Journeying Through Holy Week With Christ Note from the editor.

Transcription

1 Volume 22 Issue 4 April 2015 Journeying Through Holy Week With Christ Note from the editor. As someone who grew up in the Greek Orthodox Church, I really took for granted the beauty and depth of the Holy Week services. It wasn t until my wife experienced her first Holy Week in the Orthodox Christian Church and she described the difference from her previous experiences during Easter (Pascha). Many Churches of other denominations have services on Good Friday or Easter but the services throughout the week carry us to a new height and understanding of the profound pain, agony, and triumph that Christ went through. To be entirely honest, if you go to all the services, it s incredibly exhausting. And that s what it s supposed to be, exhausting. Why? Because we experience the passion and the resurrection in a very physical way. The way one feels by Holy Friday is a somber feeling of defeat, but still with hope and joy that grows as Holy Saturday and Pascha arrive to transform your countenance into an immense joy that can not be fully explained, but rather only experienced. This Issue is filled with a lot of depth and may be difficult to read in one sitting. It is recommended that one reads each day before it happens. Keep in mind that during Holy Week, the day is celebrated beginning the night before. For example, Monday Orthros (morning service) is celebrated in the evening on Palm Sunday. This is because we are in constant anticipation for the Resurrection to come and cannot arrive there fast enough! Consider attending as many services as you can this Holy Week to really understand and feel God s love pour over you in His death and resurrection. Kali Anastasi.

2 Dear Friends is an in-print outreach effort to the Orthodox Christian community of St. John as well as the community at large. This monthly publication aims to inform, edify, and serve as a witness to its readers of the Truth of Jesus Chirst as confirmed in the Holy Gospel. Dear Friends is a ministry of: St. John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church Metropolitan Parkway Sterling Heights, MI Phone: (586) parish@stjohngoc.net Clergy: Fr. Nicholas Kyritses, Proistamenos Pastoral Assistant: Nick Lionas Chanter: Christos Strubakos Office Staff: Carol Pacey Church Maintenance: Manoli Papastamatis Parish Council: Dr. Ted Tangalos, President Philoptochos: Dina Stavropoulos, President Seniors: Nick Prantzalos, President Choir: John Tangalos & Dr. Andy Kotsis Bible Study: Helene & Jim Lionas REAL: Paula Terenzi Sunday School: Dr. Maria Aretakis, Mary Singos & Tara Kosmides Greek School: Elli Patouhas Altar Boys: George Collins & Nick Stavropoulos GOYA: Ellene Balalas, Angela Kotsonis, Dr. Steve Kotsonis & Angie Stathakios Evan Tangalos, President HOPE & JOY: Skye Bastounis, Irene Kourtesis, Dimetra Mansoor, Julia Thomas & Donna Kostolakis Little Angels: Sofia Papastamatis & Popi Stavrou CHRIST IS RISEN! Χριστός Ανέστι! English - Christ is Risen! Truly He is Rien! Greek - Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti! Arabic - al-masih qam! Haqqan qam! Church Slavonic - Christos voskrese! Voistinu voskrese! Russian - Christos voskres! Voistinu voskres Romanian - Hristos a înviat! Cu adevărat a înviat! Bulgarian - Christos Voskrese! Voistina voscrese Swahili - Kristo Amefufukka! Kweli Amefufukka! Albanian - Krishti u ngjall! Vërtet u ngjall! Spanish - Cristo ha resucitado! En verdad ha resucitado! French - Christ est ressuscité! Il est vraiment ressuscité! German - Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden! Armenian - Christos haryav i merelotz! Orhnial e Haroutiunn Christosi! Italian - Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto! Coptic (Egyptian) - Pikhristos Aftonf! Khen oumethmi aftonf!

