Principles – “Resurrection..Justice” – 30/4/2016

   Tomorrow we will celebrate the Holy Resurrection. All religions believe in “resurrection” and its occurrence after man’s passing from death passage to unending eternal life in which man’s fate will be determined by God, Glory be to His Name, who will reward everyone according to his deeds. That fate will be according to the way man lived on earth. All of us were gifted by life, some of us will use it for the sake of his eternity and make it full of goodness, love and honesty, while others let life pass in vain without wisely using it in favor of their eternity.

   If the true meaning of resurrection was not found in man’s life, then his life would be void of values and principles that humanity calls for; as resurrection is related to a great extent with a lot of major principles that the world seeks to achieve nowadays. I will talk about one of them which is: “Justice”. In resurrection, rejoiced will become those who suffer in their life yet give love, do well to all people and never hesitate to help those who resorted to them. Those who support the weak, encourage the desperate, teach and guide sincerely and honestly. In order to live that way, maybe they didn’t give good care to themselves or even try to have a lot fun just to fulfill the goal of their life, thus they live for others. In return, their life after death is the reward of their efforts before all the humanity!; which resembles a student who studies hard and work with toil and sweat to achieve success then awaits impatiently for the result’s day to rejoice when his success will be declared and the result of his toil and hard work will be known. However, those who care about their rest and don’t fulfill their duties will be greatly terrified of the result’s day when their deeds will be declared.

   Justice in resurrection will be fulfilled for those who suffer the pain of trials thankfully and contently. Many people experience a lot of hard trials like illness, vision or hearing disability and more. They don’t give up on life, but they put up with it thanks to the good people who help them. They often achieve more success than those who are healthy. They will resurrect with perfect bodies with no sickness or disability whatsoever and get the reward of their patience and toil on earth.

   Moreover, people who suffer from injustice without doing anything wrong will rejoice in resurrection too. They may feel hurt due to envy or resentment of evil people. But resurrection will gift them with God’s Justice that will end their injustice; as God will declare His Judgment on this day and reward every person who suffered from little or great injustice as each person will be rewarded according to his good or evil deeds. A person who suffers from injustice may get his right to some extent on earth; however in resurrection, God’s justice will be fully fulfilled before all people.

   Indeed in resurrection rejoiced will be the souls of the righteous, saints, martyrs who suffer pain and present their life with unshaken faith,  those who patiently wait on their trial yet trust that God is there and that He is Wise, Loving, Just and in control. They will be fully rejoiced as they will experience justice of the Lord, the Righteous Judge, who never accepts injustice and will reveal the truth by declaring His Justice before all humanity. Resurrection’s message is full of consolation and hope in life that our toil will not be lost and our patience will not be in vain. Moreover, it encourages everyone to work honestly without waiting for an earthly reward and an alert for anyone who lives his life without recognizing it will come to an end one day.  

Anba Ermiah,

General Bishop& President of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center