What Did the Resurrection Do For Humanity? 

 Pope Tawadros II – Feast of Resurrection Sermon

Saturday April 7, 2018

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, amen. May His grace and blessing rest upon us, now and unto eternity, amen.

Christos Anesti (Christ has risen). Alithos Anesti (truly He is risen). On behalf of the Holy Synod and the entire Coptic Orthodox Church, and on behalf of all Coptic Associations and the Coptic Ecclesiastical Council and Seminary, and on behalf of all the people of Egypt and Coptic Orthodox churches both in Egypt and abroad, I congratulate you all for the glorious Feast of Resurrection.

“I would like to thank his Excellency President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has offered Easter greetings. His Excellency has delegated Mr. Moustafa Sherif, Head of the Presidential Office (Diwan) to attend the prayers with us.

Also, Advisor Adly Mansour, the former President, has offered Easter greetings via the phone.

Further, Dr. Ali Abdel A’al, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has offered Easter greetings and sent forth a delegation including Mr. Soliman Wahdan, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, and an assembly of members of the House of Representatives.

Dr. Sherif Ismail, the Prime Minister, also offered Easter greetings and has delegated Major General, Mohammed Saeed Al Assar, Minister of State for Military Production, and Advisor Omar Marwan, Ministry of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, to attend the prayer with us today.

Further, their Excellencies Dr. Ahmed Emad, Minister of Health, Mr. Tariq Qabeel, Minister of Industry and Trade, Mrs. Nabila Makram Abel Shaheed, Minister of Immigration and Expatriates Affairs, Dr. Khaled Atef Adel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Abdel Moneim El Banna, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Engineer Hesham Arafat, Minister of Transportation, Major General Abu Bakr al-Jundi, Minister of State for Local Development, Engineer Atef Abdel Hamid, Cairo Governor, and an assembly of former ministers and governors, all are present with us today.

Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, along with Dr. Shawky Allam and Dr. Mohammed Mokhtar Gomaa, have offered Easter greetings.

Furthermore, I would like to thank General Sedky Sobhy, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defense and Military Production, who has sent a delegation of Leaders of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to attend the prayers with us. This delegation includes Major General Staff Officer Medhat Al Nahas, Assistant Minister of Defense, Major General Mohsen Abdel Naby, head the Department of Morale Affairs, Major General Staff Officer Abdul Ghani Hassan Al-Saghir, Director of the Organization and Administration Authority, Major General Staff Officer Ayman Amer, Commander of the Central Military Region, and Major General Staff Officer Ayman Shehata, head the Department of Military Police.

We further thank Major General Magdy Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Interior, who has visited us earlier this afternoon and offered Eastern greetings. He also sent forth a delegation of leaders of the Supreme Council of Police to attend the prayer with us this evening. This delegation includes Major General Amr Lotfy, Assistant Minister for the Administrative Affairs Sector, Major General Dr. Ahmed Al Ameri, Assistant Minister and Head of the Police Academy, Major General Dr. Saad Serya, Assistant Minister for Legal Affairs Sector, Major General Ehab Mokhtar, Head of the Emergency Police, Cairo Security Directorate.

We would like to thank the deputies, assistants, Directors General of Security, and heads of sectors of the Ministry of Interior for their efforts in securing and guarding the prayer services being held in all the churches of Egypt, as well as maintaining order. We sincerely thank them for their great efforts.

Also, among this evening’s attendants are Mr. Amr Moussa, the former Secretary-General of the Arab League.

We would like to thank heads and members of the judiciary authorities and bodies. We thank the advisors, including President of the Supreme Constitutional Court, deputies of the Court of Cassation, President of the State’s Council, his board members, deputies, and his advisor, President of the State’s Council Court, head of the Administrative Prosecution Authority and its members, Head of the State Lawsuits Authority, its deputies and members, President of Egypt’s Judges Club, its board and members, and President of the State’s Council Club and its members.

We also thank the presidents of the High Court of Appeal, the Court of Appeal, and the Courts of First Instance.

We also thank the Public Prosecutor, who offered his Easter greetings via the phone, and his assistants as well as the senior public lawyers and members of the Public Prosecution.

We also thank the Head of the National Elections Authority, its members, and its executive body.

Also, among the heads of diplomatic missions in attendance with us this evening are some of the ambassadors of countries accredited in Egypt, including the ambassadors of The Vatican, Hungary, France, Portugal, Argentina, acting ambassador of the United States of America, ambassadors of Serbia, Australia, Zambia, Palestine, Uganda, and Panama.

Also in attendance with us are an assembly of heads of the governmental authorities, their deputies and assistants, university presidents and professors, members of several political parties, including the Wafd Party, the Free Egyptians Party, the Generation Party, Egypt’s National Party, and Nation’s Future Party.