3 Saturday of Lazarus On Saturday before Palm Sunday we celebrate the raising of Lazarus at Bethany (John 11:1-46). This miracle, performed by Christ, is a reassurance to His disciples before the coming passion. They, and we, are to understand that, though He suffers and dies, He is Lord and Victor over death. The resurrection of Lazarus is an event that carries a very deep meaning. It is mysteriously linked to the resurrection of Christ Himself, it is like prophecy in action, and at the same time it anticipates the resurrection of all the righteous on the Last Day. Lazarus is the saving first-fruits of regeneration of the worlds. With the resurrection of Lazarus death begins to tremble. For there the decisive duel between Life and Death begins and it gives us the key to the entire Liturgical mystery of Pascha. In the early time of the Church the Saturday of Lazarus was called announcement of Pascha. It announces and anticipates the wonderful light and the peace of the next Saturday, Great Saturday, the day of the life giving tomb. We have to understand that Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, represents the whole mankind and also each man separately. For each man was created a friend of God and he was called to this Divine friendship: that is the knowledge of God and the communion with Him. In Him was life and life was the light of men (John 1:4). And yet this friend whom God loves, and created him in love, is destroyed and annihilated by a power which God has not created: death. The world is lamentation and sorrow, tears and death. When Jesus Christ came to the grave of Lazarus, His friend, Jesus wept (John 11:35). He weeps because He sees the unnatural triumph of death and destruction in the world created by God. There is a stench say the Jews to Jesus Christ. They try to prevent Him from approaching the dead Lazarus, his corpse. This awful warning applies to the whole world, to all life. God is life and calls man into the divine reality of life and the enemy tries to keep the fallen man in stench. The world was created to reflect and proclaim the glory of God and now there is a stench, and Jesus wept. Jesus Christ loves and wept. He called back to life His friend Lazarus. He loves us and calls us back to life, He calls us, His friends. It is Love that weeps at the grave and it is Love that restores life. This is the meaning of the divine tears of Jesus. In them love is at work again, it recreates, redeems, and restores the darkened life of man: Lazarus, come out! This is why the Saturday of Lazarus is the beginning of both: the cross, as the supreme sacrifice of love, and the resurrection as the ultimate triumph of love. Palm Sunday After the resurrection of Lazarus, Christ went from Bethany to Jerusalem. His entry into the Holy City was a triumphal one. He was hailed by the crowds as they expected the Messiah, the King of Israel. They greeted Him with branches in their hands and called out to Him with shouts of praise: Hosannah! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! The Son of David! The King Of Israel! The Saturday of Lazarus reveals the enemy, which is death. Palm Sunday announces the meaning of the victory of the Kingdom of God. In His life Jesus Christ rejected all attempts to glorify Him. But six days before the Passover, Pascha, He not only accepted to be glorified, but He Himself arranged this glorification by doing what the prophet Zachariah (9:9) announced. He made it clear that He wanted to be acknowledged as the Messiah, the King and the Savior of Israel. He wanted to show the Jews openly that the expected Messiah came, His Kingdom is here and all their expectations find their fulfillment. He starts His Kingdom. Blessed is He who comes... Christ the King was welcomed by the children at His entry into Jerusalem. He is welcomed today in the same way by each one of us in our own heart. The Gospel reading at Orthros (Matthew 21:1-11, 15-17) describes the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Towards the end of Orthros the priest recites a prayer and blesses the palm branches, brought to church, which then are distributed to the congregation. With palm branches in our hands we greet the King, singing Hosannah to Him. We confess Him as our King and Lord. The Kingdom of God has started already and on the day of our baptism we were made citizens of it, and promised to be loyal to it. When we receive from the priest a palm branch, we renew our oath to our King and we confess that we live in His Kingdom. Everything in our life belongs to Him. Nothing can be taken away from its real Owner. We know, however, that the King is on His way to Golgotha, to the cross and to the grave. We know that this triumph is the preface of His sacrifice. The branches in our hands signify our readiness to follow Him on this sacrificial way. Our acceptance of sacrifice and self denial is the only royal way to the Kingdom. And finally these branches proclaim our faith in the final victory of Christ. As we carry our branches and sing the hymns to the Lord, we are judged together with the Jerusalem crowd. For it was the very same voices which cried Hosannah to Christ, which a few days later cried crucify Him! What happens with us? Do we enter with Him into the days of His voluntary passion, or do we stay at a distance crying crucify Him? 3

