The Second Day of Pascha:
Teaching 5
(How Should Pascha Be Celebrated?)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Teaching 5
(How Should Pascha Be Celebrated?)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Christ is Risen!
I. How should we best celebrate Pascha? We should celebrate Pascha in such a way that by this celebration we please the Risen Lord.
Celebrate it not with the old leaven, as the Apostle Paul teaches, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth: for Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us (1 Cor. 5:7, 8).
II. In giving advice on how Christians should celebrate their Pascha, the Apostle had in mind the Jewish Passover. The Lord commanded the Jews, during the celebration of their Passover, to beware of all leavened things (Exodus 12:15); and the Apostle advises Christians to observe unleavened bread. The Jew was careful of material leaven, but the Christian must be careful of spiritual leaven – malice and wickedness. The Jew ate unleavened bread during the Passover, which was only a symbol of purity, but the Christian must have the very purity of the spirit.
a) The Apostle demands that those who celebrate Passover should not bear malice. And why should it be here? Did not Christ die for all, and did He not rise for all? He died and rose for all, and we will not be able, for His sake, to bear any offense? What kind of followers are we then? If someone had offended us even with the most cruel offense, we must forgive him now, for the sake of the Risen One. In such joy, it is not the time to consider offenses. The Risen Christ has interceded for forgiveness for all of us; should we, who have been pardoned, continue to bear malice? Should we consider our debts forgiven? Come to your enemy and say to him: "Christ is risen," and demand peace and love from him: "Let us embrace one another, and let us forgive all those who hate us by the Resurrection."
b) Saint Paul's demand is further that those who celebrate Passover should not be deceitful. It is never proper for Christians; for why should they be deceitful, who should all be brothers, all created in Christ for the truth, for whom the truth is as necessary as air? All the more so in these days it is not proper for a Christian to have even the slightest appearance of deceit. For what does he say now to others, and what does he hear from others when he meets them? He says: "Christ is risen!" He hears: "Truly He is risen!" That is, we all Christians are now becoming witnesses and evangelists of the truth of the resurrection of Christ. Especially now we must love every truth, and remove from ourselves every form of duplicity: insincerity, cunning and deceit, so that we may become worthy witnesses of the truth of the resurrection of Christ.
c) Finally, the Apostle requires purity and truth for the worthy celebration of Passover. Every feast loves purity, as a result of which we cleanse our houses and clothes for the feasts, and wash ourselves. But for the Risen One, this is not the only purity needed. He is ready to receive us in rags; He is ready to seat the naked at the table with Him, as long as the soul is pure and clothed in the garment of innocence. And on the contrary, washed lips are disgusting to Him when they are grafted with lies and uncleanliness of the heart, and bright clothing is worse for Him than sackcloth when passions are hidden under it, when it is bought by oppressing one’s neighbors. Therefore, when celebrating Pascha, one must take care not only of the cleanliness of houses and clothes, but more of the purity of soul and heart. Without this purity, with what face will we dare to come to church to glorify the Risen Lord?
III. How far our Pascha celebrations are from the true celebration which the Apostle requires! You know, brethren, the customs of the world in these days, the events which fill them, the occupations in which they are spent. With the end of the lenten fast, it seems as though for many, all that is good also comes to an end; Christ rises, and yet they die in spirit! For those with a Christian sensibility, it is painful to witness during these days the mad revelries, the complete abandonment of self-restraint by many, and the blatant triumph of unclean passions: what, then, should be the response of the Risen Lord — He who died for us to make all of us pure and holy?
Let us try to celebrate this feast as the Apostle advises, and not as flesh and blood require, that is, not in the leaven of malice and wickedness, but in the unleavened state of purity and truth. Let us also recall the words of the Lord Himself in the Old Testament about this day: "Therefore be patient with Me,” says the Lord, “until the day of My resurrection for a testimony" (Zeph. 3:8).
As if the resurrected Lord God were saying: “Christian! Be patient with Me, do not persecute Me with your disorderly, indecent life, although now – on the day of My resurrection – on the day on which I have conquered death by My resurrection and resurrected you with Me, who died in Adam – the day on which I destroyed hades with all its horrors, defeated the devil, your eternal evil enemy, and opened the doors of paradise to you, once closed for you by the fall of your forefather – the day on which I removed the curse of My Heavenly Father that weighed upon you and made you His son."
"Therefore be patient with Me,” says the Lord; why be patient? "For a testimony," that is, by your life, by your behavior, completely in accordance with My teaching, testify, Christian, before the whole world, before all My numerous enemies, that I am the Savior of the world, promised by the prophets, that I have taught you how to live, and have given you strength in the Holy Spirit to fulfill My teaching.
Therefore, let us prove to all His enemies by a good life that Christ, our joy, has risen and we are saved. Let us glorify Him in our bodies and souls. And You, merciful Lord, grant us to glorify You with a pure heart!
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.