“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
(John 11:25-26).

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,

We would like to commence this year’s Easter message with the above-mentioned words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ addressed to Martha, for we believe they resonate with the spirit of the day and hearten us against the distress of current times.

To better understand the context of the biblical verse, let us travel back in time to Bethany, where Lazarus, the beloved of Christ, had been dead for four days. When Jesus arrived there with His disciples, Martha, the sister of Lazarus, said the following to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21).

Martha, who had faith in God and believed in the resurrection of the dead, amidst the anguish of her bereavement, experienced a moment of theodicy, which may have contained elements of distrust. Genuinely empathetic to Martha’s sorrow of loss, Jesus made the following affirmation, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” To further emphasize this statement and challenge Martha spiritually, Jesus asked, “Do you believe this?”

In fact, this question was not directed to Martha solely but also to the disciples who accompanied Jesus. It is noteworthy to mention that Thomas, also referred by the Evangelist as the Twin, was among the disciples – the same Thomas, who in doubt, wanted to “put his finger into the print of the nails on Christs’ hands and into His side” (John 20:25).

“Do you believe this?” Jesus asks this question to each and every one of us. “Do you believe that I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die?”

Today, when the world is still suffering from the snares of the invisible enemy, namely the COVID-19 Coronavirus, in a moment of spiritual distress, many of us may question the existence of God in the words of Martha by saying, “Lord, if You had been here, this would not have happened to us.” Of course, it is part of human nature to feel weak, afraid, panicked, suspicious or doubtful. During disastrous times, when we are in danger of perishing and imminent death seems so near, we may experience a spiritual breakdown in our very core, which can undermine the strongholds of our faith. Often times, we feed our fears, instead of bracing our faith, forgetting the veracious promise of our Lord, who asserted, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions, houses of prayer and worship, businesses, and schools closed. The CDC and other public health officials instructed us with ways we can protect ourselves and prevent the spread of the virus. We were advised to isolate ourselves and practice social distancing by separating ourselves at least six feet from other individuals. As we focused on social distancing, our intimate relationship with God was compromised.

The period of the Great Lent, which is a time of spiritual quarantine (from the Latin quadraginta and the Italian quaranta, both meaning “40”), became a time of self-isolation for many of us as we faced our own fears, resembling the prophet Daniel, who was imprisoned in the lion’s den (Daniel 6).

We all remember the initial weeks of the outbreak when people rushed to invade the grocery stores and stockpiled essentials. The panic-shopping craze had a catastrophic impact on America’s supply chain. The scene reminded us of the Final Days as described in the Book of Revelation. The national news that disseminated through various media platforms and social media outlets added more fuel to the fire instead of soothing public hysteria. It is very unfortunate that many of us succumbed to the fake news instead of embracing the Good Tidings.

As a result of anxiousness we hoarded excessive amounts of food and supplies, forgetting the words of Christ addressed to the rich farmer, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then who will get what you have stored up?” (Luke 12:16-21).

John the Baptist cried and said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 3:2). After John’s imprisonment, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15). He was preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and disease (Matthew 4:23). People witnessed those healings and divine miracles; however, they failed to heed the exhortations of the saints and did not prepare themselves spiritually. On the other hand, a droplet of doubt, a subtle hint of uncertainty from media, overwhelmed us, instilling panic in our hearts.

A few days ago, on Holy Tuesday, our church observed the remembrance of the Ten Virgins. The parable, which is from the Gospel of Matthew, recounts the story of ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. When the foolish virgins woke up from slumber to refuel their lamps, they realized they had no oil. While they were out shopping for oil, the bridegroom arrived and those who were ready went to the wedding with him, while the door was shut to the others (Matthew 25:1-12).

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The lamps described in the parable of the Ten Virgins symbolize our souls and the oil is the Word of God. Woe to us, if our souls are emptied of the divine messages and we find ourselves unprepared for the second coming of Christ.

Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Indeed, Christ has defeated this world. In the words of the liturgical introit, “He trampled down death by death and by His resurrection He has given us the gift of life” (Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church).

On this Easter morning, the all-merciful God has shone the dawn of the new life upon us. Today, we celebrate that new life. By proclaiming the resurrection of Christ, we reaffirm the presence of God in the depth of our souls. By sharing the luminous greeting of Holy Easter, we strengthen our faith, for Christianity is not merely a philosophy but a way of life. By celebrating Christ’s resurrection, which revolutionized the history of humanity, we renew our commitment to become teachers of faith for our children so that they may not stumble from the path of righteousness.

The recent temptations taught us a good lesson. In the words of the disciple, “We had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9).

Besides fear, anxiety, and panic, we have witnessed practical expressions of a living, conscious faith. We have all seen the sacrificial service of doctors and other healthcare professionals around the globe, who put their own lives on the line to save those who were affected by COVID-19. We saw numerous expressions of humanitarianism and acts of kindness. With great admiration, we saw young volunteers delivering food and supplies to the most vulnerable segment of our society - the elderly. We were amazed by the generosity of individuals, companies and organizations, who donated medical supplies and other life-saving essentials. With a debt of gratitude, we recognize the men and women in uniform, the military, police, firefighters, paramedics and other representatives of government agencies, who continue to serve our communities around the clock. It was especially delightful to see the consolidation of wonderful men and women in our motherland Armenia, who spared nothing to deliver much-needed help to the less fortunate. In these heroic and compassionate deeds, we perceive the power of the victorious resurrection of Christ.

The Armenian nation survived many perils throughout history, including natural disasters, warfare, famine and disease. Nevertheless, we have always risen from the ashes like a phoenix by virtue of our ancestral Christian faith. As St. Paul states, “We were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

Dear faithful brothers and sisters,

Our exhortation to you is to pray unceasingly for the sick, the distressed and the needy around the world. Please pray for the motherland Armenia, Holy Etchmiadzin and its Holy See headed by His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of all Armenians.

Believe in the miraculous resurrection of Christ and bear in mind that these tribulations too shall pass. We urge you to lead your lives with this message of Christ’s resurrection, despite the current circumstances. Do not forget your Lord during times of joy and prosperity, rather glorify His holy name always, for to Him befits the glory, the power and the dominion. Amen.

Christ is risen from the dead.

Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ.

Prayerfully,

Archbishop Hovnan Derderian

Primate

Easter 2020

Burbank, CA