4 Holy Monday We enter now the most sacred week of the year, the last week of Jesus Christ s life on earth. This is called Passion Week or, as it is more known, Holy Week. On the days following His entry to Jerusalem, Christ spoke to His disciples about the signs that will precede the Last Day (Matthew 24 and 25). There we have the great eschatological discourse of Jesus and the signs and announcement of the End. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.... So that which forms the theme of the first part of Holy Week is the Kingdom of God. When Jesus Christ was dead on the cross, normal life came to its end; the Kingdom of God started. The function of the first three days of Holy Week is to announce the beginning of the new life, and to prepare us for the understanding and acceptance of it. This theme is revealed in the common hymn of these three days: Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: Behold! The bridegroom comes at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching; and unworthy is the servant whom He shall find neglectful. Beware, therefore, O my soul, and be not overcome by sleep. Because you will be given to death, and be shut out of the heavenly Kingdom. But rise up and cry: Holy! Holy! Holy! Are You, O God, by the Holy Virgin Mary, have mercy on us. This hymn is based on the Parable of the Ten Virgins which is the reading at Orthros on Holy Tuesday. It is also the call that we have heard on many occasions during Lent: The end is near at hand; be watchful; repent while there is still time. At Orthros of Holy Monday (which in parish churches is sang usually on Sunday evening) we hear the story of the fig tree, which is the symbol of the judgment of those who show no fruits of repentance. On the following day (Mark 11:12-20) that is Monday, on His way with the twelve from Bethany to Jerusalem, Jesus was hungry and seeing a fig tree He came to it but found nothing, only leaves. Then He pronounced the judgment on this fig tree: May no one ever eat fruit from you again. This is a miracle which is commemorated on Holy Monday. The sterile fig tree is the symbol of the world which was created to bear spiritual fruit but failed in its response to God. Many people, in their spiritual life, appear like a fig tree in leaves without even a sign of early green fruits. This was also the case with some of the Pharisees of that period and of some of us today. At that day we also commemorate the blessed and noble Joseph, whose innocent sufferings (Genesis, chapters 37-40) prefigure the passion of Christ. We also refer to Joseph because his life was a model of virtues and of ethical principles. Jesus Christ, after the miracle with the fig tree, went to the Temple and drove out the buyers and the traders. He exercised divine authority in performing this cleansing. Take these things away; you shall not make my Father s house a house of trade (Matthew 21:12-13, John 2:16). The reaction of the chief priests and the scribes and the leaders of the people was immediate. They began looking for some way to kill Jesus Christ. Holy Tuesday On the Holy Tuesday the end again is mentioned. When Jesus Christ was leaving the Temple the disciples remarked on its wonderful stones and buildings! Jesus told them that all of them will be destroyed, for Jerusalem killed the prophets and stoned those who were sent to it. And when the disciples asked Him when these will happen, He told them about the signs they would see before the end comes. Jesus spoke about the end of the present age, of the Last Judgment and of His Second Coming. The Liturgical texts at that day refer chiefly to the Parable of the Ten Virgins, which forms the general theme of this day. The texts refer also to the parable of the Talents that comes immediately after it (Matthew 25:14-30). Both these are interpreted as parables of judgment. Jesus put stress upon readiness and watchfulness. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the matter of the house will come... (Mark 13:35). Watch, you do not know on what day your Lord is coming; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect (Matthew 24:37-44). And He told them the Parable of the Ten Virgins. The five wise ones had enough oil in their lamps and the five foolish ones were not admitted to the bridal banquet. So those who were not ready for Christ s coming were rejected (Matt. 25:1-13). Oh Christ the Bridegroom, number us with the wise virgins and have mercy upon us, we sing that day. 4

