The First Day of Pascha: Teaching 2 (Lessons of Edification from the Gospel Story of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ)

 

The First Day of Pascha:
Teaching 2

(Lessons of Edification from the Gospel Story of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Let us talk, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, about the all-joyful event of the Resurrection of our Lord from the dead.

a) When did the Lord rise? According to the prophecies of the Prophets and the Lord Himself (Matt. 12:40), on the third day, not earlier than the first hours after midnight on the day after the Sabbath.

b) By what power did the Lord rise from the dead? By the glory of the Father (Rom. 6:4) and by His own power, as God (John 10:18).

c) How did the resurrection of the Lord take place and reveal itself? It took place in the deepest mystery, in a sealed tomb. Only a sudden, powerful shaking of the earth could have told one who knew how to understand the voice of nature that the Firstborn of the dead was coming from its heart. After this, an angel came down from heaven to announce to people the resurrection of the Lord. "His appearance was like lightning, his garment white as snow" (Matt. 28:3). “Having rolled away the stone from the tomb, he terrified and thereby removed the guards in order to open free access to the tomb for the Myrrhbearers and the Apostles” (Metropolitan Philaret.).

In the early morning, still shrouded in darkness, a few pious women hurried to the tomb to anoint the body of the Savior with fragrant ointment. Their love for the Lord provided the weak with vigor, courage, and strength. They were unaware not only of the event that had taken place but even of the seal of the tomb and the Roman guard. They were only troubled by the thought: who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb? For it was very large! One of them, especially loving and grateful, Mary Magdalene, far outpaced the others, was the first to arrive at the cave and saw the stone had been rolled away from the tomb! Overwhelmed by the heavy thought: "Where is the Lord?" she rushes to the Apostles Peter and John. “They have taken the Lord away,” she said to them. They went to inspect the cave and found only His clothes, and did not know what this meant. The rest of the Myrrhbearing women, who came to the tomb shortly after Mary Magdalene and were before these Apostles, entered the tomb and heard from the angel: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Behold the place where He was laid. Go quickly and tell His disciples and Peter that He has risen from the dead and is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him” (Matt. 28:1-7; Mark 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-6).

After some time Magdalene came again to the tomb and wept bitterly. Then a light flashed in the cave. She saw two angels in white robes sitting: one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus lay. They said to her: "Woman, why are you weeping?" "They have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid Him." At that time she looked back and saw Jesus, but did not recognize Him and took Him for the gardener. The Lord said to her: "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Mary said: "Lord, if you have taken Him, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him." "Mary!" the risen Christ said to her. By this word Mary recognized the Lord, threw herself at His feet with the word: "Rabbouni" (my teacher). "Do not touch Me," the Lord said to her, "but go to My brethren and say to them: I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God." His death and resurrection are accomplished; the ascension remains, and the Lord now commands that the disciples be told about Him as the greatest good for them, because His Father is also their Father, His God is also their God. Mary obeyed and went. On the road she met other Myrrhbearing women. Suddenly Christ appears to them all and says: “Rejoice.” And they, from joy and reverence, fell at His feet and kissed them. After this, the women went to the disciples and told them that they had seen the Risen One, and also recounted everything that He had said to them.

d) Where was the Mother of God on this joyous morning, and from whom did She learn of the resurrection of Her Divine Son? Speaking of the Myrrhbearers and the Apostles, the Evangelists are silent about Her. Yet, the guardian of God's mysteries, the Church, assures us that before anyone else on earth, the Lord appeared to His Mother. She sings to the Most Blessed Virgin: "Seeing Your Son and God resurrected, rejoice with the apostles, God-graced pure one; and be first to rejoice, for you have received the wine of joy before all, O all-pure Mother of God."

This is the Gospel story of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

II. It offers us the following lessons.

a) The resurrected Savior appeared first to women, and women became the first heralds of the resurrection of Christ. Here, according to the teaching of the Church Fathers, is hidden the special purpose of Providence. Through whom did the human race fall under condemnation? Who, through obedience to the devil, became the culprit of all human misfortunes? A woman was the first to sin, tempted her husband to sin and became the culprit of the loss of the blessedness of paradise and for the entire human race. Through the women, the human race heard the joyful news of the removal of condemnation from it and the return of the lost blessedness through the resurrected Christ.

b) Mary Magdalene was the first of the Myrrhbearers to see the resurrected Christ because of her love for Him. She followed Him persistently during His life, she served Him from her possessions, was not afraid of His enemies, stood at His cross; she was the first, before the other women, to go to His tomb and the first, returning, to tell the disciples about His open tomb; everyone left, and she, the loving one, stood alone at the tomb and wept.

