All Things New in the Resurrection

Good Morning & Praise The Lord!

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Good morning, and praise the Lord! Today is Thursday May 16, 2024

Theodoros the Sanctified

This Saint, who was born in the Upper Thebaid of Christian parents, joined the community of Saint Pachomios at about the age of fourteen years, and became the greatest of his disciples. Because of Theodore's utter humility and unquestioning obedience, Pachomios called him more and more to his aid in governing the monasteries he had established. Although some found fault with this, because Theodore was younger than they, Pachomios continued to put his confidence in him, to such a degree that once he told the brotherhood, "Theodore and I fulfil the same service for God; and he also has the authority to give commands as father." Pachomios was succeeded as governor of the monks by Saint Orsiesius in 346, and Orsiesius later took Theodore as his fellow abbot. At Theodore's death in the year 368, the monks mourned him so bitterly that the sound of their crying was heard on the other side of the river.

All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us.

Lord, forgive our sins.

Master, pardon our transgressions.

Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Your name's sake.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Acts of the Apostles 4:23-31

In those days, when the apostles were released they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who by the mouth of our father David, thy servant, didst say by the Holy Spirit, 'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth set themselves in array, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed'- for truly in this city there were gathered together against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever thy hand and thy plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of thy holy servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

The Gospel According to John 5:24-30

The Lord said to the Jews who came to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of the Father who sent me."

Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, present everywhere and filling all things, treasury of blessings and giver of life, come and abide in us.

Cleanse us from every stain and save our souls, gracious Lord.

All Things New in the Resurrection

Father Stanley S. Harakas

The Resurrection of Christ is the one of the most important and central aspects of our Orthodox Christian faith.

In three of the Gospels, an event is described in which Jesus Himself was challenged by the leading Sadducees, who rejected belief in the resurrection. Jesus countered their denials with an affirmation of resurrection (Mark 12:18-27); Matthew 22:23-33; Luke 20:27-40), saying “You are quite wrong!” (Mark 12:27).

In John 5:29 Christ taught that “those who have done good, (will come) to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. Elsewhere He declared, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).

So, on the third day after His Crucifixion and death, Jesus Himself became the victor over death, sin, evil and the Devil, by conquering death through His Resurrection. The biblical words are still powerful and striking: “He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you" (Matthew 28:6-7). It was the first sermon of the Church –“He has risen from the dead!”

Later, when Judas had to be replaced among the Twelve Apostles, one of the conditions of his replacement was that the candidate “must become with us a witness to His resurrection" (Acts 1:22). At Pentecost, St. Peter proclaimed the Resurrection of Christ: “This Jesus, God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses” (Acts 2:32). The Apostles began their preaching by “proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:2). We learn that the preaching on the central importance of Christ’s Resurrection continued in the Church: “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33).

In Saint Paul’s apostolic ministry, the Resurrection of Christ was central. In describing his message to the Christians in Rome, of greatest significance was his preaching of Christ, who was the “Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:4).

When some of the Christians in Corinth raised doubts about the resurrection of the dead, St. Paul responded with a vehement argument:

“Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).

So it is, that St. Peter declared this core affirmation of the Christian faith when he wrote “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

In our Orthodox Church, the Resurrection of Christ is central, especially in worship. Every Sunday is a little Pascha, commemorating Christ’s Resurrection. At Pascha, we read St. John Chrysostom’s Easter Sermon where it is proclaimed, “O death, where is your sting? O Hades where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are annihilated. . . . Christ is risen, and life is liberated . . . for Christ having risen from the dead, has become the first fruits of those who fall asleep.”

Brothers and sisters! Christ is Risen! Truly, He is Risen!

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.