Resurrection is an event and a thought that is it occurred in the journey of Jesus of Nazareth; however, it was an implication. This is articulated in the Paschal hymn, which says: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death.” What is meant by these words is that when death approached Christ, it did not have control over him. As though there was something beyond the vehemence of the death-event, declaring the triumph of the Savior within the reality of death.
Death is an event explicated in several chapters of the four gospels and similarly Paul emphasized it. In Luke’s narrative: “And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him.” (Luke 23: 27) And after he was crucified “he breathed his last.” (Luke 23: 27) The statement “he breathed his last” appears literally in the other gospels with reference to the witnesses and their names. Crucifixion has occurred physically [historically], as if the gospels made use of the journalism of those days [in telling it], regardless whether they believed in salvation or not. The narratives tell about the death of Jesus of Nazareth in agreement proving the accuracy of the present Gospel-text, which had been testified by the people of the first century and they confirmed the event before the completion of the Gospels’ writing.
Jesus of Nazareth had been killed by a provocation of Jewish multitudes and a main Roman juridical sentence so as we could speak of another event and that is resurrection. This event discloses the primary meaning of the death of the Nazarene to his followers. The remaining question is whether resurrection is an event that you could sense. A preliminary answer is that Jesus had been buried in a cave, i.e. above it there was its rooftop, there was no soil above it, and further this vast tomb was seen empty on Sunday morning. According to Matthew’s narrative, the angel said to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, who went to see the sepulcher: “Come, see the place where he lay.” Then he said, “He has risen.” Thus, it seems that there is a sensible proof of resurrection based on the non-presence of a corpse in the sepulcher. In the Gospel of Mark, there was a young man in the tomb sitting, who said to the women, “He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him.” Here is again a confirmation of the emptiness.
Luke expresses the emptiness of the tomb by saying that Peter was there, “he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves,” hence without a corpse. This is the same testimony given by John.
The Gospels do not claim that Jesus’ body had moved on the third day and went out [of the tomb]; rather they all say that he appeared to his followers. Resurrection is not a sensible [physical] event like crucifixion, in the sense that it is not described physically [historically], however it is an event that we have scrutinized or perceived from the appearances of the teacher to the disciples and to Mary Magdalene in the garden. Thus, it is a different kind of an incident, i.e. a different physical reality. It was a real liberation from a real death. We accept it from the testimony of the witnesses, namely the apostles and the companions, who said that they saw him.
We understand the meaning of His death from resurrection. Crucifixion is an event; however, you need someone to explain it to you. That is to say you need someone to move you from reality to the reason about which was the goal of the cross, namely that we might live through resurrection as Christ lived. In different terms, we are the purpose of resurrection. Nevertheless, this would not be possible without Christ condemning sin in his body, as Basil says. Thus, the Paschal feast has come to tell us that after having new life through Christ, we do not expect anything else since “the time had fully come”, as Paul said. Through the cross we have become the children of God. The earth has turned into heaven and we have been invited to the throne of glory.
No one interpreted the meaning of resurrection and of our receiving its extension, as did Paul. He said, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6: 3-4) Thus, if we do not want to live a new life that would mean that the savior’s resurrection had not concerned us, and we had not received it, rather we have remained in our sins.
For this great apostle, resurrection was not an event that had passed and could be praised. It became a presence in the lives of the believers, so that they might come from its light, its warmth and its endurance. That is why St. Seraphim, the Russian saint, worked out a daily greeting: “O my joy, Christ is risen”. This reminds me with Saint Merdarius, who was a Roman noble. Once, when he was walking in the upper floor in his palace, he heard songs coming up from the street. He looked out from the terrace and saw people singing. He asked the servants about the people and the reason of their singing. The servants told him that those are people from the East, driven to execution, and that they are singing for their belief that through their death they would be united with their savior, who is called Jesus. Merdarius thought in his heart: A religion that makes people rejoice on their way to death, must be a true religion. Therefore, he came down and joined them. Thus, he was baptized by his blood, and we celebrate the feast day of this saint as a martyr.
Whoever shines with spiritual splendor has been risen from sin, as has Jesus been risen. Whenever we look at an icon, in our church, and we rejoice in it, we come at that moment from resurrection. The remembrance of resurrection is the start of the week since every liturgy is a Paschal Liturgy.
First Christians used to put on white clothes whenever a dear person had departed life. That was because of the belief that the person had moved to resurrection and that he/she at death would have a discourse with the Father, as Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, had said.
However, God does not care only for individuals. God desires that resurrection pervades the cosmos, thus, on the last day the cosmos will turn into light. Our teaching is that Jesus’ resurrection had inaugurated the new cosmos and that it would enlighten the matter in it on the last day. Thus, if my statement is true, the matter would not remain materialistic, rather it would enlighten through Christ’s light and each cosmic movement would be part of the Last Paschal.
Then, we comprehend the whole range of our chanting: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death. And to those in the graves He granted life!” To say that the dead will rise and to stop there does not quench our thirst. That must be further explained by saying that the cosmos shall be the clothing of Christ and Christ does not wear other than light.
Translated by Sylvie Avakian-Maamarbashi
Original Text: “القيامة الكونية” –An Nahar- 28-04-2012
