Word for Holy Easter

“A Homily for Holy Pascha” (6 chapters) delivered by St. John Chrysostom, probably in Antioch, year unknown. The conversation is a hymn of praise to the Resurrection of Christ. The saint speaks about the great benefits and consequences of the Resurrection, about the joy that this holiday brings in heaven and on earth. He calls on the faithful to have a mood and behavior that would be worthy of the sacred celebration being celebrated. St. John also addresses the newly baptized and reminds them of the miracles that were performed by the waters of Baptism, admonishes them to take care to preserve the benefits they have received and to be worthy of them. *The title of the work in Greek is Εἰς τὸ ἅϒιον Πάσχα. *The title of the work in Latin is Homilia in sanctum pascha. In this conversation, St. John Chrysostom speaks of the great benefits and glorious consequences of the resurrection, shows the joy that this holiday should cause in heaven among the incorporeal forces - a joy that should shine on earth among poor people, as well as among rich people; admonishes the faithful not to dishonor this holiday, to have a mood and behavior that would be worthy of the sacred celebration being celebrated, and finally addresses the neophytes, i.e. to those who have recently been baptized; reminds them of the miracles that were performed by the waters of baptism, exhorts them to be vigilant in preserving the benefits they have received and being worthy of them. 1. Today it is timely for all of us to exclaim in the words of blessed David: “Whoever speaks of the power of the Lord will proclaim all His praises?” ("Whoever proclaims the mighty powers of the Lord, will all His praise be heard?") (Psalm 105:2). Here comes our longed-for and saving holiday, the day of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the foundation of the world, the beginning of reconciliation, the cessation of hostilities, the destruction of death, the defeat of the devil. Today people have united with the angels, and those clothed with the body, together with the incorporeal forces, now lift up chants. Today the power of the devil has been overthrown, today the bonds of death have been destroyed, the victory of hell has been destroyed; Today it is also timely to say the following prophetic saying: “Death! where is your sting? hell! where is your victory? (“Where are you, death, the sting? Where are you, hell, victory”) (1 Cor. 15:55, Hos. 13:14). Today our Master Christ “broke the copper doors and broke the iron bars” (“break down the copper gates”) (Isa. 45:2) and struck the very face of death. What am I saying - face? He changed its very name, because it is no longer called death, but tranquility and sleep. Before the coming of Christ and the dispensation of the cross (our salvation), the very name of death was terrible. So the first person, for the great punishment, heard the following sentence: “in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17). And blessed Job called her by the same name, saying: “death... rest for a man” (Job 3:23). And the prophet David said: “The death of sinners is cruel” (Psalm 33:22). And not only the separation of the soul from the body was called death, but also hell. Listen to what the forefather Jacob says: “You will bring my old age with sorrow to hell” (Gen. 42:38); also the prophet: “the grave... opened its mouth” (“hell opened its mouth”) (Is. 5:14); and another prophet says: “You delivered my soul from the lowest hell” (“you delivered... me from the lowest hell”) (Ps. 85:13); and in many places in the Old Testament you will find that the removal from here is called death and hell. When Christ our God was sacrificed and the resurrection took place, the philanthropic Master abolished these names and introduced a new wondrous device into our lives: relocation from here is now called tranquility and sleep instead of death. Where can you see this? Listen to Christ himself, who said: “Lazarus, our friend, fell asleep; but I am going to awaken him” (“Lazarus our friend has succeeded: but I go and awaken him”) (John 11:11). Just as it is easy for us to awaken and raise the sleeping one, so it is easy for us all to resurrect the Lords who are common to us. And since the words He spoke were extraordinary and wondrous, His disciples did not understand what was said until He, condescending to their weakness, expressed it more clearly. And the teacher of the universe, blessed Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians says: “I do not want you, brethren, to be ignorant about... those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13); and in another place: “Therefore those who slept in Christ did not perish” (1 Cor. 15:18). And again: “we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not warn those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thess. 4:15). And in another place: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thess. 4:14). 