Great and Holy Saturday Holy Week Fast
Saturday, April 30, 2005
9th Vigil Pascha: Isaiah 61:10-62:5 Epistle: Romans 6:3-11 Gospel: St. Matthew 28:1-20
St. Matthew 28:1-20, especially vs. 9: "And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them,
saying, 'Rejoice!' So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him." Ultimately, the dynamis - the power of the
Most High God that raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead - will be poured out by the same God upon those whom He
meets as they go on their way. Clearly, He blesses all who come to Him and take Him by the feet, worship Him, and obey
Him (vss. 9-11). He numbers them among those who will know the joy and power of His Resurrection. Still, this was the
experience of the Apostle Paul who willingly "suffered the loss of all things" to gain Christ and know Him "and the power
of His Resurrection" (Phil. 3:8,10). Like the women and the Apostle, those who meet the risen Christ encounter Him
unexpectedly but always "with fear and great joy" (Mt. 28:8).
Yes, such was true even for Paul the Apostle, first known as Saul of Tarsus. In the end, he reacted much as did the women
at the tomb. Without doubt, he met Christ in a very different spirit than did the women; for he was on his way to Damascus
"still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts 9:1), while the women came in loving grief and
devotion. The angel revealed the Resurrection to them, drawing them beyond mere dread into great joy by showing them
"the place where the Lord lay" in the now empty tomb and by directing them to "go quickly and tell His disciples that He is
risen from the dead" (Mt. 28:7). In reading the account of St. Paul's conversion while "on his way," we find that when at
last he knew the Lord Jesus, he responded, like the women, in submission and obedience: "So he trembling and astonished,
said, 'Lord, what do You want me to do?'" (Acts 9:6).
As one reads this concluding passage of St. Matthew's Gospel, many facets of the Resurrection appear before us. The
Evangelist gives us these that we too may rejoice, come to the Lord, hold Him by the feet, worship Him, and obey Him.
For all who meet the risen Lord and become His servants, the end-point is always the same - obedience. The power of the
Resurrection, when it dawns upon hearts and souls, evokes the desire to obey as an outcome.
To Saul of Tarsus, the command was to "go into the city (of Damascus) and you will be told what you must do" (Acts. 9:6).
To the women, a single, basic command came twice - from the angel and then from the Lord Himself - "Go and tell My
brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me" (Mt. 28:10, but see vs. 7 also). Saul obeyed and became a "chosen
vessel of [Christ's] to bear [His] Name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts 9:15). The women obeyed,
and the news they carried led "the eleven disciples [to go] away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for
them" (Mt. 28:16).
The dynamis underlying the Resurrection is passed on - transmitted to the Church - first, by the risen Lord through those
chief leaders of the Church, the eleven of His own choosing, who met Him on the appointed mountain. Observe: Christ our
God was vested "all authority...in heaven and on earth" (vs. 18), and by that authority, which included the unlimited power
of God, He empowered the entire Church, starting with its first leaders, with the Great Commission.
The Great Commission is but one command, to "make disciples of all the nations" (vs. 19). "Going, baptizing, and
teaching" are assumed activities within "discipling" (vss. 19,20). Most accurately the original reads: "Going, therefore,
disciple all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you." The power of the Resurrection is the Lord's command to us all!
Do Thou bestow the power of Thy Resurrection upon Thy Church to disciple the nations.