We thank all political coalitions, unions, associations and civil society organizations which are attending the prayers with us this evening. Many ministers, governors, ambassadors, heads of judiciary authorities, parties, universities, unions and associations sent us kind Easter greeting cards; we thank them all.

We also thank the National Media Authority for airing Eastern Prayers, as we also thank all Egyptian, Arabic, and foreign channels, Egyptian Radio, the National Press Agency, all local and international news agencies, and all newspapers and magazines which are covering this Easter celebration; thank you all.

We further remember the martyrs who died on Palm Sunday last year, and wish for their prayers to us.

On this occasion, we would like to congratulate the President for being re-elected, which reflected and revealed the Egyptian people’s trust in him and rendered a good image of our country. We thank God and we pray for him. May God Bestow His Blessings and help on him, along with all his assistants and those in charge of the affairs of this great nation. We pray for him to be able to continue his path in construction and reconstruction.

We further remember with pride our heroes from the armed forces and national police in Sinai, whom we should be proud of as they stand defending their land and offering their lives for the safety and security of their country against violence and terrorism; thank you all.

Beloved ones, today we celebrate the Feast of Resurrection, and this feast has three names. We call it the “Feast of Passover,” and ‘Passover’ is a Hebrew word which translates into the Arabic word ‘Pascha,’ and the English word ‘Passover,’ meaning “passing over,” as in the passing over from the darkness of the tomb to the light of life.

The second name for this Feast is “Easter,” and the word ‘Easter’ comes from the word ‘east,’ the direction from which the light arises, and so in this way it also lends itself to being a feast of light. Thirdly, it is often referred to as the “Feast of Resurrection Sunday” because it is always celebrated on a Sunday, which is the day of the sun, or the day of light, and so the very essence of this Feast is light.

And with regard to the Resurrection people may wonder, “What did the Resurrection do for humanity?” This is a matter of high importance, beloved ones, because the humans God has created here on earth can choose from one of two ways to live, and the Resurrection reveals them. The first way is the way of suffering – some people choose to create suffering, while the second way is the way of hope – some people choose to be givers of hope. And the difference between suffering and hope is a very big one.

It is a very marvelous thing that in the Arabic language the words ‘suffering’ and ‘hope’ are composed of the same three letters: A, L, and M, and both words start with the letter ‘A.’ And it is said of the letter ‘A’ that it was a normal letter, but when it became upright it became the first letter, and so it expresses uprightness.

The next two letters the ‘L’ and the ‘M.’ In one word (the Arabic word for suffering is “ALaM”) the L comes before the M and it means suffering, in the second word (the Arabic word of hope is “AMaL”), the ‘M’ comes before the ‘L’ and it means hope. The difference between the two words is simple yet vast, and so it is with the two paths a person can take: to be one who creates suffering – weather for himself, or for his family, or for his society or in his workplace – or to be a person who gives hope; a simple yet profound difference in the way one chooses to live. And it is from here that the Resurrection means the giving of hope and trust.

Those who create suffering are those who willingly or unwillingly, knowingly or unknowingly create pain for others. Such a person may be creating pain by what he generates in terms of rumors, lies, false accusations, or by some other wrong ways. Or, one may be creating suffering by being greedy and selfish. This greed and selfishness eventually develops into conflicts, which then transform, in one way or another, into violence or crime or something else.

There are also those who live in complete stubbornness, and a stubborn person always causes suffering for others, whether on the level of his family, or the level of personal problems, or on the level of his town or his society. Stubborn ones.

There are also those who spread doubt, causing hopelessness or despair. For example, there are those who are always respond by saying things like, “This is not going to work out,” or, “It’s useless,” and the result is that anyone who listens to them falls into despair. These are all examples of people who create suffering and we commonly call them “troublemakers.” They are people who thrive on suffering and anxiety.

And if we go back to the story of the birth of Christ we remember Herod. Herod was a king, and they asked him, “Where is the king of the Jews?” he started to wonder and question, “Is there a king besides me?”

And when they told him, “We heard that the king of the Jews was born today” – and they were referring to the Lord Christ – because he did not know Christ’s birthplace, he ordered the killing of all the children of the city of Bethlehem and its suburbs, causing great pain and suffering to countless people. He killed hundreds of children, and was the cause behind pain and weeping and wailing. And those he killed are actually considered to be the first martyrs of Christianity.

We also remember the Jews who crucified the Lord Christ, choosing to kill Him by crucifixion, on a cross, which was the most severe and cruel method of execution known to man.

We also remember Judas, the Disciple who betrayed Christ despite being one of His very own Disciples and one who had witnessed the teachings and miracles of Christ, and despite the fact that he had the same place and dignity as the other Disciples, but unfortunately, he was a traitor, and a thief, and a liar. And the result was that he betrayed his Master, the Lord Christ, and handed Him over to the Jews, selling Him for 30 pieces of silver, which was the price of a slave.

