Holy Myrrh-bearer and Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene. Return of the Relics of the Priest-Martyr Phocas.
1 Corinthians 15:12-19. Matthew 21:18-22.
Every Sunday at Matins we sing the hymn ‘Having seen the Resurrection of Christ’ immediately following the proclamation of the Resurrection Gospel reading. Every Sunday at the Liturgy we sing the Resurrection Troparion. Every year during Paschal Time, this proclamation of the Resurrection is amplified with the singing of the Paschal Troparion ‘Christ is risen’ at the beginning of and at other points during the services.
All of this is to reiterate the teaching of the Apostle Paul today: Christ is risen from the dead! And if Christ is not risen from the dead, our faith and all our lives as Christians is futile, a waste of time and energy.
Christ’s Resurrection is the single most important event in the history of the world. Christ’s Resurrection is the sign to the universe that death has been conquered and redemption has been won. Christ’s Resurrection reveals what awaits us who follow after him.
This is why we preach and proclaim the Resurrection with such energy and gusto. This is why Paul is so unequivocally clear about the place of the Resurrection in our faith.
And I ask the question: How has the risen Christ made himself known to you? How has the risen Lord revealed His Life, His Love, His Mercy to you?
Only by experiencing the risen Christ are we able to preach and live the Resurrection with confidence and authenticity as Paul does in the Epistle. Only by experiencing the risen Christ does the hymn ‘Christ is risen’ at Pascha lift us up to the joy of the Resurrection.
Pray to the Risen Lord to reveal Himself to you day after day so that His abiding presence in your life may give you the zeal and the joy that Paul exudes.