X. Pascha Sunday

Philaret

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Christ is Risen!

Pascha Sunday

We have already passed some of the solemn and significant hours of the greatest of feasts.  The question arises in our mind, – do we sufficiently understand the very first moments of today’s solemnity?  Let us turn from this bright day unto the past night, dark in its commencement, but afterwards not less bright than day, and let us meditate on what has taken place. 

At midnight the Church hastened to gather us together for the beginning of the solemnity.  “Why at that hour?  Because it was desirable to bring the time of the beginning of the solemnity as near as possible to the time when that which was solemnised occurred, that is, the resurrection of Christ.  This hour itself is not perfectly known to us. When the holy women at sunrise came to the sepulchre of the Lord, it was already open, and the Angels proclaimed the resurrection of Christ as already accomplished.  Long ere this the earth had been shaken around the Lord’s sepulchre, the Angel had rolled back the stone from the grave, and had by the glory of his presence terrified the sentinels so that they fled, leaving to the holy women and to the Apostles free access to the sepulchre.  Still earlier then did the resurrection take place, since it was accomplished even while the grave was still sealed up, as the treasurer of Christ’s mysteries, the holy Church, bears witness.  Yet not before midnight took it place, because, as the Lord had foretold that three days were to elapse, therefore it could have happened but in the first hours after midnight of Saturday.  It is during these hours that we desire to await that unrevealed moment, that matchlessly bright and wondrous instant of the resurrection, so that by the hour of the beginning of our celebration, we might as far as possible identify ourselves with the celebrated event, as we are called to become one with the Author of the feast.

Immediately before entering into the triumph of Christ’s resurrection, we have sung the canticle of His three days’ resting in the grave.  Wherefore this?  Firstly, here also does the order of commemoration follow the order of the commemorated event, since the resurrection of Christ followed His three days’ burial.  Secondly, immediately before this same gladness, the excitement of a pious sorrow was to prepare us for a more correct and a clearer comprehension, and living sense of the divine gladness which followed it.

We opened the solemnity by a canticle in which we confessed that the resurrection of Christ was being sung by the Angels in heaven; and then we prayed for grace to be able to glorify it with a pure heart; and this Canticle was previously proclaimed in the closed sanctuary, when the church was yet silent.  What signifies this rite?  Here also we see the order of events.  The Angels knew and glorified the resurrection of Christ before men, for men learned it first from Angels.  Heaven was not manifestly opened unto earth when Christ invisibly opened it by the power of His cross, and at His resurrection led into it the patriarchs, the prophets, and the saints of the Old Testament to the sounds of the glorification of Angels.  By faith and not by sight do we know of this solemn procession of the Church of Heaven, and that our knowledge of it may not be too dark, and the shadowy image of it by the Church on earth not too lifeless, we have need to pray Christ the Lord for His grace and a pure heart, for “the pure in heart shall see God." (Matt 5:8)

Having besought the risen Christ Himself for aid to glorify Him worthily, we began to glorify Him with uncommon rites.  Leaving the altar and the temple, we stood in darkness towards the west, before the closed doors of the church, and there we sang the first glorification of the Holy Trinity and of the risen Christ.  The censer and the cross opened unto us the doors of the temple, and then we entered from outward darkness into its inward light, and there we surrendered ourselves unrestrainedly to the joy of the feast.  We see here such unusual things, that they might be considered unbecoming if we did not suppose in them some secret and deep significance.  What is that significance?  The same which has already been partly pointed out.  In the visible acts of the Church upon earth there is as far as possible delineated the image of the invisible triumph of the Church in Heaven.

It is the ancient and sublime law of the Divine Service of the Church that it should represent the image of heavenly things.  Thus does the Apostle Paul write of the priests of the Old Testament, that “they serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things." (Heb 8:5)  And the Christian Church is nearer to the heavenly one than that of the Old Testament.  The Church of the Old Testament offered in most parts foreshadowings of the advent of heaven upon earth, that is, of the Incarnation of the Son of God; the Christian Church, after Christ's Advent upon earth, should above all represent the time when He, in the words of the Prophet, “hath ascended on high, hath led captivity captive"; (Ps 98:18) or to speak more clearly, when He captured the captives and the slaves of hell, and led them into freedom and bliss; when He “received gifts for men,” that is, when by His death on the cross He had acquired for men a right to the gracious gift of the Holy Ghost.

