Easter Message from the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, Pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church, Bethlehem

by Global Ministries | published on Oct 10, 2014

Dear Sisters and Brothers, Dear Friends,

Salaam from Bethlehem during this Passion Week.

The passion story could have ended with 3 men hanging on the cross: the first a criminal who was taking advantage of the instability under the Roman occupation, the second a fighter resisting the foreign dominance, and the third an “innocent” proclaiming the reign of God. And Palestine could have proved to be yet again only a battlefield on which empires can demonstrate their powers, or a cemetery full of tombs of martyrs. And the disciples could have just indulged like so many others in singing litanies of death, cursing the Romans, taking an oath to retaliate or going around trying to win sympathy for their just struggle. This would be a normal scenario in Palestine.

But what happened on Easter Sunday had nothing to do with normality. It was something extraordinary, an occurrence never heard of, and an event truly revolutionary. It wasn’t a continuation of the human tragedy in Palestine, but it was a divine intervention. Through this intervention, the land known formerly as a battle field became a Holy Land, and where once cemeteries stood turned into a garden where angels appeared; and those mourning their hero became agents of transformation. The disciples could have spent their entire lives weeping over their lost cause, their killed victim and their shattered hopes. Instead and because of the divine intervention, they caught an incredible vision, they acquired tremendous courage, and they went around proclaiming the crucified as living. They were not anymore mere victims asking for help, but they were transformed to become people with a message that the world is eager to hear. What they have experienced firsthand was an answer to a global longing for life abundant that grows in the context of death, for true hope that shines through helpless situations and for lives that bloom in windy seasons. What God achieved in Palestine on that Easter Sunday through the resurrection of Christ from the dead is still felt today. This is the reason for our being here, and this transforming power is what our ministry is all about.

Thank you for being to us a resurrecting power and support. He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb
Senior Pastor, Christmas Lutheran Church
President, Diyar Consortium
Bethlehem, Easter 2009