedience to the
truth you have purified yourselves
so that you can experience the genuine love of brothers, love each other
intensely from the heart, for your new birth was not from any perishable seed but from imperishable seed, the
living and enduring Word of God” (1 Pt 1: 22-23].
3. Days of crisis
are days of grace. Days of crisis are unequivocally not for despair or blind
hatred. They are days in which we are put before God’s holiness, who teaches us
with his own ways, how to overcome our problems and our differences by the
spirit that He bestows in our hearts (cf Rm 5,5), the spirit that helps us
to overcome evil with goodness. Nowadays, the evil in our land is the
continuous bloodshed, the over-stepped human dignity, as it is submitted to
humiliation and fear. Evil in our land is the siege, the ‘segregation Wall’,
and the absence of security and tranquility. Most bitterly, God with all his
peaceful and loving means, is secluded from all the so far submitted plans that
might ensure the needed security in this land. Regrettably, they are plans of
death or plans of life at the expense of others. No one has the right to claim
for his security at the expense of others’ dignity, life, or land.
Unfortunately, that is what we witness today.
4. Easter means the passage from death into life, from servitude to
freedom. Every sincere believer who celebrates Easter prays and acts for his
own freedom and that of others, for his own transition and that of others from
death to life. This is our vision of peace in this Holy land: Freedom and life
for all, for both peoples, Palestinian and Israeli. Both have to pass from
their current state of death to a new life. A new life embedded in the peace
and the love of God, a new life that consists in mutual trust, and
reciprocal respect for others’
dignity, land, and independence. Again, no one has the right to live at the expense
of others’ life or on the land of others. Land is a gift from God to all human
persons so as to live on it without fear and in conformity with His love for
all His creatures. Any reclamation of the land, which disregards the love of
God for all His creatures is illegitimate and immoral.
5. For the Jewish
people which celebrates the Passover in these days, we extend our sincere
wishes for a holy Pesach in the presence of God and His love. We wish him the
security for which he is in permanent search. However, we have said and we will
always reiterate that all the adopted means that have been and are still used
to create security are by themselves ways of insecurity. Killing, demolition,
the construction of “segregation walls’ are not ways in conformity with the
holiness of this Land, nor do they lead to the needed security. One must
finally come to this conviction that the security of the one part resides in
the security of the other part; if one part seeks to secure his own life, he
has to refrain from oppressing others’ life. It is impossible to continue our
path with such blindness, deceiving ourselves and the others as we tend to
conceal the essence of the conflict, which is oppression of another people, and
keep insisting on the reactions to this oppression that are manifestations of
violence. Regrettably, we tend to fight the symptoms rather than eradicate the
disease. Violence is condemned and in the same time it is caused by the
permanence of others’ oppression.
Another fact that
should be acknowledged: Both parties are capable of mutual respect and
reconciliation, whether Palestinians or Israelis. The enemy of today might
become the friend of tomorrow. Within this context, all means and plans of
security and self defense should be adopted, and not within the context of the
suppression and eradication of others.
Dear Brothers and
sisters,
6. In this day of the
Resurrection we rejoice and renew our hope and our strength in order to
transform the evil of our time into good. It is a hard time. But we have to
accept our vocation to live a difficult life, while bearing in our hearts the
joy of the Resurrection. Your role, dear brothers and sisters, is to build and
to love, so that with your love you will achieve your own redemption and that of
our land. “The God of all grace who called you to eternal glory in Christ
will restore you, he will confirm, strengthen and support you”. [1 Pt 5:10].
Amen.
+Michel Sabbah,
Patriarch