Translation from the Book

Ὁ Θεός στήν Παλαιά Διαθήκη, Βοήθημα Κατωτέρου Κατηχητικοῦ Α΄,

ἐκδ. «Χριστιανική Ἐλπίς» Ὀρθόδοξη Ἀδελφότητα, Θεσσαλονίκη 2015, σσ. 157-161

  “Christ is risen!” From Easter day and on and for forty days until the feast of Christ’s Ascension, the Christians use only one greeting, and that is “Christ is risen! Christos anesti!”. So, this is how we are going to greet each other in these days.
  “Christ is risen!”. It is the most joyful message, as it confirms that Christ is indeed our God, who defeated death.
  “Christ is risen!”, it is the greatest joy, as it proclaims the victory against death.
  “Christ is risen!”, it is the most hopeful message, because as the death was defeated, we can be sure that the deceased are not lost forever but one day we will all be resurrected.
  “Christ is risen!”, the believers cannot stop saying it, chanting it, singing it!
  Who was the first to hear the message about Christ’s Resurrection? His faithful women followers, the myrrh-bearers. Let’s revise the progression of the facts.
  Our Lord Jesus was crucified and died on the cross on that Friday. Two of His disciples, not from the group of the twelve, Joseph and Nicodemus, asked for permission from Pilate to obtain Christ’s dead body. The permission was granted to them. With great respect and affection, they took Christ’s body down from the Cross, they wrapped Him in a clean sheet and laid Him down in a new tomb. Then they rolled a big rock to block the entrance to the tomb, which was a cave dug in a rock.
  These women were watching everything happening from a very close distance: Mary Magdalene, Mary Jacob’s wife, Joanna, Salome and more. These women never left Jesus’ side. They stayed there on Golgotha all the time and even when His body was placed in the tomb. After the disciples buried Him, these women went straight to buy the special perfumes to cover the body with them, as Jewish used to do. However, the following day was Saturday, meaning a very strict holiday for Jews. So, they had to hold back visiting Jesus’ tomb and visit it the day after.
  On the other side, Christ’s enemies, the high priests and the Pharisees turned up at Pilate and told him:
  -That deceiver said, while he was still alive, that three days after his death he will be resurrected. So, give an order for his tomb to be guarded for three days. We suspect that his disciples will steal his body and announce to the people that he was resurrected from the dead.
  -So, you have soldiers under your orders, Pilate told them, send some of them to guard the tomb.
  Indeed, they sent the guards straight away, because they were anxious. They also sealed the tomb using wax sealing, so it would be impossible for someone to open it. No point, though! As the sun was rising on Sunday early morning, the soldiers were just guarding an empty tomb! Christ was out of the tomb without anyone noticing at all! How did the guards realise? A strong earthquake took place and then an angel came down to earth. His eyes were shining like a lightning and his clothes were as bright white as the snow! He pushed the big rock, blocking the entrance to the tomb and everyone could see it was empty. The guards, scared to death, quickly ran away, went to the high priests and told them everything.
  You can understand how this shocked the high priests. They immediately called a meeting with the elders. But instead of confessing their mistake, instead of admitting that Christ crucified by them, defeated death, what did they do? They bribed the guard soldiers with large amounts of money, so they spread a lie.
  -Go and tell people that Jesus’ disciples came and stole his body during the night, while you were being asleep.
  But wouldn’t Pilate punish them, hearing that they fell asleep while being on duty? And then, how could they possibly have all fallen asleep at the same time and none of them realised what was happening? Also, how could they had seen the disciples stealing Jesus’ body, since they were sleeping?
  However, the high priests and the elders put the soldiers’ mind at ease and they took responsibility to persuade Pilate. The soldiers agreed to the deal, took the money and did exactly like Christ’s enemies told them to do.
  In the meantime, on Sunday morning, before even the sun was out, Christ’s women followers were walking towards His grave. They could not wait anymore. They wanted to return as soon as possible to their dearest Teacher and offer Him the myrrh, showing their love. On the way, they were talking about the insuperable difficulty they had to face: “Who is going to move for us the big rock that seals the grave?”.
  The rock was indeed very heavy. They saw how difficult was for Joseph and Nicodemus to roll it. How would they manage? It was impossible! What should they do though? Should they go back? Of course not! Their love for Christ encouraged them not to step back. Sufferings and difficulties cannot hinder love. They were determined to offer the myrrh to Christ and hurried to reach Him.
  They could have never imagined that they would find the rock pulled to the side and the grave to be open. They were looking with astonishment and some kind of fear. What happened? Maybe someone came and stole Jesus’ body? Was the hatred of his enemies that much, so they didn’t even show respect to Him being dead? They approached the grave and entered it. What did they see? A young man dressed in dazzling white clothes! They got amazed by seeing him.
  “Don’t be scared”, he said, “I know that you are looking for Jesus crucified. He is not here. He is risen, like he had said. There, see the place where His body was buried. Hurry and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead and He is waiting for them in Galilee. They will see Him there”.
  The myrrh bearers left the grave. They still felt a bit scared, but happy too! Who could describe their feelings? Someone stopped them. Greeted them with: “All hail! = Rejoice!”. Who was it? It was the resurrected Jesus himself! Now they became overjoyed! They saw in front of them their dearest Teacher! They fell on their knees and grovelled before Him with adoration and respect.
  “Don’t be afraid!”, they heard His sweet and familiar voice. “Go and tell the news to my brothers, so they come to Galilee and there they will see me”.
  The myrrh bearers went as fast as the wind! They were no longer walking, they were running. It was as if they grew wings to fly, to deliver the big news to the apostles, that Christ was risen!

With the joy of the Resurrection

  Such a great honour it was for these women to be the first to see Jesus risen! This was the way that our Lord wanted to award them for their great love to Him, because they didn’t mind the danger and exertion but were faithful and dedicated to Him till the end. That is why they were given the honour to see the resurrected Jesus first. They were the first to deliver the most joyful message that was ever heard before, that Christ was risen! He defeated death and by His victory, reassured all of us that He is the God we can trust on. If only we could love Christ as much as His women followers! Our hearts would overflow of happiness, just like the myrrh bearers’ hearts did! Τhen, we will be able to spread this joy to other people, the joy our Lord grants!

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