Jesus says: ”BECAUSE I LIVE, YOU ALSO WILL LIVE.” (John 14:19)
Easter is the greatest holiday of Christianity. God exalted the person of Jesus and authenticated his message and redeeming death when he raised him from the dead. This means no less than that Jesus’ redemptive action and his ensuing mission have not yet ended. What God began in Christ must continue today. The love of God embraces all people, and the Good News calling everyone to salvation must be proclaimed. The Heavenly Father loves his children, including those living in the 21st century who struggle with doubts and fears. He is merciful to us, his errant creatures, who suffer amongst tribulations and wars.
The victory of Easter is the victory of life over death, mortality, and sin. We are the heralds of this Good News even though we live in a world where our hearts are filled with sorrow day by day seeing the triumph of the powers of war and devastation. But the first Easter saw the triumph of life, which brought the gift of forgiveness, new life, eternal life. Our God, “who is”, is the God of life. And he asks his own people to pass on this Good News, so that everyone might experience hope alive in their hearts: God is the Lord of life, the Lord of eternal life.
This Good News makes Easter an unparalleled holiday. If we want to live, we must discover the importance of this holiday in our own lives. Every Sunday is the holiday of the resurrection, the celebration of the Lord, the commemoration of life’s victory over decay, futility, and despair. The secret of a happy life lies in learning to celebrate the triumph of eternal life through the word and the sacraments of God, as well as in accepting the gifts of our Lord’s grace that he has prepared for those who love him.
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Bishop Dr. András Veres President Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference |
Bishop József Steinbach Reformed Church, President Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary |
Rev. Dr. Vilmos Fischl General Secretary Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary |
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Member Churches of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary: |
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Bishop József Steinbach Pastoral President of the Synod Reformed Church |
Bishop Péter Kondor Lutheran Church |
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Rev. János Papp President Baptist Church |
Rev. Tamás Földesi President Pentecostal Church |
Rev. Dr. László Khaled A. Superintendent United Methodist Church |
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Rev. Dr. Frank Hegedűs Regional Dean St. Margaret’s Anglican Episcopal Church |
Metropolitan Arsenios Kardamakis Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Orthodox Exarchate in Hungary |
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Metropolitan Mark of Budapest and Hungary Hungarian Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) |
Bishop Siluan Mănuilă Romanian Orthodox Diocese in Hungary |
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Bishop Pantelic Lukijan Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Buda |
Metropolitan Antonij Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Hungary |