Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

Feast of the Holy Resurrection


print Print  |  send Send to a friend  |  bookmark Bookmark  |   |   |  back Back

May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus is our resurrection (Ephesians 2:6). God has created man to live, not to die. We were raised with Him, and accordingly we should set our minds on things above "the new everlasting life," not on things the earth has to offer "the old mortal life" (Colossians 3:1-2). To die with Christ is the end of the "mortal life" and the resurrection with Christ is the beginning of the "everlasting life". Believing in the Resurrection leads to a life of righteousness and virtue. Love of eternity makes the righteous long for something greater and more eminent than the world.

The Resurrection gives Christians hope and trust in the heavenly world. With the Resurrection we realize that nothing is impossible. St Paul, the apostle said, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him" (Corinthians 2:9). The Resurrection is indeed joy and gladness.

As the gate to eternity, the Resurrection has three powerful effects upon our lives. It promises us 1) A New Life, 2) Eternal Glory and 3) Restoration to the Image of God. These effects provide the faithful with a desire and passion to want to live with God.

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). The Resurrection brings us a NEW LIFE (Romans 6:4). Our life now is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). Thus, the new life starts here on earth but we will enjoy its fullness in eternity. The Resurrection proves that in man's journey of life, death is but a phase. "There is no death for your servants but a departure" (The Divine Liturgy).

The Resurrection is the gateway to the lasting victory. It is a promise of ETERNAL GLORY. When Christ appears in glory, we will appear with Him in glory too (Colossians 3:4). What a wonderful thing to look for! "But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day, there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and the honor of nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it, anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life" (Revelations 21:22-27).

Setting our minds on things above, not on things of the earth means seeking the ultimate spiritual glories of the age to come. Remember your baptism. Live according to His Resurrection! Seek true life in Christ. Put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him (Colossians 3:10). Thus the Resurrection restores to us the IMAGE OF GOD that we had lost due to sin.

In the Creed we recite, "we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the coming age. Amen."

Let us all pray for the peace of the Church and the world, for our Pope, H.H. Pope Shenouda III, and above all for our unity with God and with one another.

May all the blessings of the Resurrection be with us all.

H.G. Bishop Youssef
Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States


print Print  |  send Send to a friend  |  bookmark Bookmark  |   |   |  back Back