Sunday, April 18, 2004
Christ is Risen!
The Sunday of Thomas: New Sunday
5th of the Paschal Vigil: Joshua 5:10-15 Apostle: Hebrews 13:7-16 Gospel: St. John 20:19-31
10-15 LXX, especially vs. 10: "And the children of Israel kept the Passover on the fourteenth day
of the month at evening, to the westward of Jericho on the opposite side of the Jordan in the plain." Consonant with the
words of St. John Chrysostom's Paschal homily: "Ye that have kept the fast and ye that have not, rejoice today; for the
Table is richly laden," this fifth Vigil reading anchors us in the Divine provision that is ours at the Great Paschal Feast by
reason of the grace and triumph of our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is the Pascha of the Lord. "Christ is risen,
and life is liberated." The reading exhorts us, just as do the words of St. John: "Fare ye royally on it. The calf is a fatted
one. Let no one go away hungry. Partake ye all of the cup of faith. Enjoy ye all the riches of His goodness."
Visualize the historical setting of this reading. The Israel of the Lord, His holy People, are in the land promised to them by
the almighty and saving God. They just have crossed the Jordan river and now are encamped on the plain before the
fortress of Jericho. The celebration of Passover described in this passage strikes a note never known before. In Egypt, the
Passover meal was eaten by slaves on the run, on a dark night when death swept the land of the Egyptians and yet passed
over Israel. But the food at this Passover meal is eaten without labor either in planting or in harvesting: "they ate of the
grain of the earth unleavened and new corn" (vs. 11). Whereas during forty years of wandering in the wilderness they had
been sustained by divinely provided manna, now they are tasting the fruits of the Kingdom that shall be their own.
The reading prompts us similarly to celebrate our Passover in Christ: "Let the peoples give Thee praise, O God: let all the
peoples praise Thee." Every Orthodox Christian should know that our name for this Great Feast of Pascha is simply the
Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word for Passover, Pesach. Hence, those whose hearts are unfettered celebrate Pascha
knowing that they are 'in the Promised Land,' that they have passed through the waters of Jordan to partake of the glorious
Table of the Lord. "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the Feast" (1 Cor. 5:7,8). We eat with
the risen Christ, but not a meal eaten in slavery to sin and death. "Christ is in our midst! He is and He shall be!" We share
in this Feast that the Lord spreads before us. "Fare ye royally on it," indeed!
The reading describes events that took place "on the plain of Jericho" (Jos. 5:10,13), and reminds us that all the battles to
conquer the land still lay before ancient Israel. They ate Passover under the walls of the fortress of Jericho that would be
their first victory. Many battles would follow, a few ending in failure, most in success. So, Beloved Faithful in Christ, the
battles lie ahead of us in time. Nevertheless, we eat and celebrate in the knowledge that the tide of the campaign has been
turned against our greatest enemies. "O Christ our Savior, we were but yesterday crucified with Thee: glorify us with Thee
in Thy kingdom."
Observe Joshua, the human leader of the People of God. He encounters "the chief captain of the host of the Lord" (vs. 14).
The great Archangel Michael, "drawn sword in his hand" (vs. 13) stands before the mortal captain of the Lord's People
who boldly draws near and asks, "Art thou for us or on the side of our enemies?" (vs. 13). As St. Nikolai of Zica reminds
us: we "must not rely on...our own equipment, but on Him Who fights for us." The powers of Heaven are arrayed before us
and with us, to fight for us, if we will, like Joshua, reverence them and seek, as they do, to know nothing else but the will of
God (vs. 15).
"Let us cleanse our senses that we may behold Christ shining like lightning with the unapproachable light of
Resurrection...while we sing to Him the hymn of victory."