Awarded Bishop of the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka
History of Easter
The Passover experience begins as a tradition when the people of Israel in Egypt were freed from injustice, injustice, and slavery. Ten plagues followed, and the tenth plague killed the firstborn in Egypt. There the Israelites were saved because a sheep’s blood was stained on their doorposts. It means that there was a mistake in their lives and they made a “pass” (jiddara) as a process of freeing them from that sin. Not just passed. There was a sacrifice of a lamb.
When we talk about Easter, Easter as a Christian is a triumphant event for a Christian and relevant to the public celebration. Jesus suffered and died on the cross for the whole world. It has no religious or racial differences. The message we receive from His resurrection is that not only all the sins in the world, but also the actions of human beings against human beings, and in a society that seeks to build itself up by exploiting the things of others, we have to make sense of this message. Jesus not only spoke out against the injustices that existed in that society but also spoke out on behalf of the people who suffered from it. So much so that, even at the death of the cross, He appeared for them. As we celebrate Easter today, we need to understand that Jesus, who was crucified, has risen from the dead. That resurrection is not in His interest. That resurrection was done by God for the benefit of the people and the people of the world. That is, every human being living in this world needs a way out of all suffering, sorrow, death, misery, and sin, the way God has planned, through the cross and the empty tomb.
Easter Attack
Many people see the tragedy as a bomb blast. People died. People were deformed. Was sad. that is all. That’s all true. But behind that, we have something to look for. We need to accept, we need to understand. In our country and in the world, because of religions, races, languages, cultures, we have created conflicts. That is the result of those conflicts. We are not told to justify the destruction done by that group. They were not the only ones to detonate the bomb. When we talk about Jesus’ death, we say that it was not just the Jews who did it, we were there too. And today we are implementing the same process that they did then. We have records of that process.
Today we ask for justice and fairness because of the Easter bomb today. Justice and fairness must be done to the families affected by the bombs, to the disabled. Also, behind this, the identity of the former mastermind and masterminds should be clearly stated. Now we see that there are incomplete reports in the report received from the appointed commission. The problem is that the director did not say who was behind the bombing. We cannot overcome this situation. In order to overcome the pain of the Passover attack, everything that happened must be clearly revealed. In ancient times, God passed through the houses of Israel by sacrificing a sheep. If justice is to be done at this time, the work that needs to be done must be completed. That is when the true meaning of Easter comes.
Passing
When we hear the word Easter, our people are reminded of the 2019 bombing. But that is not what Easter means. We do not need to paint the wrong picture. This bomb is not Easter. There must be a transcendence of that terrorist act that took place. Today the Christian people have not been able to pass like that. Because the investigations are not being carried out properly and other issues have arisen from the facts raised by the investigations. If justice is to be done for the 2019 Easter attack, it must go through. Passing means that something like this did not happen, it is not a normal thing. And we will continue to talk about this incident in the future and we will not take to the streets to protest about this. They have to be done now. But you can’t do that every day. That terrible incident that happened affected the whole society. This is not just an incident that happened to the Christian people. The bombings killed non-Christians and non-believers. Justice should be done to all of them. In order for justice to be done, it is necessary to investigate the incident correctly, reveal the facts and go beyond that incident. It is not a good thing for our minds to be like the beggar’s wounds every day. It is not a good thing for our society. It must be cured.
Searching for human rights in the country
A true Sri Lankan should stand up for his country. They must also stand up for justice in their own country. Advocacy for the country and advocacy for justice are not two but one. The problems we have with the UN Human Rights Commission today are because we did not take the action we were promised, and these problems have arisen. After the end of the war, something like the LLRC could have been established in South Africa according to the justice system. We set up an LLRC commission. It is a very step forward. It had raised important issues. It is because we have not acted on its recommendations that we have to face international pressure. Because we do not do our thing properly, external forces come and try to influence us. Some of us are working to go international. The cardinal says he will go international if the Easter attack is not resolved. This is a big shame. We have to face such things because we do not solve the internal problems of our country properly by ourselves. This resolution, adopted by the United Nations in 2021, has dire consequences for us. There is no point in cursing the UN now. We have to do what needs to be done, we cannot influence the international community. As a country we have to come to a place where we say our work is like art.
New Year’s message
Looking at the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, there are some traditions of the festival that I cannot follow, and there are things that I do not believe. Especially astrology and working accordingly. But how much value do the moments associated with that festival give to our lives? If you are a Christian, set it aside. But the values we reflect on during the New Year season are inherited. Apologies and forgiveness. What an important tradition it is during the New Year season. When we say we are giving up the old, we are not just wearing new clothes. There must be a renewal internally. We need to see different aspects of renewal. You just have to be more discriminating with the help you render toward other people. It cannot be limited to that time. If we start something new this year, we have to hold it until the next Sinhala-Tamil New Year. We call it New Year customs. But these are not New Year’s customs. These are important links that should be in the public relations of our society. We must make them strong. Forgiveness and forgiveness cannot be limited to this New Year. Given the current state of our society, it must happen again. We need to polish the deep spiritual aspects that we reflect by holding the rituals of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year.
Like every festival, we should have fun. We need to be careful this year in the midst of the Kovid epidemic. What is the meaning of these sports traditions? If we are divided into two or three groups and fight in the end, that tradition will not work. Some New Year’s celebrations end that way. These traditions are there to build mutual agreement and support in the society. Sports should be played with that in mind. The fierce competition in the society has swallowed up the traditions of the year. We must get rid of those situations.
Christians and Muslims cannot practice astrology according to their religious traditions. How many things can we do without following the astrology? See Stove Fire. A very important process. How reluctant are we to keep the kitchen clean? Having a tidy kitchen all year long adds a lot to your life. Removes all old ash and debris. The stove is redesigned, new pots are brought in, and everything starts anew with the feeling that something new has arrived, removing the old from our lives.
Not just attending the dinner table. How much message does that food-sharing tradition and culture bring us? How important is the tradition of inviting neighbors and relatives and having sweets and snacks with them? How much has eating together changed, even in a normal home today? So this tradition is important. The human relationships that develop in this are very important