Christ Will Give You Light (Eph 5:14)
My beloved, blessed children of the Church, Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
I am pleased to congratulate you on the Glorious Feast of the Resurrection and wish you a blessed feast, praying that the Living One may shine with the light of His Resurrection in our hearts and enlighten the path of our sojourn in this world so that we may complete our struggle and have a share in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Holy Apostle Paul teaches us that God “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). He also exhorts us, “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Eph 5:14).
The Resurrection of Christ Illuminated the Darkness of the World
Humanity was living in the bondage of sin, death, and corruption. We were unable to live a life of righteousness and holiness, as St. Paul wrote, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Ro 1:18) and “They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one” (Ro 3:12). He also described the fallenness of humanity, saying,
“[Flor all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed” (Ro 3:23-25).
For this reason, our Lord Jesus Christ by His Resurrection conquered death: “by death, He
trampled death, and upon those in the tombs He granted life.”
The death of Christ on the Cross is the death of death itself, as St. Paul wrote, “He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb 9:26).
The death and Resurrection of Christ abolished the dominion of sin over man and transferred him from the darkness of the bondage of sin to the light of the freedom of the children of God.
My beloved, consider how the inspired evangelists recorded what happened at the dawn of the Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection. St. Matthew wrote, “And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.” (Mt 28:2–3).
St. Luke wrote about the appearance of the angels to the myrrhbearing women, saying, “And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments” (Lk 24:4). St. John described his entry into the tomb of Christ along with St. Peter:
“Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.” (Jn 20:6-8).
We understand from the appearance of the angel-whose countenance was like lightning and whose garments were shining-and from the ability of John and Peter to clearly see the place of the linen cloths and the handkerchief that a light shone with the Resurrection of Christ and illuminated the dark tomb.
The shining of the light from Christ’s tomb continues even today. On Bright Saturday every year, the light shines from the tomb of Christ in Jerusalem. In the rites of our Coptic Orthodox Church, on the night of Apocalypse (Abu Ghalamsis) and on Bright Saturday, the lights are lit, and we make processions with lighted candles. Likewise, in the Liturgy of the Feast of the Resurrection, when we proclaim the Resurrection of Christ, the lights of the church are lit and we begin the Resurrection procession with lighted candles.
The Church also reminds us of the light of the Resurrection in the Morning Prayer (Matins), which we pray at the beginning of each day, remembering the Resurrection of Christ at dawn on Sunday. We pray in the second litany of the Morning Prayer: As the morning hour comes upon us. O Christ our God. the True Light. Jet th houghts of light shine within us. Do not let the darkness of passions hover ove us…
In the rites of the Holy and Joyful Fifty Days, the Church dedicates the fourth Sunday to present to us the Risen Christ as the Light of the world. We read in the Gospel according to St. John, “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness” (Jn 12:46). St. John also wrote of Christ that He is “the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (Jn 1:9).
The light of the Resurrection calls us to walk in the light, as St. Paul wrote, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Eph 5:8).
The light of the Resurrection shines in our hearts so that we may love one another:
“Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him” (1 Jn 2:8-10).
We pray for the peace of the Holy Church and for our beloved shepherd, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II.
We pray for peace and that the Lord may lift from the world wars, high prices, epidemics, and every frightening matter.
Wishing you many happy and joyful returns.
Metropolitan Serapion