2. Do you see that death is everywhere called tranquility and sleep, and that it, which previously had a terrible face, now, after the resurrection, has become despised? Do you see the bright trophy of resurrection? Through him countless benefits have been delivered to us, through him demonic seduction is dispelled, through him we laugh at death, through him we despise present life, through him we are animated by the hope of future benefits, through him we, clothed with flesh, can be no lower than incorporeal beings if we want. Today a brilliant victory took place; today our Lord, having erected the trophy of victory over death and overthrowing the power of the devil, through the resurrection, opened the path to salvation for us. Let us all rejoice, rejoice and have fun. Although our Lord won and erected a trophy of victory, there is also common joy and joy for us, because He did all this for our salvation; and by what the devil overcame us, by the same token Christ overcame him; He took the same weapons and with them struck the devil; and how - listen. The virgin, the tree and death were the signs of our defeat; Eve was a virgin because she had not yet known a husband when she was tempted; the tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; death was Adam's punishment. Do you see how the maiden, the tree and death were signs of our defeat? Look how they later became instruments of victory. Instead of Eve - Mary, instead of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - the tree of the cross, instead of the death of Adam - the death of the Lord. Do you see that by what the devil conquered, he was also defeated? The devil defeated Adam with a tree; Christ defeated the devil with the cross. That tree cast man into hell, and this tree, the tree of the cross, brought those cast down there out of hell again; this forced the stricken man to hide as if he were a prisoner and naked, and this showed everyone the winner nakedly nailed on high to a cross. That death condemned everyone who lived even after Adam, but the death of Christ truly resurrected everyone who lived before Him. “Whoever will speak of the power of the Lord, will declare all His praises?” (Ps. 106:2). Through death we became immortal, after our fall we rose up, after defeat we became victorious. 3. These are the effects of the cross; they are the greatest proof of the resurrection. Now the angels rejoice and all the heavenly powers rejoice, rejoicing at the salvation of the entire human race. After all, if there is joy in heaven and on earth over one repentant sinner (Luke 15:7), then much more over the salvation of the universe. Now Christ has elevated human nature to its former dignity, freeing it from the power of the devil. When I see that my firstfruits has thus conquered death, I am no longer afraid, I am no longer afraid of the struggle, and I do not look at my weakness, but I think about the ineffable power of Him who is ready to help me in the struggle. Having conquered the dominion of death and destroyed all its power, what will He not do for His kindred, the image of which He deigned to take upon Himself out of His great love for mankind, and in this image to enter into a fight with the devil? Today there is joy and spiritual gladness throughout the entire universe; Today, hosts of angels and faces of all the highest powers rejoice over the salvation of people. Imagine, beloved, the greatness of this joy, when the higher powers triumph with us; after all, they too rejoice in our blessings. Although grace is bestowed by the Master on us, it brings joy to them too; that is why they are not ashamed to celebrate with us. But why do I say that these our fellow servants (angels) are not ashamed to celebrate with us? Their and our Lord himself is not ashamed to celebrate with us. And what am I saying: not ashamed? He wants to celebrate with us. How is this known? Listen to how He himself said: “I greatly desired to eat this Passover with you” (“I longed to eat this Passover with you”) (Luke 22:15). If He wanted to “eat... Easter,” then obviously He wanted to celebrate with us. Therefore, when you see that not only the angels and the hosts of all the heavenly powers, but also the Lord of the angels himself is celebrating with us, then what else is missing for you to rejoice? So, let no one grieve today because of their poverty: after all, this is a spiritual holiday; Let none of the rich be proud of their wealth: after all, wealth cannot increase this holiday in the least. On worldly, everyday holidays, where there is great pomp, worldly sophistication and luxury of meals, there, rightly, the poor are sad and regrettable, and the rich are pleasant and happy. Why? Because the latter puts on brilliant clothes and offers a rich meal, while poverty prevents the poor from showing the same luxury. But there is nothing like that here; all inequality is destroyed; one meal for the rich and the poor, for the slave and for the free. If you are rich, you will receive no more than the poor; If you are poor, you will receive no less than the rich, and