Beirut

Almesiah qam! Haqam qam!
(Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!)

It is Easter in Beirut, I suppose it is Easter everywhere... this year. We were blessed in our household this year that the Orthodox and Catholic Easter fell on the same date (not all that common). We have two brothers in our house who are Orthodox -one Greek Orthodox and one Armenian Orthodox. As we celebrated we actually got tired, all the dishes and setting up and hosting and praying and going to church (for 3 hours eastern masses) etc can wear one out. As we got to the final celebration it was just our household left, a core of 9 guys and 2 new brothers who will be joining us next year.
Everyone was exhausted, but we were exhorted to press on. Why? Because we have come to realize that whether we mourn or we celbrate, the main reason is not ourselves -feeling bad or having a good time- but rather the reason we do it is because there is an objective truth, reality that we are remembering. In celbrating Easter, one might say we "celebrated hard." Not with the parties one thinks of for university students, but with most of our waking hours in the last 5 days dedicated to prayer, meditation, preparation, eating, hosting, fellowship, and cleaning, and cleaning (no dishwasher...). Yet, as we came down to the end of the day on Easter sunday, we were joyful, we could say with pleasure that though we may have been tired, it was right and good to give praise and honor once more to the Risen Lord, to never cease to proclaim his saving deed and to revive again in us a gratitude for the new life we have in God because of what happened on this day so many years ago. I pray that you have a blessed Easter season; not just a "normal" one, but one that opens your eyes and hearts more to the Love that was poured out and then raised up in the person of Jesus.

Labels: Easter