The Passover

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In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

Beloved sons and daughters,

May the blessings of the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon us all.

The Glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is a blessed occasion for joyous celebration and jubilation in remembrance of Him, the First Fruit of the PERFECT RESURRECTION. This Resurrection historically and for the ages to come earmarks the passing over of our Lord Jesus Christ's physical body into His new spiritual one. It is this transition that announces Christ's eternal immortality without ever having to be subjected to death again; for death has been humbly trampled over, through the Lord's Crucifixion and heroically conquered by His Glorious Resurrection.

"Pascha" originally describing the Jewish Passover, presently refers to the Glorious Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our precious Lord is the Lamb of God Whose sacrifice delivers the faithful from condemnation and death, just as the sacrifice of the Passover lamb had delivered the ancient Jews from slavery and death in Egypt (Exodus 12:12). St. Paul specifically instructs us, "therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (I Corinthians 5:7-8).

This deliverance of the faithful and righteous from a death- bound earthly life to a death-free eternal one is the essence and joy of Salvation. An Ante-Nicene Father, Tertullian (c. 210) writes, "the operation of death is plain and obvious; it is the separation of body and soul." We Christians know that the reunion of the soul and body after death is what transforms the physical body into the spiritual one we are now aspiring for. The soul of the faithful will not die; as is written in the Holy Gospel of St. Matthew "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).

Passing over from the corrupted human nature to the renewed man is the essence and morale of the Glorious Resurrection. Prior to that, the universal condition of fallen humanity was corruption, immorality and mortality. Now, we the blood-saved believers are no longer under, nor do we want to maintain the status quo of fallen humanity. Instead, in the light and joy of the Glorious Resurrection, we must continuously choose to shed our corrupted human nature and desire to put on the new man. It should become our goal and objective in life to constantly renew our thoughts and mind, yielding to the Holy Spirit, allowing him to work in us in order to transform us into the new creature worthy of communion with God "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

St. Paul taught the Galatians "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus" (Galatians 6:14-17).

The process of renewal or passing over brings about reconciliation among enemies, peace instead of war, tranquility in the midst of turbulence; and greatest of all it brings one into harmony with God, self, family, church life, service, and friends. Ultimately, passing over into the new man, made possible through the Glorious Resurrection, unites human beings to God and to each other "for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).

Finally, let us remember that the transitioning of mortality to eternal immortality in the Lord Jesus Christ is a status converter, changing us from foreigners to citizens. Without controversy, the church can be said to exist in a sinful world. Christians are heavenly citizens of the Kingdom of God and are therefore strangers in a foreign land regardless of residence. So, they must always be on guard lest they fall and make the wrong choice of adopting the ways of a fallen society (Matthew 5:48, Romans 3:23). We are called through the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ to be free from anger, worldly coveting, hatred, and gloom. We must shun evil, do good, and pray for our friends as well as our enemies. We are called to grow in the perfection of the new man.

During the celebration of this glorious Feast, I urge you to choose happiness and gladness over worry and sadness. Establish yourself in the ongoing process of renewal in spite of the challenges you may meet in life. The Passover from the old–man-earthly state to the new-man-heavenly state has been made possible to us all through the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The old nature, which has not been transformed by the Holy Spirit, is still enslaved to sin and death missing out on true joy or happiness. I encourage you to find and capture all the happiness that earthly life can afford through the deliberate and progressive passing over from the defiled, corrupt nature to the renewed, refreshed one.

Finally, during this most joyous times; as Christians, let us all live the Resurrected life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us renew our inner man and encourage others to pledge to do so; just like St. Paul, who even while under house arrest in Rome, told the Philippians, "...Christ will be magnified in my body whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:20-21).

May the abiding love, joy, and eternal peace brought about by the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all.

Bishop Youssef
Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States