5 Holy Wednesday On Wednesday we commemorate the woman who was a sinner and who anointed Christ s feet as He sat in the house of Simon. This woman who poured the precious ointment on Jesus, is the image of love and repentance which unites us with Christ. A second theme is the agreement made by Judas with the Jewish authorities. The repentance of the sinful woman is contrasted with the tragic fall of the chosen disciple. The Church hymns put a great emphasis in comparing that woman who repented and was saved, to Judas who was lost. The one gives her wealth to buy ointment for Christ and kisses His feet; the other takes money and betrays Christ with a kiss. In the hymns of this day it is made clear that Judas perished, not simply because he betrayed his Master, but because, having fallen into the sin of betrayal, he refused to believe in the possibility of forgiveness. In misery he lost his life, preferring a noose rather than repentance (hymn of Compline). In general, all the hymns that seem to be directed against Jews or Judas should be understood in connection with us also. When the hymns denounce those who rejected Christ and delivered Him to death, we recognize that these words apply not only to others, but to ourselves. For have we not betrayed the Savior many times in our hearts and crucified Him again and again? On the evening of Holy Wednesday and the Sacrament of the Holy Unction is usually celebrated in churches and all present are anointed for their bodily and spiritual health, and for the forgiveness of sins. Holy Thursday On Holy Thursday four events are celebrated; the washing of the disciples feet, the institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas. At Orthros and Vespers the hymns set the above themes in a very expressive way. On Thursday Jesus sent Peter and John into the city saying: Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it (Luke 22:8). The feast of the Passover (the word means passage) was for the Jews the annual commemoration of their history of salvation from the slavery of Egypt. They passed from slavery into freedom, from exile into the promised land. Now Jesus Christ is the passage from death into life, from the old world into the new time of the Kingdom of God. And He opened the possibility of this passage to us; we became free from the slavery to death and sin, we are now partakers of the new life. When Jesus Christ and His disciples had the Passover meal the Sacrament of the Holy Communion was instituted by Christ Himself. He took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave to His disciples saying: This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Then He took the cup saying: Drink of it you all. This is my blood.. which is shed for the remission of sins. The Last Supper is the restoration of the Paradise of life in God s Kingdom. With words do this in remembrance of me, Christ removes the disciples from the Jewish Passover and requires them to gather together in remembrance of Him. The Holy Communion is the life of the Church. It is the unity of Christ with the members of His Church. This time of the big love of God, Judas leaves the light of the Upper Room and goes into the darkness to complete his plans of betrayal. On their way to Gethesmane, after the institution of the Holy Communion, Christ foretold that all the disciples would fall away. The three disciples, Peter, James and John, who saw His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration, now were sleeping, instead of being witnesses of another glory, the glory of His obedience to the Father. Judas came with soldiers to arrest Jesus Christ, whom he had betrayed. The plan was to arrest Jesus at night because the Jews were afraid of the people who had seen Jesus as man sent by God. At that time everybody was busy with the celebration of the Passover. There were only a few people around. So the Jews with the help of Judas arrested Jesus and brought Him to Caiaphas for the trial. This trial was an exhausting one. Jesus Christ did not defend Himself. He kept silent. He spoke only when they asked Him if He is the Son of God. He said: I am. After that they did not want other witnesses. Jesus was guilty of blasphemy and according to the law, He ought to die. After being sentenced to death Christ was exposed to further humiliation. Then followed Peter s denial. At the time of the arrest of Christ all the disciples had forsaken Him and ran away. The meaning of Holy Thursday is summed up, we can say, in a text of singular beauty, repeated many times at the Divine Liturgy. This hymn combines the themes of Eucharist Communion, Judas betrayal, and the confession of the good thief: At Your mystical Supper, Son of God, today receive me as a communicant: For I will not speak of the mystery to Your enemies: I will not give You a kiss like Judas; But as the thief I confess You: Remember me, Lord, when You come in Your Kingdom. 5

6 Holy or Good Friday On this day of Holy Friday we celebrate the sufferings of Christ: the mockery, the crown of thorns, the scourging, the nails, the thirst, the vinegar and gall, the cry of desolation, and all that the Savior endured on the Cross. On the same day, the Passion is not separated from the resurrection. Even on this day of our Lord s deepest humiliation, we look forward also to the revelation of His eternal glory: We venerate Your passion, O Christ, Show us also your glorious resurrection. The cross and the resurrection are aspects of a single, undivided act of salvation: Your cross, O Lord, is life and resurrection... Friday Orthros are usually held on Thursday evening. They take a special form, with a series of twelve Gospel readings that begin with Christ s talk at the Last Supper and ends with the account of His burial. Shortly before the sixth Gospel, the Priest carries a large Crucifix from the Sanctuary and sets it up in the center of the church while the following hymn is sung: Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the cross. He who is King of the angels is dressed with a crown of thorns. He who wraps the heaven in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. He who in Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face. The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails. The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear. We venerate Your passion, O Christ, show us also Your glorious resurrection. On Holy Friday morning, the GREAT HOURS take a solemn form, as on the Eve of Christmas and Theophany, with an Old Testament reading, an Epistle and a Gospel reading at each hour. Vespers follow either immediately after the Hours or in the afternoon. At Vespers, during the concluding verses of the Gospel reading (Matthew 27:56-60), the priest comes out from the northern door of the Sanctuary and approaches the cross that stands in the middle of the church. Then, taking down from the crucifix the figure of Christ, he wraps it in a white cloth, carries it into the Sanctuary, and lays it on the Holy Table. At the end of Vespers the Epitaphios, a piece of stiffened cloth on which is painted or embroidered the figure of the dead Christ laid out for burial, is carried by the priest in procession from the Sanctuary to the center- of the church. It is put on a decorated table and is then venerated by the faithful. 6

