For the death He died He died to sin once for all; but the life
that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead
indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:10-11
The words “QIMLEH MARAN” (Our Lord is
risen) are celebrated in the Church at this time of year. These two words embody the fulfilment of Christ’s mission on
earth; after His sacrificial death for us, He rose in glory. Though these words can be
seen everywhere at this time and heard throughout Churches this weekend, we
should not take these powerful and deep rooted words for granted. Instead, we
should celebrate their true meaning…
Many of us may mournfully and
thankfully show our gratitude and worship to God in church during the Holy Passion
Week (Thursday of the Passover, Friday of Sorrow, The Great Saturday and
Resurrection Sunday) and then ‘get on with our lives’ as soon as the next week arrives.
While many of us like “Martha” in the Bible may associate Easter time with
endless hours of cooking and cleaning as we prepare the house and the food
(kilecheh, boiled Easter eggs etc.) for all the festivities, in preparation for
spending Easter Sunday feasting with the family.
But truly, Easter (Eeda Goorah) should
be viewed as a time of renewal for the whole creation. Albeit this
renewal that Christ offers us is available every day of the year; it is at this
time especially that we commemorate our Lord Jesus Christ’s passionate death for
us on the Cross, His burial and His resurrection. It is a time where
Christian’s everywhere should unworthily thank God for sending His One and Only
Son for taking on the death and punishment upon Himself that we so rightfully
deserve for our sins (Romans 5:8), to offer us a new life or second chance by
forgiving our many sins (Ephesians 1:7).
We can view the “Resurrection” and
apply it to our lives in two ways:
1.
Today, we can be resurrected from the death of sin that
governs our life and we can repent of our sinful ways and unworthily turn to Christ
our Saviour and redeemer.
Aphrahat states: “A
sinner, when he is alive, is dead to God; but a
righteous man when he is dead, is alive to God.” (Demonstration VIII On The
Resurrection of the Dead)
But God, being rich
in mercy, because of His great
love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in
our transgressions, made us alive together with
Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised
us up with Him, and seated us
with Him in the heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might
show the surpassing riches of His
grace in kindness toward us in
Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)
2. Our future hope of being
resurrected from the dead on the Last Day, when Christ comes to judge the
world and call us to live the promised eternal life with Him. This
is promised only to the faithful who abide in Christ today.
Again, Aphrahat
elaborates: “But it is right for us to fear the second
death which is full of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt. 22:13),
and of groanings and miseries, which dwells in outer darkness. But
blessed are the faithful and the righteous in that resurrection where
they expect that they will awaken and receive their good promises.
(Demonstration VIII On The Resurrection of the Dead)
20 But now
Christ has been raised from the
dead, the first fruits of those
who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the
resurrection of the dead. 22 For as
in Adam all die, so also in Christ
all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)
This post-resurrection time should stand
as a reminder for each of us to re-evaluate our faith and our current
walk with God and faithfully make the necessary changes to live in this newness
of life which Christ has freely offered us, instead of taking advantage of His
love and forgiveness as soon as Tuesday after Easter Monday comes along, and we
go back to ‘tucking our faith away’ until Christmas arrives, or until we have
reached a desperate time in our lives where we call on the Lord.
After laying His own life down as a
sacrifice on the Cross, to atone for OUR sins, Christ opened the door as the
‘first fruits’ for us to receive forgiveness from God and live in the hope of
eternal life with Him through His resurrection from the dead. Jesus said to the
sinful Samaritan woman, “I am the resurrection and life; he who believes in
Me will live even if he dies.” (John 11:25)
St. Paul taught the first generation Church
in Colossae the essence of living in the light of Christ’s resurrection; “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking
the things above, where Christ is, seated
at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not
on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with
Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with
Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)
Just as
St. Paul states; we have died and been buried with Christ through our Baptism
into the name of the Holy Trinity, so therefore we will also be raised up with
Him (when we remain in Him and He in us; Romans 6:4-5). Whether we were born into the Church and received
baptism as infants; or we were born outside of the Christian faith and received
baptism when we converted to Christianity. During Baptism our ‘Adamic sin’ was
washed away from us in His name and we are then taught to remain in this faith
by ‘seeking the things above’.
Through our
one Baptism, receiving the Holy Spirit, and partaking in Christ’s Body
and Blood (The Eucharist), St. Paul explains that our lives are ‘hidden in
Christ’. Just as our Lord Himself taught us; He who eats my flesh and
drinks my blood abides in Me, and I in him. (John 6:56). Because of this
union we have with Christ we are to always ‘set our minds on things above’;
on God Himself, and make Him our priority instead of focusing on earthly
corruptible things that can potentially entangle our faith and cause us many
struggles. When we ‘live in Christ’, we are promised to share in His glory
through the resurrection and the hope of eternal life with Him.
For what is more impossible to overcome than death itself? And yet Christ Jesus our Lord, glory be to His name, overcame the death of His humanity through the power of His deity and He allows us to share in His sacrificial death and promises our resurrection when we continue to abide in Him. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:54
This Resurrection Sunday, many of us
will break our fast together in Church, but let us not only focus on the food
we have been missing out on over the last fifty days, but let us focus on the faithful deeds we have been missing out on, or failing to fulfil in our lives
over the past year or years. Let us re-evaluate our walk with Christ by trying
to put into practise what we have discussed so far through the series of
articles we have meditated on to date. We can use these as a guide for our ‘resurrection
resolutions’ for life and add to them as our faith grows:
1. Share God’s love with people (also be
more welcoming at Church)
2. Be persistent in faith even when times
are tough
3. Seek God through the Church, The
Sacraments , The Bible and Prayer
4. Hold the Church Fasts (for spiritual
edification)
5. Be a ‘noticeable woman’ of faith to
God
6. Be open to God’s will instead of
trying to limit Him through your own desires
7. Be humble
8. Hold to our Church traditions, learn
more about them, and teach them to others
Maybe it works out well for us that Assyrian
New Year was celebrated only a week ago, and we are celebrating the
Resurrection of our Lord today. With this in mind, just as many hold to their
new year’s resolutions, let us Christians of the Assyrian Church of the East
make faithful resolutions in light of Christ’s resurrection to live a life of faith,
gratitude, service and love for the Lord and His Church that we will hold to
not only for this week or this month, but for the rest of our lives (Romans12:1).
This week’s song: Ana ewan lakhma – H.G. Mar Odisho
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