Sermon: Easter message and our 15th commemoration of the genocide

As Christians all over the world celebrate the feast of Easter this year, in our country we do the same with a different feeling. We are at the same time commemorating for the 15th time the regrettable and infamous 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. It is therefore understandable that for us the feast of Easter has a different message in our sad situation. Because of the reality we live now, we do understand very well what it meant when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where they had put the body of Jesus only to find the tomb empty. The stone with which they had closed the tomb had been taken away, the linen cloth in which the body of Jesus was wrapped was lying there, and the napkin which had been on his head had been rolled up in a place by itself. When the disciples who reached the tomb first saw this, they believed what the scripture says: He had risen from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the very foundation of our Christian practice. It is on that belief that we have fashioned our understanding of life as a preparation for death; not death in the sense of final end, but rather as a transition from one level of life to another in which our new experience shall depend on how we shall have conducted ourselves here on earth. From the Easter story, we learn with a relief that through death life is changed and not taken away. We learn that those who kill the body cannot kill the soul. Easter as an event therefore throws some light on the main purpose of Jesus’ life and death, which was to give everyone an opportunity to share that life in its fullness. For him, as for us, death is but the gateway to rebirth. His death was necessary if he were to resurrect, just as it is still necessary for us if we are to achieve our final destiny. This central theme of Easter is very relevant to our situation as we commemorate for the 15th time the1994 Genocide. As we continue to ponder on its irrationality, as we pray for its many victims, as we affirm our obligation to help its survivors and as we plan how we can make a difference for our future, this Easter message is loud and clear in our sad situation. We too as we remember our departed ones, we celebrate Easter in a way that renews our profound conviction that human existence has within itself the seeds of new life and of new hope. It is because of this new hope for a new life, that amidst our sorrows, we too can share Christ’s triumph over death and evil. Despite the presence of so much evil, there is hope for something better. Despite all the evils we have met on our way as a nation, all the elements of disappointment, frustration, sorrow , different failures including genocide tendencies, we discover that even the sting of the horrible death can not deter us from the fact that life must continue. There is still a glimmer of hope that our situation can be reversed and that people can live together as brothers and sisters, especially if we continue to face in the right direction. In his letter to the Colossians 3: 1-4; Paul uses the resurrection of Christ as a stepping stone in order to teach us a lesson on the ultimate level of Christian belief; which is the immortality of the human soul. With Paul we can address these words to all the victims of 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi “Because you have died; now the life you have is hidden with Christ God.” This attitude helps us to look at human death itself as an illusion, because it can, and will, be ultimately conquered through the conquest of sin, as taught by Jesus. The same attitude encourages us to be ready to forgive and to ask for forgiveness. In addition to this, we should continue to pray for our departed, give them the respect they deserved, fight for the rights and justice that they were not given and above all express our determination both in words and deeds for a stronger Never Again. Ends