We also remember Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee who caused much pain and suffering in the lives of the early Christians. Just the mention of Saul’s name was terrifying, but God had mercy on him and enlightened him, and he came to know Christ.

There are many other examples from the Holy Bible and as you search in your own life, you will undoubtedly find examples of people who do evil and create suffering. For example, people who sell drugs create great suffering, both to the individuals and to the society at large, or when a person lives in an immoral way or teaches a devious teaching, even if this teaching comes through by way of higher knowledge or art or entertainment, if it does not build morality, then it will cause great suffering.

And so the Resurrection reveals whether a person is living in a way that creates pain and suffering, either in his own life or in the lives of others, or whether he is living a life of giving hope, either to himself or to others. The Resurrection, my brethren, is the greatest event in human history that gives hope; it gives hope to the lives of people.

In the Old Testament story of Joseph the Righteous, he told his brothers who had sold him, “… you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20) A person who lives with the resurrection mentality or the mentality of light, gives hope. God even gives us the sun on each new day as if to give us a new boost of hope. It is as if God is telling us, “The night has passed with its darkness, now start a new day and make a new start. If you were bad yesterday, be good today. Start a new year and a new day.” Resurrection planted hope in the souls of people.

After the Lord Christ was crucified His disciples were in a state of extreme fear, puzzlement, and confusion. And so after He had been crucified and died on the Cross, they sat in a room we call the “Upper Room” (because it was on a higher level), and they locked themselves in, being in a state of fear of the Jews. But the Lord Christ, who resurrected early Sunday morning, appeared to them, and when they saw Him Resurrected in their midst, all their fears instantaneously disappeared, and the Holy Bible tells us that the Disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Resurrection gives hope.

In the Holy Bible we also read about two Disciples who were heading towards the town of Emmaus, a city that was several kilometers away from Jerusalem; that’s why we call them the “Two Disciples of Emmaus.” They were in a state of fear and confusion because they had been paying attention to the news and gossip … “Did Christ resurrect or did He not resurrect? What is all this happening in Jerusalem?” etcetera.

And Christ appeared among them on the road as though He were just another traveler traveling with them, and He talked with them as travelers do on the road. But they were confused and couldn’t understand what had happened, and so at the end of the discussion He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (Lk 24:25)

And after the Lord Christ left them, they recalled they had felt a special warmth in their hearts while He was with them, so they said one to another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Lk 24:32) And the hope was returned to them because of the Resurrection of Christ.

There is also Mary Magdalene, whose story we heard read in today’s Holy Gospel. She is the one “… out of whom had come seven demons.” (Lk 8:2) After Christ drove these demons out of her she became a person that devils and evil spirits could not overtake, and she dedicated her life to serving and following Christ, remaining very spiritually connected to Him.

And so because her entire hope was in Christ, when He was crucified we read that she suffered with many tears. And very early Sunday morning she came to the tomb with spices to anoint the Body of Jesus, but she was surprised by His Resurrection. At first she assumed He was a gardener, but after He called her by name, “Mary,” she recognized His Voice and became certain that it was indeed the Resurrected Christ.

And Christ charged her to carry the good news to the disciples; to tell them of His Resurrection. He sent her with a special message to tell the good news of His Resurrection to all His Disciples and Apostles, and this was as a reward for her.

And so my beloved brethren, in summary, the Resurrection is about you becoming a person who gives hope, by sowing encouraging words, doing encouraging deeds, and by keeping a positive perspective in all things. Be an encouraging person.

A person can even encourage himself. A student that encourages himself goes into the exam with confidence, but the student that does not encourage himself goes into the exam feeling extremely fearful and confused.

The Resurrection is an invitation for every person to become someone who gives hope, hope of a bright future, whether in his family, in his community, in his nation, in his place of work, or in any other area in which he has responsibility.

Brothers, as we celebrate the Feast of Resurrection, we are celebrating a feast of hope. And in fact, the Resurrection greeting by which we greet one another saying, “Christos Anesti (Christ is risen)! Alithos Anesti (Truly He is risen)!” gives us a charge of hope, and so we are to continue giving this greeting for 50 days after the Resurrection.

So for the next seven weeks (the seven weeks following the Feast of Resurrection), we will continue to repeat this greeting so that it implants within us a continual spirit of hope, that we may become people who live in the light and do the works of hope, and that we may distance ourselves from creating suffering, and that we truly become people of light everywhere we go.

We pray for our beloved nation, Egypt, and we pray for all its leaders and all who carry the great responsibility of our great people. We pray for peace and for calmness and security. We pray that God would prevail with His peace in the nations that continue to suffer. We pray that God would protect our country from all evil, that He would always grant us His many blessings and protect our nation and its leaders.

To God be all the glory and honor from now and unto eternity, amen.