The Risen God (Anba Mikhail, 2003)

The Risen God

Graciously, O Lord, speak to us with Your grace that we may hear Your voice and rejoice in the revelation of Your salvation for Your people. We bow down and submit, receiving Your blessing, Amen.

Yesterday, we saw Christ hung on His cross. Jesus who was lifted up by His own will. If there was a sentence that was given by the scribes, Pharisees, and those who followed them, as they stood before Pilate the governor, for His crucifixion, preferring, according to the custom that one of the criminals be released, and pardoned by the state on the occasion of the feast at the time, and calling for the crucifixion of Christ and turning all the false accusations to him, that He does wonders as though they are worldly works on the Sabbath, the day of rest, which the Mosaic law commands. They say that He makes Himself equal to God. And that He also wants to create division, granted that He purports to have a Kingdom. But the Jews at the time say that they have no king other than Caesar. They are engaging in a type of flattery for the king and in order to accuse Christ that He is creating an upheaval in the country. When one came and asked Him, “Should we pay taxes to Caesar?” Jesus knew that this Jewish person wanted to test Him. So, He said, “Show me a denarius.” A coin. “Whose picture and inscription are these that are placed on the coin?” They said, “It is a picture of Caesar and the coin was produced in Caesar’s kingdom. So, the picture and inscription are Caesar’s.” Jesus says His immortal words that are repeated throughout the centuries and we often hear from secular people, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and what is God’s to God.” Jesus was not at all calling for an earthly Kingdom. Jesus was pleased and even though the Roman governor Pilate was not convinced of sentencing Him to Crucifixion, and wanted to free himself from blame by washing his hands, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous Man.” But, Jesus who came for the sake of the salvation of humanity, was pleased to carry humanity’s burden and the sentence that it was condemned to because of its disobedience, Jesus accepted to be lifted up onto the Cross. Jesus says to them, “I will destroy this temple and build it in three days” referring by this saying to the temple of His body which He accepted death on our behalf in. Yesterday, was the day of sorrow and mourning, but by the lifting away of sin which Christ accepted for our sake, it was turned into joy and glory in His Resurrection.

Christ was taken down for the Cross and placed in a tomb that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea who asked the governor for permission to bury the body and placing Him into the new tomb that belongs to him. Joseph and Nicodemus, who was a member of the Sanhedrin, each of them having their rank and honour, were in the beginning, highly esteemed in the government. They were not afraid and did not flee in the time that all the disciples fled –  except for John the Beloved who followed Him and stood at the Cross with the Marys and the Holy Virgin Mary. The Marys followed Christ. Many of those who followed Him, especially the Marys, were weeping. Jesus looks at them as He passes, carrying the Cross, and says to them, “Do not weep for Me. Do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and your children.” There are those who deny Christ, escape, gain something from the Romans, tribulation comes, and everyone is heavily tormented. Jesus did not care for His own suffering, but cared for us. He directed our minds and hearts to be see and ask for forgiveness for our souls. That we may work for our eternal life, and avoid sin and evil. Jesus was lifted up on the Cross by His own will and when He completed the mission of salvation, He cried out and said, “It is finished.” He gave up His human spirit into the hands of God the Father. The unity of the body and soul with His divinity remained as it is. Jesus was in the tomb united with the divinity. When He rose from the dead, He rose by the power of His divinity. There is not a single person all throughout history, starting from Adam and even until the Second Coming, who was able to arise from his death except by a heavenly command. Only Christ was able to by the power of His divinity. Thus, we believe about the Resurrection of Christ, that He was crucified by His own will, was willingly buried, and rose by the power of His divinity.

