Brothers and Sisters,
I always write my Easter message with a sense of joy, expressing thanksgiving for our shared faith in the story of new life, resurrection, reconciliation, and our hope for peace throughout the world.
With faith unwavering, I write this to you with a heart joining our beloved siblings in deep pain. As you would know, in the early hours of February 28, at the dawn of Shabbat, a large-scale coordinated military attack by the United States and Israel on a number of cities and facilities within Iran began.
Those in Iran, and throughout Cyprus and the Gulf, across Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, are forced to face unprecedented threats of military violence.
As more and more innocents suffer, lose all hope, and die, I find my heart resting outside Jesus’ tomb, thinking of how Jesus himself longed for peace when he gazed upon Jerusalem, weeping from the Mount of Olives.
On Easter Day, in my own devotion, reflection, and prayer, I must intentionally enter a time of quiet, going about the day in prayer. On Palm Sunday, we cried “Hosanna”… Save us, Lord. Let us pray for a greater understanding of what it means to ask God to be faithful and rescue us all.
His answer is, and forever will be, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s look to the tomb, wait for the stone to be rolled away, and cry with hope and joy… “He is risen!”
I wish you, one and all, a blessed, happy Easter.
+John, Central Newfoundland
