“The final word of God is the empty tomb. It is the Lord who goes before the disciples into Galilee and who goes before us as well, leading us toward a peace that is not an illusion, but the fruit of the cross.” – Cardinal Pizzaballa, Palm Sunday Homily, Gethsemene 2026.
Reading the news can feel like the world is spiralling down more every day. It’s easy to be overwhelmed. There is a lot of power-over dominance happening and many people’s lives are becoming harder as a result. We can descend into resentment and self-protection. Focusing on our sense of ‘Us and our rights’ leading us to define more and more people as ‘Other’ who have no rights because they are not ‘Us.’ We prioritise ours and our children’s wants above the actual life-saving needs of the world’s children. We have perfected the art of self-justification. Often unconscious, our own fear-based wounds paralyse our ability to recognise each other as sisters and brothers, and that the goods of the earth are meant for all (Gaudium et Spes:69).
How we live these times can either mirror the despair many feel, or we can mirror Jesus, insisting on non-violence in the midst of violence; recognising every person and the earth as having unique and indispensable value; building connections rather than division; working for peace amidst the fear and aggression of war; practicing compassion; refusing all that prevents us and others from living life to the full (Jn 10:10); trusting that God is at work in us and in the world.
The resurrection did not make Jesus’ suffering disappear. Carrying visible wounds is a distinct feature of Jesus’ body after his resurrection. Jesus wounds still carry the suffering of the whole world. Nothing is lost. No suffering is forgotten. It all matters. All is carried in the wounds of the One who died and rose for our liberation. Every Good Friday we listen to Isaiah’s foretelling of Jesus suffering.
Yet it was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured (Is 53:4)
Wounded Jesus is the healer of our woundedness. Apostle Peter proclaimed to the early Church, “By his wounds, you have been healed” (1Peter 2:24)
The One who holds us in being, also holds in His being, our suffering. Promising both solidarity and release. Saving us from its destructive capacity, showing us that we are not alone. Nor are we powerless.
Palestinian Christians living their own profound suffering and seeing the suffering of everyone caught up in a plague of unfettered violence, are bringing their experience into dialogue with the risen Jesus, discerning how to faithfully live as his disciples in the Holy Land today. In faith they profess:
“We are witnesses to the Resurrection and to the empty tomb from which the light of life burst forth. We believe that the final word belongs not to death, but to life. Not to darkness but to light. Not to injustice but to truth. We proclaim with the Apostle Paul “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Cor 4:8-9). Kairos II 2:15, November 14, 2025 Bethlehem
Out of this discernment, these 21st century disciples choose peace as the only way to respond. Refusing to harbour hatred and revenge takes courage and enormous faith. Their theology deepens our understanding of Jesus’ own suffering and death as an act of resistance. Resistance to the human desire to control, compel, use power over, make scapegoats to justify our own resentment, our own greed and grasping for power to manipulate. Jesus’ silence before Pilate, during his torture and throughout his crucifixion, was resistance. He refused to participate in the dominance of violence, refused to use power-over, remaining faithful to the Love-based power of his Father, Abba. This is our model as followers of Christ.
The risen Jesus also brings us peace. After his resurrection appearing to the disciples as they gathered in fear in the upper room, Jesus first words were: “Peace be with you” and again “Peace be with you” (Jn 20:19, 21)
Let that in. Peace be with you. We are used to hearing those words spoken to the disciples, but they are also spoken directly to us in our fear and uncertainty. Palestinian theologian Daniel Bannoura, from the University of Notre Dame USA, provides a powerful perspective on Jesus’ blessings of peace. He suggests that Jesus is asking each of us “Will you allow me to disarm you?” (June 6th online seminar, Bethlehem Institute for Peace and Justice)
To receive the peace of Christ, is to allow ourselves to be disarmed from our positions, ideologies, fears, self-protection, hard heartedness, desire for revenge, self-and-other judgement. Jesus takes away the sins of the world, including our own, disarming us with a peace the world cannot give.
On Palm Sunday, 2026, Cardinal Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, spoke about Christ’s peace: “The peace Jesus offers is not a fragile agreement between enemies, but a peace born of the cross – a peace that comes from a God who gives himself completely and has no need of force or weapons. This is the paradox we are called to embrace today.”
Encountering the risen Jesus is personal. Encounter is connection, relationship, receptivity and openness, each to the other. A movement initiated by Jesus, each encounter enables a deepening relationship, bearing fruit beyond the initial connection.