The resurrection and the ascension of Christ began not from His grave only, but even from hell: for after His death on the Cross, He was as our Church confesses: “in the tomb bodily, in Hades spiritually, as God; He descended even into hell and there destroyed reigning darkness.”  Until then, although the patriarchs, prophets, and just men of the Old Testament were not plunged in deep darkness, wherein sink the unbelieving and the unjust; yet they emerged not from the shadow of death and enjoyed not perfect light.  They possessed the principle of light, that is faith in the Christ to come; but only His advent and the touch of His divine light could light up their lamps with the light of true heavenly light.  Their souls, like the wise virgins, were near to the door of the heavenly mansion; but the key of David alone could open this door, and the heavenly Bridegroom alone could enter it and lead along with Him the children of the feast.  And therefore the Savior of the world, after He had been crucified and died to this visible world, descended into the invisible world, even unto hell, illumined there the souls of the faithful, led them out of the shadow of death, opened unto them the door of paradise and heaven, and then again in this visible world He “showed the light of His resurrection.”

Do you perceive now how the Church links the invisible with the visible and shadows out the one by the other?  As if along with the inhabitants of the invisible world, – in the west, in the darkness of night, as if in the shadow of death, we stood before the locked doors of the temple, as before the closed gates of paradise.  And thereby the Church designs to tell us that thus it was before the resurrection of Christ, and it would thus eternally have remained without that resurrection.  After this the glorification of the Most Holy Trinity and of the risen Christ, the Cross and the censer opened unto us the doors of the temple, as well as the gates of paradise and heaven.  By these symbols the Church says unto us: Even thus do the grace of the Most Holy Trinity and the Name and Power of the Risen Christ, faith and prayer, open the gates of paradise and heaven.  The tapers burning in our hands did not only symbolise the light of the resurrection, but at the same time they reminded us of the wise virgins, inciting us to be ready, with the light of faith, with the oil of peace, love and charity, to meet the second and glorious Advent of the heavenly Bridegroom in the midnight of time, that we may find the royal doors open unto us.

These are some of the symbolizations of today’s mysterious teaching of the Church.  Let us be attentive, my brethren, that we may also be faithful to the mystic instruction of our Mother the Church.

Glorifying Christ risen for our sake, let us at the same time look up with a contrite heart to Christ, Who was crucified for our sake, Who has suffered, died, and been buried, that our joy may not forget itself and become foolish.  He alone possesses the perfect, absolute gladness of Christ’s resurrection, who is risen himself inwardly along with Christ and who has the hope to rise up triumphantly: and this hope belongs but to him, who takes his share in the Cross, in the sufferings and death of Christ, as the Apostle teaches: “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.” (Rom 6:5)  “If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Rom 8:17)  A festive gladness, which grows forgetful of the Cross and death of Christ calling upon us to crucify the flesh with its desires and lusts, is in danger – to end in the flesh that which was begun in the spirit, and to convert those who celebrate Christ’s resurrection into such as crucify Him a second time.

Following the angels we have entered into the triumph of Christ's resurrection; together with the patriarchs, prophets, and just men, we have united symbolically therein, and as into paradise and heaven we were led into the Church for the solemnity. 

Reflect then of what nature ought to be our feast ! It should resemble that of the angels; it ought to be worthy of the communion of the heavenly Church of the patriarchs, prophets, and other saints; it ought to be worthy of paradise and heaven.  Think not that this demand is too great and difficult for our infirmity.  He who celebrates this feast with a pure heart, celebrates it together with the angels.  He who celebrates it with love to God and to the Risen Christ, and in a spirit of brotherly love to his neighbour, celebrates it in communion with the Church of heaven, for heaven is no other than the kingdom of divine love; and if, as affirms St. John, "God is love; and he who dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him,” (John 6:16) then certainly he dwells not lower than paradise and heaven.  But if it is not very difficult to elevate oneself to the celebration of the feast in communion with the angels and the Church of heaven, then to our sorrow, it is even as easy to fall off, and to withdraw from their communion.  He who merges his spiritual gladness and buries it in carnal joy, no longer celebrates it together with the angels.  He who so absorbs himself in earthly things, that he forgets those of heaven, is no longer one with the Church of heaven.  He who strives not to preserve himself from sinful works, does not celebrate the feast together with the saints.  He who does keep up and feed his inward light, but neglectfully suffers it to grow extinguished, has no great hope to find open to him the royal gates of the heavenly mansion, although he sees even upon earth the royal gates of the sanctuary open.

O Christ our Saviour!  Who art glorified in heaven by the angels and the blessed souls of holy men!  Grant to us also, to glorify Thee upon earth with a pure heart.

Amen.