By Ivy Chai
KUCHING — During the Holy Week, Catholic Archbishop Simon Poh who is Chairman of the Association of Churches in Sarawak, was interviewed by WaiFM Bidayuh RTM on the importance of Easter to Christians.
As he reflected on the question, “Why is Easter such an important feast to all Christians?” the prelate realised Easter is fundamental to the Christian faith.
It dawned on him that more importance should be given to Easter as the answer is in the Scriptures. He quoted:
“St Paul who had proclaimed Christ crucified and died on the Cross, has this wonderful answer: ‘… If Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe… And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins… If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world. (1 Cor 15:12-19)’ “
Archbishop Simon Poh went on to explain how the Holy Week (Easter Triduum) is to be celebrated by Christians:
“On Holy Thursday, we celebrate the commemoration of the Last Supper when Jesus also washed the feet of his disciples as an example of servant leadership.
“On Good Friday, Jesus died on the cross. He made this sacrifice of love as a ransom for our sins that we may be forgiven and live.
“On Easter Vigil, we celebrate his resurrection from the Dead. Alleluia! Jesus Christ is alive! He is still with us, until the end of time.
“Thus, for us who celebrate the Holy Week, we are also invited to follow in the footsteps of Jesus our Risen Lord who has commanded us to love one another as Jesus has loved us.
- by praying for the world
- by giving our time to serve and take care of those who are in need
- by offering hope, provide emotional support and encouragement especially for those who are suffering because of this pandemic
- by volunteering for social work and contributing to charitable causes in time and cash, such as donating money to churches and charities, and giving blood to save life, etc. “
In response to what to expect and how to cope with the larger crowd coming back to Church after the removal of congregation cap effective 1 April, especially for Good Friday Service and Easter Mass, Archbishop Simon said:
“It has been two years since we had congregations in churches. Since 1 April, Christians have been returning to Church. When we celebrated Palm Sunday on 10 April, our churches were full with returning congregations. For Christians, Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday is considered as the most Holy Week where we have the Last Supper Commemoration on Thursday, Good Friday, Easter midnight Vigil and Easter Sunday. This will also be the first time after two years that we are able to celebrate Holy Week in churches.
“UNIFOR has acknowledged the high compliance of churches and houses of worship throughout this pandemic period. In response, all churches are committed to comply with the UNIFOR SOP issued on 1 April 2022. We need to be even more vigilant during the coming Good Friday and Easter Masses and services and be prepared for maximum capacity as allowed by UNIFOR.
“After two years of response to COVID-19 pandemic, I am also confident that everyone coming to church is aware of the need of wearing mask and maintaining physical distance in public places and houses of worship. It has now become natural for us to leave a gap or space when we are seated, while waiting in public places like banks, clinics, etc. This is a safety habit and conditioning from two years of pandemic response.
“Similarly, churches also seek to reinforce these safety practices, by maintaining physical distancing during full capacity. In some church buildings with large corridors, foyers or porches, additional chairs can be set up with physical distancing to accommodate more churchgoers.
“We trust that our churchgoers will naturally keep these safety habits as part of our Christian social responsibility for the common good of society and that churches do not contribute to any new clusters in the community. Thus, to ensure that churches are safe environments for worship for Good Friday, Easter and every Sunday, all our Churches will be maintaining physical distancing, wearing of facemasks, use of sanitising liquid, scanning of MySejahtera, as our safety SOP during worship in churches.”
On the question of the continuation of Livestream Mass for those who prefer to follow the service from home, Archbishop Simon affirmed online Masses will continue, especially for the vulnerable, people with medical conditions, sick, elderly, the bedridden. Some in these groups have expressed gratitude that the livestreaming has enabled them to attend Mass, which under normal circumstances, they would have to miss.
During the transition to endemic stage, Churches will also not be operating at full capacity, which means some parishioners may have to be denied entry once the numbers reached the maximum allocated.
The prelate advised churchgoers to comply with all SOP requirements of their parish, to ensure the Church remains open. “Please understand that the safety SOP is to ensure that churches are to remain open and safe for worship on every Sunday throughout the year,” he reiterated.
GREETINGS
Archbishop Simon Poh concluded with: “On behalf of the Head of Churches, bishops, priests and religious, pastors and all Church leaders, I wish every Christian an Easter filled with hope and life. Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Blessed Easter!
“In a spirit of mutual respect and acceptance in this land of harmonious Sarawak, I would like to include our wishes of Happy Vaisakhi Day to our Sikh friends and a fruitful Ramadan to our Muslim friends.”
Link to WaiFM video: https://www.facebook.com/266215352547/videos/711148653409813
