CHRIST IS RISEN!

CHRIST IS RISEN!

We thank God, who has made us worthy once again in our lives, to celebrate the Feast of Feasts, the most venerable Pascha, the Great and most Holy One! “This is the day of Resurrection; let us be radiant with the festival and let us embrace one another.” Let us joyfully accept one another with open arms and be united among ourselves. Let us drive out every sorrow that nests in our hearts so that within them may shine the light that today emanates from the empty Tomb of the crucified and risen Christ.

Life now takes on a new meaning! Human relationships find new hope! God reveals to humanity a new creation, a new way of being, and with His blood, the crucified Christ seals a New Covenant—the promise that God will never abandon humanity. “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” The tomb cannot contain the boundless love of God. Death, which is the absence of love, can no longer reign and dominate.

After the Resurrection of Jesus, we should not seek the meaning of life in things that decay. We must seek it through a living, loving relationship with Him who renews every human bond through His divine energy. In this way, we become torches of His light, which gathers everything—nations and societies—and brings together what has been scattered. Through the light of the Resurrection that radiates everywhere, the transcendent good, called beauty, is transmitted and calls everyone to partake in the beauty of God’s philanthropy. In this way, we will all acquire an innate and unified beauty that will brighten and beautify the world with joy and exultation.

Resurrection also brings a kind of upheaval! The Gospel readings tell us that the Myrrh-bearing Women, seeing the empty tomb, were filled with terror and amazement. The Disciples were in an upheaval and constantly ran to the tomb to verify the event. Afterwards, they remained gathered in the upper room with the doors locked “for fear of the Jews.” For many years, Christians endured many persecutions preaching to the world the Divinity and Resurrection of Jesus by those who “loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

Although the Resurrection proclaims the hopeful message of joy and love, it also reveals the difficulties that love entails. Active love requires labor and perseverance. True, practical love involves sacrifice, pain, patience, and ongoing forgiveness. It demands that we love people not as we imagine them, but as they truly are—with all their flaws, contradictions, and weaknesses. In love for the other, there is always the possibility and fear of rejection. This fear of rejection may trap us in a constant effort to protect ourselves from being potentially wounded. That’s why many choose to resist love rather than struggle to cultivate it through loving relationships. Many choose to hate and reject God—who is love—rather than surrender to His love. These people do not believe that anyone can love them—God or any human being. Thus, their soul remains disturbed and is in continuous conflict and turmoil with God, others, and even with themselves.

This year’s Pascha finds the world in turmoil. The uncertainty that has prevailed for years has deepened. Poverty and hardships have increased. Families are falling apart. Despair is spreading, and people, out of fear and lack of trust, are becoming isolated. Violence and aggression is multiplying. Societies are being disorganized. In our neighboring countries, where various uprisings occur, fanatic non-Christians are killing Christians. Elsewhere, Christians are fighting and destroying the property and lives of their fellow believers. All this expresses a deep collapse of humanity’s will and ability to live in accordance with the peace and love of the Risen Christ.

Seeing this disorder and upheaval, let our faith not be shaken! Let us be absolutely certain that with the Resurrection “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Every difficulty and disorder should drive us to align our lives more deeply with the faith and love of God. “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome.” May the Risen Christ go before us in our lives. With this faith and certainty, singing “Christ is Risen!”, let us proclaim, “Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered; let those who hate Him flee from before His face.” Let God arise, let the Lord make His presence and power felt, and His enemies shall be scattered. All who hate Him will flee in panic before Him. For He is our life, our peace, and our resurrection.

We wish that the unwaning light of the Resurrection may shine in our hearts, illuminate the world, and drive out all personal, social, and worldly darkness. May the Risen Lord grant us His joy and peace—the gifts of the Resurrection that He gave to the wounded Myrrh-bearing Women and to His frightened Disciples and Apostles. May His grace work within us unceasingly, providing the certainty of His presence in our personal lives and in the broader social reality.

†Kyrillos, Metropolitan of Rhodes
and President of the Patriarchal Network
PASCHA 2025

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