7 To hang this page on fridge, tear at the perforated edge. 7

8 To hang on fridge, tear out calendar at the perforated edge. 8

9 HOPE & JOY/LITTLE ANGELS: Saturday of Lazarus Gathering HOSTED BY ST JOHN'S GREEK ORTHODOX HOPE & JOY AND LITTLE ANGELS Saturday April 4, 2015 Time: Right after Pancake Breakfast. Approx. 11am Location: Inside Church Hall We have a fun activity planned for you! Let s get together to learn the meaning of the Prosforo symbol. In addition to learning the meaning of the symbol, each child will make their own Prosforo stamp to take home! Please RSVP to: Irene Kourtesis: Dimetra Mansoor: Popi Stavrou: Sofia Papastamatis:

10 Holy and Great Saturday On Holy Saturday we celebrate the burial of the divine Body of our Lord and Savior Christ and His descent to Hades, through which He restored the mankind from corruption and transplanted it to the eternal life. The Great and Holy Saturday is the day which connects Good Friday, the commemoration of the cross, with the day of Christ s resurrection. Before the resurrection an event takes place in which sorrow is transformed into joy. Great Saturday is precisely the day of transformation, the day of victory over death. During this day we are contemplating the death of death itself. All this is expressed in the services of the Great Saturday. At Orthros, usually held on Friday evening, the service begins with the Praises (hymns) sung before the Epitaphios in the center of the church. The basic note at this service is not so much one of mourning, but of watchful expectation. For the time being God observes a Sabbath rest in the tomb, but we look forward to the moment when He will rise again, bringing new life and recreating the world. One hymn says: Today a tomb holds Him who holds the creation in His hands; a stone covers Him who covered the heaven with glory. Life sleeps and hell trembles and Adam is set free from his bonds. At the end of the service, all faithful people go out of the church with the Epitaphios. The procession goes around the church building, singing Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us exactly as at a funeral. And yet this is not in fact a funeral procession at all. God had died on the cross, and yet He is not dead. He who died, the Word of God, is the Life Himself, holy and immortal. Our procession through the night signifies that He is now proceeding through the darkness of Hell announcing to Adam and to all the dead His coming resurrection, in which they are also called to share. In the morning of Holy Saturday following Vespers we celebrate the divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. This morning service has a strongly baptismal character reflecting the period when this Sacrament of Baptism was administered on Pascha night. The texts at Vespers are dominated by three connected themes: Passover, resurrection and baptismal initiation. There are many readings from the Old Testament which used to be the teaching to the catechumens before they were baptized. This baptismal characteristic is also seen in the hymn sung in place of the Trisagion: As many of you as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia, and in the Epistle reading from Romans (6:3-11). With the verse following the Epistle, Arise, O God, judge You the earth, for You shall have an inheritance in all the nations, the celebration of the resurrection has already began. The church calls this Saturday the blessed Sabbath. By using this title the Church links Holy Saturday with the creative act of God, who created man in His own image and likeness. Man was to live in constant communion with the source of power, God. But man fell from God. Now Christ has come to restore the communion of man with God. Holy Saturday is the day on which Christ reposed in the tomb. But that repose is an active one. He comes in search of His fallen friend, Adam, who represents all the mankind. Not finding him on earth, He descends to the realm of death, known as Hades or Sheol in the Old Testament. There He finds him and brings him to the life once again. This is the victory: the dead are given life. The tomb is no longer a forsaken, lifeless place. By His death Christ tramples down death. On Great Saturday evening the people assemble in the darkened church while the Acts of the Apostles are read and then the Midnight Office is sung. As twelve o clock approaches, the lights in the church are put out. All the people present wait in silence and pray for the moment when the priest will come out from the Sanctuary with the burning candle that symbolizes the light of the risen Christ. The priest appears at the Royal Door, with the lighted candle, from which those people who are in the church light their own candles. As the priest give the light, he sings: Come, receive the light from the Light that is never overtaken by night. Come, glorify the Christ, risen from the dead. Easter is an icon of Holy Saturday, that is the descent of Christ into Hades. It is an icon based on theological meanings, since no one has ever seen this event. It depicts Christ standing on the gates of Hades. With arms outstretched His is joining hands with Adam and Eve, and through them with all the other Old Testament righteous whom He has found there. He leads them from the death to His Kingdom. 10

