Persecution on Resurrection Sunday
While they celebrated the resurrection, terrorists inflicted persecution. On Easter Sunday, a coordinated terrorist attack killed at least 207 people and injured more than 450 people in Sri Lanka. These attacks took place at several high-end hotels and churches throughout the country.
"The United States condemns in the strongest terms the terror attacks in Sri Lanka on Easter morning," Mike Pompeo said in a statement released by the State Department. "Attacks on innocent people gathering in a place of worship or enjoying a holiday meal are affronts to the universal values and freedoms that we hold dear, and demonstrate yet again the brutal nature of radical terrorists whose sole aim is to threaten peace and security."
According to the Associated Press, at least six different explosions were reported to hit hotels and churches in the cities of Colombo, Negombo, and Batticaloa. Hours later, two more explosions crippled an overpass in the area of Dematagoda on the outskirts of the capital of Colombo.
Tragically, this is becoming increasingly common both in Sri Lanka and across the world. Approximately 22 million people live in Sri Lanka, with more than 70 percent identifying as Buddhist. Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists have recently been attacking religious minorities in the country, especially as they grow in number. Ruki Fernando reports that church gatherings across the country have faced some sort of disruption over the past 11 Sundays. Last year, there were 86 verifiable cases of discrimination, threats, and violence against Christians. There have been 26 such incidents this year, including the disruption of a Sunday service by Buddhist monks.
As for the world, Christians continue to top the list as the most persecuted religious group. According to Pew Research, Christians were harassed in 144 countries in 2016, up from 128 in 2015. Every month 345 Christians are killed for faith-related reasons, according to Open Doors. 105 Churches and Christian buildings are burned or attacked.
Yet this shouldn’t surprise us but further confirm for us the veracity of the Scriptures. According to the biblical narrative, trouble awaits us, persecution will come for us, and the fiery ordeal looms just ahead of us (Jn. 16:33, 2 Tim. 3:12, 1 Pet. 4:12). But we don’t lose heart because Jesus defeated death.
As many sung this Resurrection Sunday, because he lives we can face tomorrow. Terrorists can kill our bodies but they cannot touch our spirits. We don’t just celebrate the resurrection, we believe in resurrection.