Let us understand from this, my brethren, how much love means in the work of salvation. You especially joyfully greeted the feast of the bright Resurrection of Christ - this is certainly given to you for your love for Christ, which you have proven either by attention to yourself, or by some abstinence during Great Lent, or by fervent prayer, by worthy union with Him in the Mystery of His Body and Blood, or by some other good deed done by you for the sake of Christ. But you are not given this feeling, you greeted the feast without special delight - look back at yourself, penetrate into the house of your soul, it is true that it is closed for the Lord, it is true that the heart is occupied with something else more than with Christ. Yes, the Lord is especially close to those who are close to Him in their hearts; He especially tangibly makes those who love Him feel this closeness to Him. Let us love the Lord with all our hearts, if we wish always to rejoice in Him.

c) The Lord, appearing on the way to the Myrrhbearing women, said to them: "Rejoice!"

And indeed, on the day of the joyful resurrection of Jesus Christ, both the righteous and the sinner Christian must rejoice. "This is the day which the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Ps. 117:24).

The present day is a day of special merriment, of special joy; we have no celebration that is more cheerful and joyful than the present one. And with what desire everyone awaits it, with what pleasant anxiety they prepare for it, with what delight they greet each other upon its arrival. At the words – Christ is risen! – we too seem to resurrect, the soul revives, the heart rejoices. Indeed, this feast is established for us to rejoice and be merry.

Is it really necessary for everyone, even unrepentant sinners, to rejoice now? What, it would seem, should such a sinner rejoice about now? Christ is risen, but in the soul of the unrepentant He is not risen; Christ has destroyed the kingdom of darkness, but the unrepentant is still in bondage to the devil; Christ has broken the bars of hades, but the unrepentant will not escape the fire of Gehenna; Christ has trampled death, but the unrepentant will not escape eternal death: Christ has brought angels near to us, but they all flee from the unrepentant as from a stinking corpse.

Alas, poor, impenitent sinner! Everyone is having a feast now; only you are not. Everyone is now rejoicing, celebrating, people and angels are exulting together; only you have nothing to rejoice about, and no one to rejoice with. However you adorn yourself outwardly, however you tidy up your body: it is evident that you will have no joy now; for your soul is not tidy, it is stained with sins, not washed with tears of contrition, not cleansed in the bath of repentance. Whatever table you prepare for yourself: it is evident that you will be hungry now; for your soul is hungry, you have not fed it with the word of God, nor with the Body and Blood of Christ. Wherever you go, you will not find joy everywhere: for there you will meet a beggar whom you have refused; there you will see the widow whom you have despised, at every step you will meet someone you have wronged, or seduced, or deceived, or slandered, or... But why do I disturb the soul of a sinner on such a feast? Ah, he, poor thing, never has peace as it is. No, be at peace, sinner! You are poor in good deeds; but God is rich in mercies to you. Be at peace! The door of repentance is not yet closed to you, and through this door you will enter into the full joy of this day. Weep, sigh to God from the depths of your soul for your sins. Others weep for joy, but you will rejoice from your tears. It is joyful to shed tears of repentance; it is sweet to weep for sins. Weep, sigh for the feast, and you will have a real feast of the Resurrection: Christ will rise in you, you will be freed from slavery to the devil, you will not die an eternal death, the angels of God will rejoice over you in heaven. Yes, the angels of God in heaven will rejoice when they see your tears of repentance, when they hear your sighs about sins.

Therefore none of us should be discouraged now: the doors of joy are open to all; enter without hesitation, rivers of joy flow for all: draw from them without fear.

III. Let us be enlivened by the present triumph, let us embrace one another, let us forgive all who hate us for the sake of the Risen One, and let us sing with our lips and hearts: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.” Amen. 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.