“Rejoice!”
This is a greeting of the Resurrection—perhaps even the very first one, before the one we so often use: “Peace be with you!”
We have come to realize that both of these are far more than simple greetings or wishes. They carry with them states of being—realities that those who receive them can experience continually and consistently.
In times like these, we need both of them—not only us, but the whole world.
Both are made possible through the Resurrection, and in order to truly have them, one must believe in and receive the Lord Jesus.
So then: “Rejoice!”
And: “Peace be with you!”
Sometimes things do not happen as we planned or expected. The Lord surprises us in beautiful ways.
On Resurrection Day, we had the pleasant surprise of seeing two people enter the church who were clearly not from around here. They were from India, having come to work in Romania in hopes of earning a better income and supporting their families.
They were searching for a church, for a place of worship. The car that brought them was actually looking for an Orthodox church, but because their arrival was before dawn, they decided to return to their accommodation. Then the driver’s phone rang, and he had to stop… Coincidence?
The place where they stopped… right in front of our church.
After we met them, we shared a special moment of prayer—for them, for their families, and for their country.
This, too, is mission. Only this time, “the ends of the earth” came to us.
At times, through such events, God reminds us that on that Resurrection day, the Lord died and rose again not only for those near us, but also for those far away.
May the Lord help us not to forget that the mission began in Jerusalem and must be carried further and further—until the ends of the earth, to all the world.
When “the ends of the earth” come to me, I am reminded that the direction is actually the other way:
I must go, you must go, we must go…
Until then—Rejoice!
And may the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!
Stinea Timotei - PIEI Romania National Director
