During Holy Week we once again hear the stories we all know so well: the entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the betrayal, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion on Calvary, the tomb, and finally the Resurrection.
Every Christian already knows the story. Every Christian is actually able to tell the story. Yet every year the Church tells the story again during Holy Week, inviting the faithful to once again enter into the drama of salvation. The liturgy of Holy Week invites us to enter into the last moments of the life of Jesus before his crucifixion. To experience the drama, to feel the pain of betrayal and violent death, to touch the price Jesus paid for our salvation.
As the faithful gathered in Tanta and Alexandria, Egypt last Sunday to commemorate the opening of Holy Week, they did not suspect that this year dozens of them would enter into the mystery of Holy Week by being conformed perfectly to Jesus Christ in death. They would die as martyrs.
Last Palm Sunday, ISIS organized attacks in two vulnerable Coptic churches killing and least 45 faithful and injuring many more. ISIS has threatened the Coptic Christian minority of Egypt with even more terror.
These attacks in Egypt serve as a reminder to all Christians that the events of Holy Week are not only recreated through the liturgy of the Church during Holy Week, but that many Christians continue to experience the drama of salvation in their daily lives. The Egyptian Christians are roughly ten percent of the Egyptian population and for years have experienced systematic discrimination. The Coptic Christians have a rich ancient tradition which precedes the 7th century Muslim presence in Egypt.
The Christians of Egypt are not the only ones. The Christians in Syria have experienced tremendous persecution from various rebel groups, finding protection only under the government of the infamous Assad. Years of war in Iraq leading up to the invasion by ISIS has destroyed century old Christian communities throughout the country.
The mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ continues to unfold before us in the lives of our Christian brothers and sisters who are suffering great persecution due to their faith. They experience the drama as well as the pain of betrayal and violent death personally. They unite themselves in a death like Christ’s and trust they will also be united in a resurrection like His.
Pope Francis issued a statement addressed to Pope Tawadros II of the Copts and the whole Coptic Church expressing his deep condolences. “I pray for the dead and the injured,” he wrote, “and I am close in spirit to the family members of the deceased and injured and to the entire community. May the Lord convert the hearts of the people who are sowing terror, violence and death, and also the hearts of those who make and traffic weapons.”
As most of the new martyrs were quickly buried on Monday, Christians gathered to express their grief and their hope in the resurrection. For Egyptian Christians, this is a Holy Week that invites them to be configured to the death and resurrection of Christ in a profound and tangible way. May our prayers be with them.
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