Christ, who was placed in the tomb for three days – Friday, Saturday, and the dawn of Sunday –  three days, rose. The Jews were afraid and asked Pilate for guards and the sealing of the big stone which closes the door of the tomb with the seal of the state for they remembered that as Christ said He would rise on the third day. They did not believe this and said, lest His disciples come in the night and steal His body. They saw for themselves that the disciples were scared in the garden and Jesus said to those who arrested Him, “Let them go.” He gave Himself up completely by His own will. When He was placed in the tomb, there was not any of the disciples who were afraid. All of them had fled. Jesus says to them in His teaching, “If the grain of wheat does not fall into the ground and die” – When we put the small grain of wheat into the soil, cover it, and water it, then it will blossom and rise up. “If the grain of wheat does not fall into the ground and die, it remains alone.” If we come with a certain quantity of wheat and place it into a vessel, and keep it away from irrigation and water, the wheat remains as it is. But when it is placed into the ground, it rises up. If the grain of wheat does not fall, Jesus is lifted up onto the Cross and gives up the spirit – only then will Jesus surely rise.

Jesus rises from the dead by His own will, by the power of His divinity. There is nothing else that raises Him up. When Jesus raised up the son of the widow of Nain, He had foreknowledge that there is a coffin, those who are carrying it, and that behind it was his mother who is weeping and that he was her only son. Jesus goes to Nain without the disciples knowing His divine intention and why He is going in that direction. Jesus wanted to perform a miracle. He went and stopped before the coffin. He raised up His hand, signalling to those carrying it to stop. They all stopped. Jesus’ voice thunders and He says, “Young man, I say to you: Arise!” The dead man who was carried out in his coffin arose. What does Jesus say? “Open the coffin and let him go to his mother.” A young man arose and He presented him to his mother! After there was mourning, weeping, and wailing, there was joy and jubilation. Jesus makes us rejoice. Jesus rose and everyone rejoiced. The loyal Marys, the wise virgins, the weak, and the fearful ones as well, but fear was not an impediment or obstacle that stood in the way of love. Love that springs forth from the heart will inevitably increase and go up to the Lord. The Marys, the only thing that stopped them or got in their way, was the stone. “We will take the spices and go.” But, there were already spices placed in tomb. No, there must be more and more. We must honour. We must show our feelings and emotions that stir in our hearts which mourn our separation from Jesus. Who will roll away the stone? In spite of this, this obstacle was not a stumbling block or a barrier that stopped the journey. In the darkness of the dawn, they went to the tomb and when they got there, they saw something wondrous. When Mary Magdalene looked in, she saw an empty tomb and the stone was rolled far away from the tomb. What is this power that was able to roll away this huge stone? They were afraid of the soldiers and the stone. Where are the guards? They have fled! As they look, they see someone. They thought that He is the gardener. “Sir, where is Jesus? If you have taken Him, show me where He is.” There are questions and answers from the Marys who are bewildered.

For this reason, the guard that they had done this was actually the angel of the Lord. He says to them, “You seek the crucified Jesus. He is risen.” Jesus is risen and the tomb is empty, but the shroud is still there. The shroud is placed in an organized manner. The shroud is placed over the body, spread from the right hand to the left. It is orderly and not the work of thieves, who broke in or stole the body. An act of robbery does not give one the chance to be organized for he is surely anxious and rushed. There are guards. Why did the guards escape? If thieves had come to steal the body, they would have arrested them or they are not attending to their duty, and would be subject to the highest punishment. A soldier who is armed and stands around allowing a thief to break in and steal, and leaves him to do as he pleases? The thief would be too slow for the guards, and the guards are armed. It is impossible for a thief to come to that place while the guards are awake and vigilant.

It is a lie that was prepared beforehand. Those who did not believe in Christ said to Pilate, “ lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away.” Which of His disciples remained when they all fled? The eldest of them feared the voice of a servant girl. She told him, “I saw you in the garden. I saw you there.” Another person says this and Peter is scared. He begins swearing, “No, I have neither known Him nor seen Him nor am I one of His disciples. I am not one of His followers. I don’t know Him.” So they say to him, “No, you are one of His followers. Your speech, your language gives you away, whether you are from the cities by the sea, the south, or any other place. It says that you are a Jew and one of the followers of Jesus of Nazareth.” Peter escapes lest he is also captured and taken on trial as well. When Jesus comes out of the court, and Jesus had warned Peter beforehand, and Peter says, “Lord, if all forsake You, I will not leave You. I would die for You.” You would die for the sake of Christ?

