He Is Risen: An Easter Letter from Galilee
In a small home in Galilee, where olive trees rise above the hillsides and the skyline carries the slow weight of biblical history, a family of believers sat down to celebrate Easter this year. Outside, sirens and bomb strikes were loudly heard. Inside, candles were lit, Scripture was read, and in their hearts they knew: He is risen.
The believer who wrote home to friends abroad did so from the middle of a war. More than five weeks earlier, hostilities between Israel and Iran had escalated into open conflict. Since then, the rhythm of life had come apart and been reassembled around alarms, explosions, and trips to bomb shelters at any time of day or night. There are days when they just cannot stay at their own home and be safe, and as they do not have a shelter of their own, half of their nights are spent at the homes of friends. They wake, gather what they need, and go to take shelter again.
Even daily life carries small disruptions that have begun to feel constant. During a recent soccer practice, their son was rushed into a shelter three separate times in one afternoon. The next day, two more times. A house in that same area was struck directly by a rocket. Programs and gatherings of their ministry have been canceled, postponed, or moved to Zoom. Worship still happens, but often online, with the muted sound of distant bombs falling behind the singing. They keep trying to return to routine, and the routine keeps breaking under the weight of new alarms.
And yet, in their letter to us, there is no panic. There is grief, certainly, and exhaustion. But there is also joy. “He has overcome death and evil,” the believer writes. “He has given us a Living Hope, even in times like these, and has brought us true peace with God.” Easter, for this family, is not a tradition. It is the very ground beneath their feet.
Christians in this region carry many quiet costs. In Israel, Messianic Jewish believers often face rejection from family and community for following Jesus, and Arab Christians navigate their own pressures inside a region long marked by conflict. The fact that our partner’s ministry brings Jewish and Arab believers together as one family in Christ is, in itself, a deeply countercultural act, a small picture of the reconciliation Jesus came to bring.
Across the border, in Iran, the picture is more severe still: house churches are raided, pastors imprisoned, and converts driven underground in one of the most restrictive nations in the world for followers of Jesus.
The believer’s request is simple. Pray that God’s people in Galilee, both Jewish and Arab, would keep growing in unity, faith, and love. Pray that this season of suffering would not be wasted, but would prepare the Church for what is to come. And pray, above all, that the Risen Christ would continue to be known where He has long been longed for, in the very land of His resurrection.
Please pray
- An End to the War: Pray for a swift end to the Iran and Israel conflict, and for a new and better reality across the region. Pray for the protection of civilians, and for justice and peace to take root.
- The Persecuted Church Across the Region: Pray for Christians in Iran and throughout the Middle East who suffer under restriction, surveillance, and violence. Pray that the hope of the Resurrection would carry them, and that doors closed by men would be opened by God.
- The Believing Community in Galilee: Pray for Jewish and Arab believers serving together in Christ, that they would grow in unity, courage, and faithfulness as they live out the Kingdom of God in the middle of war.
