Do Not Weep

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"Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed" (Revelation 5:5)

The scene of Mary Magdalene, weeping before the Lord's tomb that had been sealed by the order of Pontius Pilate, reminds us of the scene of St. John the theologian weeping before the scroll that had been sealed with seven seals (Revelation 5:4); and no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it. All the seven seals had to be loosened before all the kingdoms could become the Lord's kingdom (Revelation 11:15).

The similarity between the reason for Mary Magdalene's tears and that for St. John's is prominent. Mary was weeping because "they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid Him" (John 20:2). For her, the Lord who was once the hope of Israel's redemption was dead; and his tomb sealed through Pilate's decree to ensure and proclaim His death to everybody. To Mary, there did not seem any more hope in redemption, salvation, or life. The Master was dead and so were she and all of Israel.

St. John the theologian wept for the same reason. Humanity was delivered to the sentence of death (the sealed scroll) and no one was found worthy to open the scroll or loosen its seals (Revelation 5:3). Such were the consequences of our sins and the subsequent death sentence which reigned over us; whereby we were bound and sold as slaves

Both seals, the one before Mary's eyes and the other before John's send the same message: WE ARE HOPELESSLY DEAD!

But the heavenly hosts had SOME good news for both; Mary Magdalene and St. John the theologian. At the tomb, the angels said to Mary, "Woman, why are you weeping?" (John 20:13) and in the revelation, one of the elders said to John "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed" (Revelation 5:5).

Mary turned around and saw the Lord, but thought He was the gardener. In the same manner, St. John turned around expecting to see the Lion; but, to his surprise, he saw a Lamb as though it had been slain.

In a matter of few minutes, both of them came to a new realization. Mary knew that the gardener is the Risen Lord, and John knew that the slain Lamb is the prevailing Lion.

Praise and worship have filled heaven and earth because of the glad tidings of the Resurrection of the Lord. On earth, Mary spread the goods news to the disciples and the disciples in turn to the rest of the world. Similarly, in heaven, praises and worship started among the four living creatures and the twenty four elders (Revelation 5:8) and then spread to the rest of the angelic hosts numbered by thousands of thousands and ten thousands times ten thousands (Revelation 5:11). After that the praise and worship spread to include every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them (Revelation 5:13).

Today we rejoice because the slain Lamb has risen becoming the prevailing Lion. Let us call upon all the heavenly orders and earthly ranks to praise with us because the Lord has broken death seal; trampling upon it by His death granting us a new life in Him.

During the Divine Liturgy, right after the Thanksgiving Prayer, the priest covers the altar and the mysteries (the to-become-body–and-blood) with the Prospherine (the latter representing the stone on the tomb of the Lord) and then he places on it a small mat that represents the seal on the stone.

The symbolic significance of the mat:

If we follow this mat from the beginning of the Divine Liturgy we will find that:
It is the same mat that the priest uses when choosing the lamb. Here the mat represents Abraham's knife that he had taken with him to offer his son Isaac.

It is the same mat in which the priest wraps the bread before the procession of the Lamb. Here it represents the sin of the whole world that the Lamb of God took away.

It is the same mat that the priest places on the Prospherine. Here it represents the seal on the tomb of the Lord.

It is the same mat the priest holds before his face while praying the Reconciliation Prayer. Here it represents the veil that separated God from us because of our sins.

It is the same mat the priest places on his left hand, after the Reconciliation Prayer, while praying "meet and right". Here, holding the mat representing the seal is a proclamation to the whole world that the seal is loosened and the Lord is risen.

It is the same mat the priest moves from his left hand to the right hand and finally places it on the chalice in the east till the end of the Divine Liturgy. He does that before drawing the sign of the Cross on himself and the congregation while saying "holy" three times, thus indicating that our sins, which had:
(a) incurred the death sanction on all of us,
(b) become a separating veil between God and us,
(c) constituted the knife that slew the true Lamb of God on the cross, have been finally washed away completely by the precious Blood of the Risen Lamb.

Praise the Lord, He is risen and the slain Lamb is alive. This means we are also alive in Him, by Him, and through Him. The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ has indeed wiped away and cancelled our sins. Therefore, my brethren, with St. Paul's words echoing in our ears that "if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins" (1 Corinthians 15:17); let our mouth be truly filled with joy and our tongue with gladness because the Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.

May all the blessings of the victorious Resurrection of our Lord fill your hearts with the heavenly and glorious joy!

Bishop Youssef
Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern US