Press Releases13 Apr 14

A Reflection for Holy Week and Easter by the Archbishop of Armagh

One of the most important things about Easter is that we do not separate it from Holy Week. Nor vice versa. Easter Day is not merely a happy ending to a hitherto sad tale, and Holy Week is not simply a tragedy of epic proportions.

It is not that there is not supreme happiness and joy on Easter Day with the resurrection of hope and of love in the person of the risen Christ, nor that the events of Holy Week do not stand on their own as a narrative of heroic self–sacrifice culminating in the torture of the Via Dolorosa and Calvary. But it is when we pray and worship through Holy Week consciously and constantly aware that this is the Incarnate Christ who is voluntarily walking towards the horrors of the Cross, that the radiance of the resurrection becomes absolute for us.

There were other ‘resurrections’ reported in the Scriptures – the son of the widow of Nain, and Lazarus to name only two – but Easter Day is the celebration of the resurrection of the crucified Lord. ‘Crucified and risen’ belong together in the good news that we are called to proclaim to the world.

In the light of Holy Week and Easter, we see injustice, fear and hatred apparently victorious, but ultimately thrown into defeat by the Glory of God. You and I are called by Christ not simply to rejoice in his resurrection with all that this means for us as individuals, but to work on earth in his name for a resurrection victory over the forces of injustice, greed and fear that we see around us each day.

+Richard Armagh