Below is a Resurrection Message from the Most Rev’d Martín Barahona, Bishop of the Anglican Episcopal Church of El Salvador and Primate of the Anglican Church of the Region of Central America. Bishop Barahona has visited St. Mary’s on previous trips to the US.
Easter Resurrection: Another opportunity to be born anew
The Easter Resurrection signifies for Christians a new life: almost every world religion in its conception or spiritual dynamic of relationship with God has in its calendar festivals to renew life or creation. In this context, as Christians since the life of Jesus of Nazareth, we invite all men and women of good will to renew creation.
The resurrection is the hope of the Christian community. With the resurrection, Jesus invites us to a project of hope and to change our lives.
In our liturgy, the Pascual Triduum, as its name indicates, consists of three days — Friday, Saturday and Sunday — three eloquent days that unite the accusations against Jesus in the tribunal and the testimony of a witness who said, “This man [referring to Jesus] will destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days” (Matthew 26).
It is time to arrive at the third day, to change our patterns, and transform our lives in order to change others’. El Salvador is a small country, with a big population and plenty of social problems. It needs to be resuscitated. Just as El Salvador needs to be resuscitated, so, too, does the entire world need to be resuscitated. The Call is to change lives in this global village.
Our social fabric is torn each day: in general, citizens live with anxiety, and vulnerability, facing the possibility of being a victim of crime, and being overwhelmed by the economic situation. Easter comes into our lives, but what are we to leave aside in order to be born anew?
We need to leave aside social sin — sin that is called corruption, ambition, lack of love of one’s neighbor, lack of actions for plans that favorize a dignified life with education, health, employment and security for each and every single person without excluding anyone.
It is time of the resurrection; the third day has arrived, Easter has arrived. What have we done for our brothers and sisters, for our own lives? What have we done with Jesus’ project? It is time to re-examine ourselves and act so that leaders and the led are filled with hope in order to offer hope in others.
The word, ‘resurrection,’ means ‘to come to life,’ the hope that we will have life after death. It is necessary to come to life out of this death of anguish, anxiety and insecurity.
Alleluia! Christ is risen! A blessed Easter.
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