poverty will not diminish your spiritual feast in the least, because this is divine grace, which does not distinguish between persons. What am I saying: the same meal is offered to the rich and to the poor? The same meal is offered to him who wears a diadem, who is clothed in scarlet, who rules over the universe, and to the poor man who begs for alms. These are spiritual gifts: God allows one to participate in them, not according to title, but according to will and way of thinking. With equal boldness and honor, both the king and the poor man begin to accept and partake of these divine sacraments. And what do I say: with equal honor? Sometimes the poor man even has great boldness. Why? Because the king, busy with worries about business and surrounded by many circumstances, is overwhelmed on all sides by incessant waves, as if he were at sea, and becomes involved in many sins; and the poor man, free from all this, caring only about the necessary food, leading an unencumbered and serene life, as if sitting in a quiet harbour, approaches this meal with great reverence. 4. And not only from this, but also from many other reasons, various sorrows occur among those who attend worldly feasts. The poor man is sad there, but the rich man is happy, not only because of the meal and luxury, but also because of the light clothes and magnificent attire of the rich man: what happens to them in relation to the meal, the same happens in relation to the clothes. When a poor man sees a rich man dressed in precious clothes, he is overwhelmed with grief, considers himself unhappy and grumbles a lot. And here this sorrow is also eliminated, because here everyone has one garment, a saving robe, which Paul calls for, saying: “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (“as many as... were baptized into Christ, put on Christ”) (Gal. 3:27). So, I exhort you, let us not insult this holiday, but let us observe wisdom worthy of the blessings given to us by the grace of Christ. Let us not indulge in drunkenness and gluttony, but, imagining the generosity of the Master, how He equally honored both rich and poor, slaves and free, and gave a common gift to everyone, let us repay the Benefactor for His favor towards us; and a sufficient reward is a life pleasing to Him and a sober and vigorous soul. For such a holiday and celebration, what is needed is not money or expenses, but one good disposition and a clean mind. Here, what is offered for acquisition is not anything material, but everything spiritual: listening to divine sayings, the prayers of the fathers, the blessings of priests, communion of the divine and ineffable sacraments, peace and unanimity, spiritual gifts worthy of the generosity of the Giver. Let us celebrate this holiday, on which the Lord rose again. He rose again and resurrected the universe with Him. He Himself rose again, breaking the bonds of death, and He resurrected us, breaking the net of our sins. Adam sinned and died; Christ did not sin and also died. This is extraordinary and wonderful: he sinned and died, but this one did not sin and also died. Why and for what? So that the one who has sinned and died can, through the one who has not sinned and died, be freed from the bonds of death. This often happens with money debtors: someone owes someone silver and cannot pay, and is delayed for this; and the other, not being a debtor, but having the opportunity to pay, pays and releases the offender. So it was with Adam and Christ. Adam became a debtor, guilty of death, and was in the power of the devil; Christ was not a debtor and was not in his power, but came and paid with death for him who was in his power, in order to free man from the bonds of death. Do you see the effect of the resurrection? Do you see the Lord’s love for mankind? Do you see the greatness of His care? Let us not be ungrateful to such a Benefactor, and because the fast has passed, let us not be negligent, but now even more than before, let us take care of the soul, so that at a time when the flesh becomes fat, it does not become weak, so that, while caring for the slave, we do not neglect the mistress. What is the use, tell me, of being overwhelmed by satiety beyond measure and exceeding the limits of need? This harms the body and deprives the soul of nobility. Let us be content with what is moderate and necessary, so that we can supply both soul and body as much as is needed, so as not to suddenly waste all the goods acquired by fasting. Am I prohibiting the enjoyment of food and relaxation? I do not forbid this, but I exhort you to limit yourself to necessity and avoid great luxury, so that, by exceeding the limit, you do not damage the health of the soul. After all, the one who transgresses the limits of need will then no longer be able to taste pleasure; This is especially well known to those who themselves have experienced this, receiving countless types of illnesses and undergoing many sufferings through this. However, I have no doubt that you will obey our admonitions, because I know your obedience. 