I have to wonder just how many ways this central and penultimate Truth of our Christian Faith will be proclaimed in cathedrals, temples, sacred places and sanctified spaces all over the world today. I wonder how many will struggle to say something new about it; to put a fresh perspective on it. It is, after all, a two thousand year old message that never changes. Indeed, it cannot change. Because everything revolves around it and depends on it. The entirety of the Bible is focused on it. If one were to summarize the Old Testament in one sentence it could be: 'The Lord is God.' If one were to likewise summarize the New Testament in one sentence, it could be: 'Jesus Christ is Lord.' Similarly, perhaps the entire message of Pascha could be summarized thus: 'This I have accomplished because I love you and I want you to live in communion with me eternally.'
The singular event that effects all human history is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which we celebrate today. Some may not believe that, but non-belief does not make Truth not true. Jesus Christ is real and His Resurrection is real.
So in essence we're really not saying anything new today. We may have newer methods of expressing it, but the message is the same. It must be the same else we are experiencing not salvation but delusion. If the message needs to be infused with clever sayings of Buddha, highlighted with analogies and similarities to the Koran to make it seem as though Christianity and Islam share a lot in common (we don't), altered with inclusive language so as not to offend certain sensitivities ... then it would seem there is something lacking in the message itself, and this is most certainly not so. Communities and churches who do this sort of thing and call themselves Christian are not. It is simply an attempt, in most cases, to make a (seemingly) old Story more exciting and/or more 'relevent'.
It has been said that Orthodoxy never says anything new. We don't need to. The Beautiful Story of the Resurrection is all-sufficient.
The Story that begins in Genesis, which means 'origin', comes full circle in Revelation, which means 'to reveal' (sometimes Revelation is also referred to as The Apocalypse which means 'to uncover').
So what is originated? The Truth that the Lord is God.
What is uncovered and revealed?
The Truth that Jesus Christ is Risen from the dead and He is Lord!
What we celebrate today is the Triumph of Truth and the Reality of the Resurrection.
We celebrate today, in time, that which transcends time - the origin and uncovering of all things, the Beginning and Ending of all things.
This should be utterly astounding! It should arouse in us wonderment and awe!
Christ is Risen! Alleluia! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
Christ is Risen and we are risen with Him! Alleluia!
Our hearts should be overflowing with joy! Not necessarily an emotional high, but joy!
But what has happened? We hear the Resurrection Story and respond as if it were commonplace. We hear the same thing year after year. Nothing new.
We seem to be afflicted with an insatiable need for the next new thing:
"My phone works fine on the 3G network but now there's a 4G - gotta have it!"
"The computer I have is old and slow; I want a newer and faster one!"
"My car runs pretty good and gets me where I need to go ... but wouldn't it be sweet to have one of those hot new Mustangs!"
"The church I go to now is ok but I want to try this other church cause I hear they have this great musical program that will get you all pumped up!"
The awesome Mystery that is revealed here at this Altar and is lived out and proclaimed in the Liturgical life of the Church should enliven our hearts with love and cause tears of joy to flood our eyes. But we are dull. Why? Because the reality of the Resurrection is simply not as real to us as the reality we experience every day in our lives.
Our experience of God tends to be more virtual than reality. Of course we would very much prefer our pain and suffering to be virtual and that's understandable. I do not believe that anyone in a sound state of mind would actually want to be in a situation where they are liable to be shot, slashed or blown to pieces - but we'll watch it on TV!
We try to avoid actual contact with death and destruction but we pay to see movies that depict death and destruction - often quite realistically.
We would never (hopefully never) think of committing adultery but we simply must watch and find out who ends up in whose bed on Days of Our Lives!
At the same time we avoid coming to Confession we post our deep, dark secrets on Facebook and Twitter!
We have created our own personal virtual world that distracts us from the reality of God.
And we are very comfortable but we were not meant to live in these virtual worlds. God is Real and He alone is the Author of reality. He has come down to us and become one of us, taking us by the hand and pulling us out of the graves of our virtual worlds.
You may remember some years back, the myriad reports of repentance and conversion that took place after The Passion of the Christ came out. Ever wonder why that movie had such an effect on people? Because we have all been given a measure of faith and those whose hearts needed only a catalyst to initiate metanoia (change of mind), that film acted as the catalyst that enabled awareness of the reality of Christ and all that He did to save us. Whatever one may think of Mel Gibson, he did a good thing in making that movie.
Jesus Christ is real! He really suffered. He really died. He really lives!
He is really Present to us at all times but it is a struggle for us to be present to Him. Sometimes in the midst of that struggle we mistake emotion for awareness. Our emotions are God-given but to believe our relationship with Christ is deficient if there is not regular manifestations of emotional excitement is false. God is everywhere present and filling all things, no matter how, what or if we feel and we are invited to participate in an ancient mystery that is ever new ... because He Lives!
So, does Christianity really have anything new to say?
Early Christians, in some places of the ancient Roman Empire, called the Sunday of the Resurrection the Day of the Sun. The pagans used the term too but with a different meaning, obviously.
May our Risen Saviour grant us Grace to live the reality of the Resurrection - which is nothing short of our life hidden with Christ in God - and make each day hereafter our own personal Day of the Son. Then we shall never have to seek after anything new to say for we shall have become something new.
Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!
No comments:
Post a Comment