Pascha
2008
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
As
we prepare to proclaim with boldness and joy the resurrection of
Christ, it is impossible to turn our faces away from the signs of
death. As we eagerly await the Paschal Vigil, the scars of suffering
and hopelessness cover the lives of countless men, women and children
for whom the words "Christ Is Risen" carry no meaning
and purpose.
To
think that our celebration ignores the universal reality of death
and suffering would be a gross misconception. At the very core of
the Lord's three day Pascha, the reality of suffering and death
is revealed in its most grotesque form in the Golgotha event. The
God-Man gives himself over to suffering and death, revealing the
ugliness and horror of their might. The Lord of Glory takes on the
sin of humanity - past, present and future - and offers up his life
on the cross for the life of the world and its salvation. Allowing
his life to be taken by death, Jesus changes death. The suffering
and death of the Savior offers all the world and us a new beginning.
Indeed, suffering and death no longer have the final word.
The
death of Jesus Christ has overcome death. By his death, death is
no more. The word of the cross - the word of humiliation, suffering
and death - is bound to the empty tomb. It is the empty tomb which
shows the word of the cross to be also the word of glory, light
and life.
As
we prepare to celebrate and proclaim the resurrection of Christ,
suffering and death will continue. Yet the supreme expression of
divine love revealed in the life-creating death of the Lord also
continues to be offered for every one and every thing. Nothing can
escape the love of God - not even death and hell (cf. Eph. 4:8ff).
"Death is no more because the gates of hell are not opened
but destroyed. The bars and locks of hell are not opened but smashed
to pieces. Truly, Christ has rendered hell useless. It has been
made into heaven." (Chrysostom)
With
love in Christ,
Father
Robert
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