Sogneprest p. Bharath Damacius Villavarayens preken i rekviemmessen
SE TIL DEN SÅREDE JESUS: – Se til den sårede Jesus, la hans sår lege oss og gi oss evnen til å tilgi i nådegave, sa p. Bharath Damacius Villavarayen i sin preken. Foto: Kristin Svorte
As I stand before you, not only as a Christian but also as a Sri Lankan, we are lost for words to express our shock and sadness. The sad departure of our brothers and sisters has created an emptiness within ourselves. We are left with an unbearable loss. We still fail to grasp the events that shook us. We continue to remain with broken hearts and in tears.
Your Majesty, Prime Minister, Your Excellency Ambassador for Sri Lanka, Rt. Rev. Bishops from the Church of Norway, Fathers and Pastors, government officials, religious leaders and my dear brothers and sisters, your presence tells me that a nation is with us. A nation who received our people with open arms to this country, is sharing our sorrows. Thank you. This means much to us and this will remain in our hearts for a very long time.
If you ever wonder, why there is so much violence in Sri Lanka, or why there is so much intolerance among our people, I would like to share with you something about us.
If you ever happen to travel by public transport in Sri Lanka, you will see that when there is a religious gets into a bus, someone will immediately get up and will offer his seat to the religious. If an elderly person gets in, then another person will do the same. If a pregnant woman gets in, it is the same. No one will ever ask that person what religion you belong to; what race you belong to. It is so natural for us to do so. From our childhood we walk into any temple, any mosque or any other religious place. Neither our parents nor anyone else told us not to go to other places of worship. To greet my Muslim brother Assalamu allaikum, or to greet a Buddhist monk with saadu saadu, or a Christian with God bless you, are expressions everyone uses in my country. Interreligious marriages are natural to us.
“There is fear, anger, hatred and desire for revenge.”
What has happened to us today, is that certainly human life is at danger, our country and our economy is at danger, and our very identity is at danger. Churches are closed indefinitely; schools and universities are closed. People are afraid to step out from their homes. There is fear, anger, hatred and desire for revenge.
“Let his wounds heals us and give us the grace that we continue to forgive.”
It is at this very moment, we Christians turn to our Lord. Specially as we celebrate Easter we turn to our Risen Lord. As we heard in the Gospel of the day, the disciples were behind closed doors for fear of their lives. The Risen Lord Jesus appears to his disciples and his only greeting is “peace be with you”. This greeting of Jesus would have disturbed his disciples. Because the one who was to succeed him, denied him. Another betrayed him. And almost all of them abandoned him when he needed them most. But with all these, Jesus greets them: shalom! He shows them his wounds both in the hands and in the side, which means he underwent suffering and pain and death, but his greeting is Shalom. Shalom is not only just peace, that comes after a conflict or a war, shalom means peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare, tranquillity and above all it is forgiveness. The Risen Lord with all his woundedness forgives his disciples. If the recent incidents have wounded us or have hurt us, as St. Paul says to us today, let nothing separate us from Jesus. Let us turn to the wounded Jesus. Let his wounds heals us and give us the grace that we continue to forgive.
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