11 Easter Sunday - Pascha! After a lengthy preparation we have now reached the greatest moment in the history of the world: The resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Savior. This event does not enter into the cycle of the twelve great feasts of the Church, because it is the greatest of all feasts, the Feast of Feast, as it is called. Christ s resurrection is the highest manifestation of God s love for His creation. It is the confirmation of faith and the token of our resurrection: If Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain says Apostle Paul in his first epistle to Corinthians, 15:17. We celebrate this great feast of Easter not only for one day or one week, but for forty days. It begins on Sunday of Easter and ends on Eve of Jesus Christ s Ascension. Easter is the center, the heart of the Church year. It is on its date that the whole Liturgical cycle depends, because the date of Easter determines the movable feasts of the calendar. We have reached the Day of Resurrection. Let us be illumined by the feast. Let us embrace each other. Let us call brothers even those who hate us, and forgive all by the resurrection... we sing on Easter Sunday. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is proclaimed during Matins for Easter Sunday. This service takes place in the middle of the night of Saturday to Sunday. The priest singing: Come, receive light.. gives us the light. Once more the Church represents the mystery of Christ s incarnation in terms of the light. Christ, the Light, whose birth was marked by the star, now is shining again and comes out of the darkness of the tomb. He reappears among us and all the lit candles which the congregation hold in their hands, proclaim His triumph. The divine light shines among us and within us. After the lighting of the candles a procession forms. It leaves the Sanctuary and stops outside the church building, in front of the door. The account of the resurrection is taken from St. Mark s Gospel (16:1-8). Then the great triumphal hymn for Easter is sung: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life. This hymn, the troparion, is repeated several times. The verses in between the repetitions are taken from the Psalms: Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered.. This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad... etc. The procession reenters the church. The priest recites the great litany and the Pascha canon, attributed to St. John of Damascus, is sung by the choir. Orthros is followed by the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. At the end of the Divine Liturgy the priest reads the very beautiful sermon of St. John Chrysostom for the Easter feast. In the afternoon of Easter Sunday, very short Vespers is celebrated. The reading from the Gospel is the appearance of Jesus Christ to the disciples in the room whose doors were locked (John 20: 19-25). If possible, it is read in several languages, to underline the universality of Christ s message. On this day of Pascha the Christians greet each other saying: CHRIST IS RISEN, to which the response is: TRULY HE IS RISEN. This is a greeting which is used through all the Easter time until the Eve of the Ascension. 11

12 Dear Friends St. John Greek Orthodox Church Metropolitan Parkway Sterling Heights, MI Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Sterling Heights, MI Permit No. 4 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED Paschal Homily of St. John the Golden Mouth If any man is devout, and loves God, let him enjoy this far and radiant triumphal Feast. If any man is a wise servant, let him with rejoicing enter into the Joy of His Lord. If any man has labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have worked from the first hour, let them today receive their just reward. If any have come at the third hour, let them with thankfulness keep the Feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let them have no misgivings; because they shall not be deprived for that reason. If anyone had delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near fearing nothing. If anyone has waited until the eleventh hour, let him also be not alarmed at his tardiness; for the Lord is jealous of His Honor and will accept the last even as the first. God gives rest unto him who comes at the eleventh hour, even as unto him who has labored from the first hour. He shows His Mercy upon the last, and cares for the first; to one He gives, and to the other He bestows gifts. He both accepts the deeds and welcomes the intention. He honors the acts, and praises the offering. Wherefore, enter all into the Joy of our Lord; and receive your reward, both first and also the second. Ye rich and poor together, hold high festival! Ye sober and ye heedless, honor together Third Day! Rejoice today, both ye who have feasted, and ye who disregarded the fast! The table is full laden; feat ye all sumptuously! The calf is fatted; let no one go away hungry! All receive the riches of loving kindness! Let no one bewail his poverty, for the Universal Kingdom has been revealed! Let one weep for his sins and iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave! Let no one fear Death, for the Savior s Death has set us free! He that was held prisoner of death has annihilated Death. By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive. He angered Hell when it tasted of His Flesh. Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry: Hell was angered when it encountered Thee in the lower regions. Hell was angered; for it was abolished. Hell was angered, for it was mocked. Hell was angered, for it was slain. Hell was angered, for it was overthrown. Hell was angered, for it was fettered in chains. Hell took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen O Death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victory? Christ is Risen, and Death has been overthrown. Christ is risen, and Hell has been restrained. Christ is risen, and the demons have fallen. Christ is risen, and the Angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and Life rules. Christ is risen, and not one of the dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being raised from the dead, has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and Dominion unto the ages of ages! Amen.