By Fr. Panayiotis Papageorgiou, Ph.D.
The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest event of all time. It appeals to the heart; it touches the mind; it reaches deep into the soul.
We are frequently made aware of our fragility and mortality and often, we even fear the prospect of the end of our life. Our hearts desire Life, Eternal Life. The Resurrection of Christ has brought that assurance and fulfillment of our desire and hope for Life. His Resurrection heralds our final Resurrection. His New Life is offered to us for Eternity.
As Orthodox Christians, we understand that death was not in our original nature. Death came into our life as a result of our separation from God. Hence, we cannot overcome death without God’s help. We cannot even overcome our fear of death without Him.
This is the reason why God became man; He wanted to take our humanity upon Himself and heal it from sin and death. He came to repair the damage we brought upon ourselves with our disobedience to Him. He came to bridge the gap between humanity and Himself. All of that was accomplished in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, fully man and fully God (theanthropos), His two natures (human and divine) united harmoniously in the way that God always intended for us be with Him. This natural union, this harmony of the human with the Divine in Christ, could not be broken by the unnatural sting of death. This natural bond of the two natures in Christ is now the eternal state which God wants for us all to be in.
It is the mystery of this strong bond between God and man in Jesus, which defies the Passion and Crucifixion and leads to His resurrection. This Mystery has captured the human heart and mind for the last 2,000 years. This Mystery contains those elements which humanity is looking for; it reveals to us the assurance for the future; it proclaims the continuity of life as we have hoped for–eternal and joyous. It shows the loving care of the Creator who has not abandoned His creation, but has come after us like a shepherd goes after his lost sheep, offering his own life to protect ours. He re-created humanity in Himself so that we can have that bond with Him, which we had lost.
As the churches fill up again on Holy Thursday, Holy Friday and Holy Saturday, let’s listen carefully to the words of the hymns and the readings from the Scriptures, and relive with Christ His suffering, His death and His resurrection.
The fact is that as we enter into these events year after year, we come closer to the Mystery, with an ever-growing desire to participate in His Life and transcend death in ourselves.
Once again, we will gather together in the middle of the night to proclaim, “Christ is Risen!” and exchange the Paschal greeting. For, as we do this year after year we begin to know even better in our hearts what it means, even as our minds remain in owe of the Mystery of the Resurrection!
Christ is Risen, brothers and sisters! Let us rejoice in this Feast!
In Christ’s Love,
Fr. Panayiotis