Perior to the cross, the Virgin Mary was hearing howling of the daughters of Jerusalem mourning the young man presented as a silent lamb. She was standing as the sword was passing through her soul and Jesus Christ was condemned and defamed. Yet, the women loved and followed him, even if they didn’t realize that resurrection was at hand.
We also stand in solidarity with those who were wounded for us, and were condemned in the 21st century. I see people arguing after the arrest of the Coptic activist Ramy Kamel like the two disciples of Emmaus who were on the way back from Jerusalem after the resurrection. The two disciples were in a state of disappointment and confusion, and did not know about the risen Lord. They saw Jesus as a prophet, a political and military leader, and therefore the two students lost the greatest significance of history and lost hope after the death of Jesus. They may have heard the testimony of the women and the Bible prophecies about resurrection, but they did not believe them. It took Jesus standing alive among them to get their eyes open.
At that time, Jesus began talking to them with questions: What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? They started talking about their feelings and pain ‘But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. ‘ They didn’t realize whom they are talking to till he sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
Ramy also is not just a political leader, but an Egyptian Christian man who cares for his homeland and church at the same time. We pray for him and for his family hoping that he will return soon and will remain an icon for the Coptic cause.
