Слово на Святую Пасху. Святого Амвросия, епископа Медиоланского 12

Brothers! The holy women (Myrrh-bearers), having come to the tomb (of Christ) with perfumes to anoint Jesus (Mark 16:1), saw an Angel there - for St. The Evangelist says this: and having entered the tomb, he saw a young man sitting in his gums... He said to them: Jesus is looking for the Nazarene crucified: arose, he is not here... But go, cry as His disciple, as you cook in Galilee: there you see Him (Mark 16:5-7). And that this young man was an angel, another Evangelist testified to this: For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and came to roll away the stone from the door of the tomb, and he who sat on it (Matthew 28:2). Mary Magdalene, who loved the Lord Jesus more ardently than others and did not leave the tomb, first of all, at the very tomb, was honored to see the risen Lord and, before the apostles themselves, to be the bearer of unspeakable joy about His resurrection. Mary, standing outside the tomb, is crying..., notes St. Evangelist John: and the sight of Jesus, - and further: Mary Magdalene came and told her disciples that she had seen the Lord (20:11,14,18). From here we, brothers, first of all, learn that those who seek the Lord must seek Him - each with the aromas of his good deeds (constituting before Him the stench of fragrance), with which the Lord is pleased. There are people who seem to be seeking the Lord; but since they love to spend time in idleness, which leads imperceptibly and inevitably to vices (which is why they are alien to virtues, surrounded by the stench of cold and godless deeds), they are not worthy of finding Him, and even if they do find Him, they cannot see Him. Further, the pious women (Myrrh-bearers) looked for the body of the Lord Jesus in the tomb, so that they would anoint him. What are you and I, beloved, looking for in the Church of God, if not Jesus, that is, Christ the Savior?.. But if you want to find Him, hurry up, like those wives, very early, and when the sun has risen, seek and you will find: let not the works of darkness darken you, for those darkened by them do not see the light and do not understand Christ, who is the Light of the world ( John 8:12), they hate the light and do not come to the light, lest their deeds be exposed, for they are evil (John 3:20). Let us love, brethren, light rather than darkness, and let us be adorned with works of piety, for all that is useful (1 Tim. 4:8), doing the truth and coming to the light, so that our deeds may appear as if they were done in God (John 3:21). Mary Magdalene found the One she was looking for because she did not leave the tomb. Mary, standing at the tomb weeping, gained through her persistent, tearful, love-flaming patience: whoever endures to the end, according to the Savior, will be saved (Matthew 10:22). Therefore, we must not only withdraw from sinful deeds, without at all communing with their destructive ulcer, but also constantly remain in good Christian deeds, striving in this soul-saving field until the end of our lives - if we want to see the Lord of glory and enter with Him into the kingdom of glory. Celebrating today the Holy Pascha of our risen Lord Jesus Christ, who after His resurrection appeared first to Mary Magdalene, and then to the other wives with her, and to all the apostles, who appeared then and now appears to many believers, let us finally learn, brethren, what “Easter” itself means, so that after the general resurrection we too may see (the Lord) Christ and benefit from the true fruits of the Savior’s resurrection. The word: Easter means “passing.” This holiday, the most solemn of holidays, is named so in the Old Testament Church - in remembrance of the exodus of the sons of Israel from Egypt and at the same time their deliverance from slavery, and in the New Testament Church - as a sign that the Son of God Himself, through the resurrection of the dead, passed from this world to the Heavenly Father, from earth to heaven, freeing us from eternal death and the work of the enemy and giving us the realm of being a child of God ( John 1:12). But what is the benefit of celebrating Easter for those who celebrate it only outwardly, and do not follow the inner meaning of it (Easter), i.e. That is, they do not come from Egypt, which they idolize, and do not pass from the works of darkness to the works of light, so that they may receive sonship (Gal. 4:5) - in order, therefore, to return from the country of their arrival to the heavenly fatherland? What good does it do them if they participate in the joys of the Passover Lamb, but all their joys revolve only around the meats of Egypt - if they neither in mind nor in heart rise beyond the meal of food and drink offered to them - if they indulge in only sensual pleasures without even thinking about their transition to something better? What good does this do them? They are worthy of every pity, and the Church prays for them, may the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, our eternal Easter, enlighten and guide them on the right path. I also pray to you, brothers, that you celebrate Easter worthy of its meaning, making an appropriate transition: let sinners celebrate Easter, passing from a sinful life to a virtuous one; Let those who pretend to be perfect righteousness (Phil. 3:15) celebrate it, moving from their own righteousness to greater righteousness, from perfection to perfection, so that none of you remains without passing on to something better and from something better to something better, forgetting what is behind, but reaching out to what is before (Phil. 3:13). Celebrating Easter in this way, we will remain true Christians, honorably celebrating our Easter - in which may the culprit of this celebration Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever, help us with His grace. Amen 13. Ambros. epis. Mediol. Opera. 1751 ann. Wenetiis, Benedict., vol. IV. Append ad. Opera, orat. XXXIV, col. 538–539; Wed Resurrect. Read XVIII (1854–55), pp. 13–15. You might be interested in: