Eid Greetings
The Rev. Patrick Pervez
Augustine
Rector
Christ Episcopal Church
La Crosse, Wisconsin
T hrough you I would like to
send my greeings and best wishes to the members
of the Islamic community. You as a faith community
have gone through such a blessed time of prayer
and fasting. Prophet Isaiah received the following
revelation from God for Fasting: “ Is not
this fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of
injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to
let the oppressed go free, and to break every
yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house; when
you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide
yourself from your own kin? Then light shall break
forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring
up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy
the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall
rise in darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.”
I pray that is the blessings you all have received
from the Almighty God and you all become blessings
of to all our fellow human beings.
Recently our world has gone through terrible sufferings
of Tsunami, the cataclysm of Hurricane Katrina,
Guatemalan killer mudslides and the massive earthquake
in Pakistan that have stirred up profound questions
about God. It is only natural in times of crisis
to ask “Where is God” in all this
mess. I wrestle with this question myself. I speak
with humility knowing the limits of my understanding
as I learn from the Bible that “God’s
ways are beyond human understanding.” We
all know that God Almighty created a perfect world,
but sinful human spoil, destroy and disturb the
harmony and ecology of God’s natural order.
Man has rebelled against the holy laws of God
Almighty. Through faith, we know natural disaster
and human sin are part of the interim between
the fall that corrupted God’s very good
creation. Natural disasters remind us that it
is not just people but the whole creation that
has become sick unto death and is in need to be
renewed unto life through our repentance and following
God’s laws.
Such discipline of fasting and prayer should prepare
Muslim community and Christian community through
their daily prayers for acts of mercy to relieve
suffering regardless of race, color and religion.
I believe in a loving God Love, Grace and Mercy
are known to us through the revelation of Holy
Books that inspire us to work for the needy and
the poor of world communities. I wish you all
blessings and peace of God Almighty on this blessed
day of Eid. Eid Mubarak.
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