All of the post-Resurrection encounters are personal and initiated by Jesus: Calling Mary Magdelene by name (Jn 20:16); walking alongside the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk:24 13-31); offering his wounds for Thomas to touch (Jn 20:27); standing on the beach waiting to be recognised; telling the apostles to put their nets on the other side of the boat (Jn 21:6); then once recognised, inviting the apostles to join him for breakfast on the beach (Jn 21:12). After breakfast Jesus has a very personal encounter with Peter (Jn 21:15-17).
And in each encounter, there is recognition; When Mary heard her name, she knew it was Jesus (Jn20:16); when Thomas encountered Jesus’ wounded, risen body he proclaimed ‘My Lord and my God’ (Jn 20:28); the disciple whom Jesus loved recognised him (Jn21:7), when the Apostles heard “It is the Lord” they rushed to bring the boat full of fish ashore (Jn21:8); after breakfast, Jesus asked a personal question of Peter three times and he responded with a declaration of love (Jn21:15-17).
Each encounter also moved outwards beyond the encounter itself: Mary ran to tell the others that she had “seen the Lord” (Jn 20:18); Thomas’ response was a model for us to also touch the wounds of the suffering world (Halik 2023); recognising Jesus in the breaking of the bread, the disciples hurried back to Jerusalem to proclaim they too had seen the risen Lord (Lk24:32-35); After Peter’s three declarations of love he received his commission to feed and tend Jesus’ sheep (Jn21:15-17).
Personal encounter is an essential component for hope and peace in our needy world. The Eucharist offers such an encounter. Setting aside time to be in the presence of Jesus wherever and however we pray. Seeing and touching the wounds of our time by offering support, solidarity, compassion. These encounters have impact beyond ourselves. God is making something new, even now. When we focus on God’s action in our lives and in the world, we can we witnesses to another way. We can resist the dominance of power-over, showing instead the power of God’s abiding love, as Jesus showed us.
Local Christian communities in South Sudan, are responding to their encounter with the risen Jesus by heroically sharing what little they have with waves of refugees fleeing war and all its horror. The catastrophic civil war has brought South Sudan famine. Because international aid frequently struggles to reach the hardest-hit areas, Christian Churches are trying to bridge the gap.
Rev. Ezekiel Kondo, Archbishop of the Anglican Province of Sudan states that “We have sold or distributed our own church-held agricultural reserves of sorghum to feed starving communities and fleeing refugees…This might trigger another crisis between the people because food is not enough, water is not enough, medicine not enough, nothing is enough. It is a time for big challenges, not for the church only, but for the whole community.”
Even in this great suffering, evidence of the risen Christ can be found. A Catholic and inter-congregational initiative has emerged as a key actor engaged in grassroots peacebuilding, reconciliation, and social reconstruction. Its mission is rooted in the promotion of peaceful coexistence, trauma healing, and sustainable development through education, healthcare, agriculture, and community empowerment. Its approach seeks to foster resilience and long-term transformation at both community and institutional levels.
Wherever there is danger, famine, displacement, war, medical needs, conflict there are people responding with courageous love. They are signs of the resurrection in our midst. Taybeh Catholic parish, previously called Ephraim, where Jesus stayed after raising Lazarus, (Jn 11:54) is trying to create employment for people who have lost their livelihoods. They are making peace candles, inviting every Church throughout the world to purchase one and pray with them for peace for all.
‘Didn’t our hearts burn within us?’ That’s the response hearing the Good News creates in us, just as it did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus. They recognised Jesus’ presence in the blessing and breaking of the bread. May blessing and breaking bread in our Eucharist open our eyes to Jesus’ liberating presence at work everywhere, especially in the darkest situations. Not a jolly making-it-alright presence, ignoring suffering and its consequences. Rather seeing the power of the Resurrection when people come together across violent, religious, cultural and social divides for the common good. We are today’s witnesses to the risen Christ. The One who asks that we allow him to disarm us, so that we may receive God’s peace for ourselves and for the world. A world desperate for love. Longing for peace. We are the bearers of Good News. It is our time to witness that God’s Love is stronger than all the forces of destruction. We do this through our actions, our language, what we focus on, how we live in solidarity with each other and the earth. By resisting the temptation to exercise power-over. We can avoid the trap of despondency by mirroring Christ in all our encounters.
A final word of hope from the Church in the Holy Land: “Brothers and sisters, in this land that continues to wait for peace, we are called to be witnesses to a love that never gives up. May our journey of faith, even today, be a journey of hope. And may our lives, even amid the harshness of the present moment, bring the love of Christ and his light wherever darkness seems to prevail.” Cardinal Pizzaballa. Palm Sunday 2026, Gethsemene.
Catherine Whewell ©
The Churches in South Sudan and the Holy Land need our help. Find out more here: South Sudan https://caritassouthsudan.org/ and the Holy Land – https://www.lpj.org/en
