by H. G. Zachariah Mar Theophilos

My Dear brothers and sisters in Resurrected Jesus Christ. Prayer and blessings. Wish you all a blessed Easter. Easter is a blessed time and a blessed season. The word Easter is very closely related to East. East is also blessed. “Sun rises in the East“ is a general statement and the Son of righteousness will come from the East is our faith also.

Easter is a time to confess our faith.

St. Luke 23:56. “Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments”….St.Luke24.1…”they went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had prepared.” In the above verses something is missing. They prepared both spices and ointments, but they failed to bring the ointment on Sunday to anoint. To anoint means to accept Him as Messiah. Spices are good. If prayer is the tree and fasting is its root, then charity is the fruit of that tree. Charity is a kind of spices and it perfumes to please God and others. Through them we can become the children of God and do His will. Mtt.5:45 …”so that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and send rain on the just and on the unjust”. This is also a call to perfection. 'Do good and be good' is practically practicing Christian life. For both confession of Faith is necessary. God is good and His Son is also good. It is a time to confess that Jesus is Messiah. Confessing Him as Messiah, not only by words but also by our life (day to day).

Easter is a time of blessings to those who wait and weep.

Wait, weep and worship is a blessed experience. For worship both waiting and weeping are necessary. We can see the picture of Mary Magdalene. After the burial of Jesus she waited on Sabbath. After the Sabbath she went to the garden to see Jesus. She failed and she wept. Finally she found Him and worshipped Him. She was a waiting woman, and a weeping woman and thus becomes a worshipping woman. She is inviting us to wait and weep before our worship.

Easter is a reward to the sufferings.

Without pain there is no gain, without cross there is no crown. Jesus suffered a lot at the time of His earthly life and thereafter that, and even now. Now some are trying to present betrayal is better than the betrayed. To see good in everything is godly. To see good in bad is divine, but to cover the goodness in the good and uplifting the good in bad is not genuine. Judas is the child of God. He betrayed once and we are still continuing our betrayal. We have no authority to blame him. God is judging even at the last judgment. Let us pray for him and ourselves to have mercy on that judgment day. Jesus is the Gold and its color or quality will never fade. Nobody can change or dilute its glory. This Lenten attack is a blessing and a reward to all those who suffer for His sake. Easter is again an invitation to His suffering. Let us suffer with Him for the glorification of God

Easter is a Gospel. Gospel is good news.

The word meaning for gospel is go and spell, God spell, and good spell. Our duty is to go and spell the God spell of good spell. There is only One Gospel and Jesus is that Gospel-Good News. In that gospel there are two gospels, the birth of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. At the same time we can see four gospels according to Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. Easter is good news to the world. Are we ready to share these glad tidings to others- the needy, poor and the marginalized? St.Luke 14:12-14. Jesus said: when you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbours, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” May this Easter bring glad tidings to all especially the above mentioned.

CHRIST IS RISEN, INDEED HE IS RISEN.

Wish you all a blessed Easter.