The Passion Week that occurs before Easter Festival has a special value among the Christians. The week, also known as Holy Week, is exceptional among followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian who spend the whole week praying, confessing their sins, kneeling down determinedly until they get exhausted and experiencing the power of forgiving. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is all about love, mercy and forgiveness. Through His death, He has conquered death and received all our punishment for sin. Through His resurrection, He gave life to our sinful nature.
While Ethiopians are preparing to mark the Easter Holiday, religious fathers are conveying their benediction to the faithful ones and instructing all Ethiopian Christians to mirror the life of Jesus Christ who is the center of Easter Holiday.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Evangelical Churches Fellowship of Ethiopia President Pastor Tsadiku Abdo said “We Ethiopians, people with centuries of harmonious relations and religious tolerance, should mark the festival with gratitude and humility in a manner adhering to the values of the religion.” While Jesus was in this world, He displayed what humbleness means to all human kinds through His action. He has also taught the meaning of meekness through His action to His disciples. This meekness and servant personality was not only displayed when He washed His disciples’ feet; but, when He abandoned all the glory and He decided to live among us.
Jesus`s life is a real manifestation of what kindness, humbleness or forgiveness means. All His teachings were centering on to love one another and to forgive enemies. Jesus Christ showed His humbleness when He rode a colt. In those times, kings and leaders used to ride horses which were the symbol of authority, and greatness. However, Jesus, while He was the Son of the living God, preferred to ride the Colt. This truly shows His meekness.
“We can learn a lot from Jesus`s humbleness. We are here in this world to love one another and show compassion to others. As human beings, we need to show meekness at the expense of pride; we should practice loving others at the expense of hatred.”
According to him, the other lesson we learn from the life of Jesus Christ is forgiveness. Despite all the cruelty he experienced in the hands of humankind while He had not done anything wrong or did not commit any crime, He was accused and brought before Pontius Pilate (Roman governor who presided at the final trial of Jesus Christ and gave the order for His crucifixion.) However, none of human beings’ cruelness affected Christ`s vision for salvation. He kept on loving people and his enemies. This is another great lesson to all of us. “We may have several causes that may lead us to hate people or to take revenge; unfortunately, none of them will bring a real solution or peace. We must learn the secret behind the power of forgiveness, loving our enemies so as to lead a stable life and keep harmonious relationships with others.”
One of the attributes of Jesus Christ is His love for His enemies. “This is what we should practice from his life. It is not difficult to love those individuals who love us or do something good to us. But the questions are, to what extent are we ready and have the gut to love our enemies? That is what Jesus did; and that is what we should practice.”
According to Tsadiku, hope is the other thing we Christians have got with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. With His birth, we Christians have received a gift of hope while we were hopeless. This hope is also manifested following Jesus`s crucifixion and resurrection.
Most of Jesus`s followers were discouraged when Jesus, whom they were expecting to free Israel from Roman`s rule, was crucified. They expected him to deliver Israel from Roman`s hand. However, this hope faded away immediately he was crucified. However, His resurrection witnessed the promise.
There are some individuals in Ethiopia who still see the dark cloud without considering the hope that lie ahead of the country.
There are still some people who are waiting for favorable opportunities to take revenge against their enemies. “But, this is not what Jesus taught human beings. He is our hope and a symbol of forgiveness.”
In his message to all Ethiopian Christians, Tsadiku said that Ethiopians have an age-old culture of living in tolerance and harmony. This culture is still intact. While marking Easter, we should consider all the forgiveness we have received from Jesus and the new life He gave to all humankind. This is what we should practice when we think of Easter. We must embrace the values of hope against hopelessness. His resurrection has reversed human meanness. Jesus even showed His unwavering love while He was in cross. This should be the quality of every faithful Christian. Indeed, Easter is a time of renewal and reflection for many people in Ethiopia and the whole world. It is a time to celebrate forgiveness, love and humility. Forgiveness is a central theme of Easter. As Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and His resurrection, they are reminded of the ultimate act of forgiveness. Jesus died on the cross to atone for the sins of humanity, offering a path to redemption and forgiveness for all who believe in him.
Love is another important aspect of Easter. The crucifixion of Jesus is a good example of selfless love. This love is not just limited to the sacrifice that Jesus paid, but also extends to the love that Christians are called to show to others. It is a reminder that love is a powerful force that can overcome hatred and division. Humility is also a key virtue associated with Easter. Jesus`s willingness to suffer and die on the cross is seen as a demonstration of humility and selflessness. Christians are reminded to emulate this humility by putting the needs of others before their own and by recognizing their own shortcoming and weakness.
BY LEULSEGED WORKU
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 3 MAY 2024