5. Therefore, ending this exhortation here, I want to turn my speech to those who, on this luminous night, were awarded the divine gift of baptism - to these beautiful plants of the church, to spiritual flowers, to the new soldiers of Christ. On the third day the Lord was on the cross, and now he has risen; so they too were engulfed in sin on the third day, and now they have risen together with Christ. He died in the flesh and rose again, but they were dead in sin and rose from sin. The earth gives us roses, lilies and other flowers at this time of spring; and the waters have now shown us meadows more pleasant than the earth. Do not be surprised, beloved, that flowering meadows appear from the waters, and in the beginning the earth did not produce plants by itself, but in obedience to the command of the Lord. And the waters then carried away the moving animals because they heard: “let the water bring forth the living things that creep” (“let the waters bring forth the living creatures that creep”) (Gen. 1:20); and the command became a deed: inanimate matter produced animate animals. So now the same commandment has accomplished everything. Then God said: “Let the water bring forth living things,” and now it is not reptiles that occur, but spiritual gifts. Then the waters produced dumb fish; and now they have produced for us verbal and spiritual fish, caught by the apostles: “Follow me,” Christ said to them, “and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Truly, this is a new way of fishing; fishermen take fish out of the water and kill the caught ones, but we throw them into the water and those caught receive life. The Jews once had a pool of water; but listen to what power it had, so that you would more accurately recognize the poverty of the Jews and be able to understand our wealth: “An angel of the Lord,” it is said, “from time to time went into the pool and troubled the water, and whoever entered first when the water was troubled was healed” (John 5:4). The Lord of the Angels descended into the streams of the Jordan - and, having sanctified the nature of the waters, healed the entire universe. Therefore, the one who descended there after the first no longer received healing, since such (only) grace was given to the weak Jews who groveled to the ground; and here, after the first, a second descends, after the second a third and a fourth, and even if you name an innumerable multitude, even if you immerse the entire universe in these spiritual streams, the grace does not dry out, the gift is not exhausted, the streams are not defiled, the generosity does not decrease. Do you see the greatness of the gift? Listen to you, who today and this night are inscribed among the citizens of the highest Jerusalem; You must also be vigilant in accordance with the greatness of the gifts, so that you may receive even more abundant grace, since gratitude for what you receive attracts the generosity of the Master. It is not permissible for you, beloved, to live indifferently afterwards; but you assign yourself laws and rules so that you do everything carefully and show great prudence even in relation to what is considered indifferent. After all, all real life is a feat and a struggle, and once those who have entered this field of virtue must be abstinent in everything: “All ascetics,” says the apostle, “abstain from everything” (1 Cor. 9:25). Don’t you see how in gymnastic wrestling those who compete with people take a lot of care of themselves, and with what endurance they exercise their body? This should be the case here too. But since our struggle is not with people, but with evil spirits, then both our exercise and abstinence must be spiritual, because our weapons, with which Christ has clothed us, are spiritual. So, let the eye have its limits and rules, so as not to be immediately carried away by everything that presents itself to it; and let the tongue have a barrier so as not to prevent thoughts. For this purpose, both teeth and lips were created to protect the tongue, so that the tongue would never rush uncontrollably, opening these doors, but would arrange well in advance everything that relates to it, and then speak with all decency and pronounce such words that would please the listeners, and say what serves to edify the listeners. One must refrain in every possible way from obscene laughter, have a quiet and calm gait, and modest clothing, and in general, one who has entered the field of virtue must arrange oneself well in everything, because the decency of the external members is some expression of the internal state of the soul. 6. If we acquire such a habit from the very beginning, then, walking along this path with ease, we will succeed in every virtue without much difficulty and will acquire for ourselves great help from above. Thus, we will be able to safely cross the waves of this life and, having become above the snares of the devil, receive eternal blessings, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: