Holy Fire, Horrors, and Holiness this Easter in Palestine
Greetings from Jordan, where I am decompressing before heading home after nearly a month in Palestine.
I have had the privilege of being part of or leading four delegations to Palestine since October 2023. With each delegation, the level of brutality, impunity, and hubris never fails to amaze and enrage me. Through the lens of every visit to the land, every conversation with Palestinians, and every movement interaction, I am more and more convinced that what happens to the Palestinian people and how the world responds to the genocide and occupation, will determin if, when, and how the world will counteract the ills and evils of empire, capitaolism, militarism, climate change, racism, classism, gender, etc. The intersectionality that Palestine represents in staring us all in the face. I only hope that we will respond before more lives are lost.
Over the past month, I have been in and out of Palestine, including spending Holy Week in Jerusalem with a delegation invited by Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center and supported by Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA). There are so many moments worthy of sharing and I will do so, but for now, let me tell you about Easter Saturday and the Ceremony of the Holy Fire that we witnessed in Palestine, 2025.
The Holy Fire Will Not Be Occupied
Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen Indeed!
Despite the Occupiers' best intentions.
Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen Indeed!
Our Christian siblings in Palestine hoped to celebrate Holy Week in The Old City of Jerusalem, in the churches of their ancestors, with their communties of faith.
But the Occupation would deny them the opportunity.
We privileged foreigners with privileged passports.
Given access to the city of Jerusalem.
We hoped to worship in a house of the Holy One.
But the Occupation would not let us in.
We anticipated the Celebration of the Holy Fire.
But the Occupation would withhold the experience.
We yearned to be part of the Body of Christ made real.
But the Occupation would divide us with barriers and bullets.
We waited with others, with hopeful anticipation to be granted access.
But the Occupation moved with disregard and disdain.
The people chose restraint, patience, and steadfastness.
But the Occupation chose arrest, violence, and intimidation.
Why would the occupiers do this?
Because they can.
But despite the Occupiers' inhumanity and intimidation.
Despite the Occupiers' wrath and weaponry.
Despite the Occupiers' commitment to containment.
Despite the Occupiers also being victims of the occupation.
Christ has risen.
Christ has risen indeed.
The Holy Fire emerges from New Gate in The Old City, Jerusalem
Despite the Occupiers' attempts and intentions.
The Holy Fire emerged.
The people cheered.
The Holy Fire was shared.
Person to person.
Community to community.
The Holy Fire will spread.
The Holy Fire will not be extinguished.
The Occupiers are not the arbiters of hope.
Death does not have the last word.
From generation to generation.
The Resurrection will be made known.
Christ has risen.
Christ has risen indeed.
Christ will continue to rise again and again.
Amen.
With gratitude for the steadfast commitment to justice, compassion, and the liberation of Palestine of these orgs and many more.
- Palestine Justice Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
- Friends of Sebeel, North America (FOSNA)
- Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center
There were many disturbing images from the day, but none uglier than the sign at the gate from the Israeli Police to Christians. Hypocritical does not begin to describe the level of impunity and depravity communicated in this sign and what was taking place right in front of it.
For more about the violence of the day, see the Press Release issued by the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem on the Assaults Against Worshippers During Holy Fire Saturday
There were also more traditional moments of Easter hope. One of my children and I spent Easter Sunday at the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, where the Christ in the Rubble sits today as a reminder of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