It is like people who sometimes go to the monastery in a group and say some ridiculous and tasteless chant. They say – I don’t want to say it. It’s more political than anything else. They say, “With our spirits and blood, we redeem you, O cross.” The cross on which Christ was lifted up, not another cross, and all crosses are an image of the cross upon which our Christ was lifted up. Who can redeem the cross?! Jesus is the redeemer and the cross of curse was turned into blessing when Christ was lifted up on it and granted us salvation, freely offering us redemption. We are the followers of the Redeemer and the followers of the Crucified. We bear the cross as a proclamation of our Christianity. We only know the cross in the image of blessing and in a much more beautiful and honorable image than opposition. We are attacked, we are beaten, we are cursed, and in response, we BLESS.

In this way, Jesus asked for blessing for those who blasphemed Him, spit in His face, and humiliated Him. He bore the shame willingly. So, our cross is raised, lifted towards Heaven, pouring out blessings. It is not a cross of killing nor is it a sign of attack or opposition, but it is a sign of love. When we place it on our chests, to be adorned by it, we take pride in it. When we hold it in our hands, we use it for blessing and make the sign of it saying, “In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.” We cherish our cross. By it, we distinguish ourselves as followers of the Nazarene [Christ] Who loved us and shed His Blood for our sake on the Cross of shame. So, the Cross became a blessing and a glorious proclamation that carries the meaning of majesty and pride. It is our Cross.

The Marys who were weeping, when they heard the answer of this Gardener, Who was Jesus. Jesus proclaimed Himself as not the gardener or a soldier, but proclaimed Himself at the point to reassure the Marys. Jesus with His warm love, proclaims His majesty and victory to all those who believe in Him and calls saying, “Mary!” She becomes alert from her mourning and her bewilderment – Mary Magdalene! Mary? It is the voice of Jesus! It is the voice of the Beloved! It is the voice of the Redeemer who cast out demons from me, who moved me from darkness to light. I cherish Him! I came in spite of the darkness and the fear. He is the One Who strengthened me by His love. Mary! Mary wants to touch the blessing and cling to the clothes of Jesus. He tells her, “Do not touch Me.” He is not pushing her away or avoiding her. She desires to stay a few moments with Him. Jesus says, “for I have not yet ascended to My Father.” “I have not yet ascended. I am still staying with you. I will spend 50 days frequently visiting you.” 40 days here and there  and then, after the ascension, there is another promise. “I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” This is why our church rejoices for 40 days in the Resurrection and another 10 days awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.

When they saw Christ ascending, there was a promise that the Holy Spirit would be sent to fill their beings, shake them, and give them power to face people and the entire world, preaching the Crucifixion of Christ and His Resurrection and that He is the Redeemer Who we believe that He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Christ, the Holy One, Who loved us. May every single one of us say, “Who loved me.” We live by faith, the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me and offered Himself up. He offered Himself up for my sake. Every single person should cherish this love and see that Christ means him or her in particular. He points to him or her and says, “I love you.” Each and every individual! Jesus says, “I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:16). “You are seen. You are written there. You are not lost. I know each and every one of you. In the joyous eternity, I will seat you with Me in the banquet of the Lamb, the wedding feast.” Jesus is risen! In His Resurrection, we say, “Truly, He is risen.” In truth, He is risen and appeared to Peter, the disciples, and to all of us.

We constantly say — Thomas said, “I want to touch.” Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We have seen Him and touched Him. He is placed in the paten on the altar. How our souls did rejoice when we saw His brilliant appearance and might above our churches, and Saint Mark, and in the Monastery of the Theotokos in the mountain of Assyut. There are many things that encourage us and tell us that we have not been left alone. Jesus is with us all.

To Christ be glory and worship forever, Amen.