My beloved spiritual children in Our Risen Lord and Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!
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THE HOLY APOSTLE THOMAS (Part II)
On the Sunday of Thomas, the Second Sunday of Pascha, we celebrate the Antipascha, that is to say, the rededication of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and also commemorate the event of the Holy Apostle Thomas' touching the wounds of the Lord. Antipascha (the Greek prefix, anti, means "in place of")--that is the renewal of Pascha.
"Peace be with you," says Jesus to His Disciples. He reveals to them and to us that the Cross has ushered in peace: "The Cross has brought peace: now I send you forth to proclaim it." To strengthen and embolden the Disciples, He declares, "As My Father hath sent Me, even so, send I you. It is My work you have undertaken, so do it boldly: I will be with you." Behold the authority of His command: "It is I Who sends you (΄Εγώ πέμπω υμάς)." No longer does He condescend to the limitations of their understanding, saying as He often did before the Resurrection, "I will ask My Father and He will send you." Now He breathes on them and gives them the Holy Spirit--but not the entirety of the gift He would bestow at Pentecost. "Receive ye the Holy Spirit, means, "Let this partial bestowal of grace make you ready to receive later the fullness of the Holy Spirit." The words,"Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them", indicate the particular gift He gives the Disciples now: power to forgive sins. Later, on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit Himself would descend in all His Might, lavishing upon the Apostle every spiritual gift and power to work wondrous deeds, such as raising the dead.
This commemoration is due to the ancient tradition of rededicating important events. As a year would pass and the date of such an event would arrive, a commemoration was made so that the date of such an event would not be forgotten. This is why the Israelites celebrated the Passover at Gilgal, to commemorate the passing through the Red Sea. They also commemorated the consecration of the Tabernacle of Witness that was in the wilderness and many other holy events.
Since the Resurrection of our Lord is the greatest and most important event and beyond all thought, it is rededicated not only once a year, but also on every "eighth" day. The first rededication of the Resurrection was this past Sunday, the Sunday of Thomas, for it is truly both the "eighth" day and the "first." It is the eighth day after Pascha, and the first day, because it prefigures the unending day of the future age to come, which will be truly the “first”day and a day that is not divided by a single night. This is why this Sunday, the Sunday of Thomas, is called the Antipascha, which interpreted means "In the place of Pascha." We should also know that due to the honor given Sunday by the Lord's Resurrection, the Holy Apostles transferred the weekly day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) to this most honored day. Saint Gregory the Theologian writes, "The law of honoring the day of renewal is ancient and of good intent; or it would be better to say, to honor with the day of renewal a new act of goodness. But was not the first day of Resurrection, the Sunday which followed the holy and light-bearing night, the day of renewal? Why is that name given to the present day? That day was the day of salvation, and this day is the day of remembrance of salvation" (Homily 44, on the Sunday of Renewal).
The third appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ was at the Sea of Tiberias during the catching of the fish where He even ate a meal of broiled fish and honeycomb; this particular food, as He alone knew, was consumed by the Divine Fire. This event gave further proof of the Resurrection of the body - not only His, but ours in the Age to come. After this, He revealed Himself on the road to Emmaus. The fifth time He appeared was in Galilee to the elven, as it is written. From the Resurrection until His Ascension, He worked before His Disciples many signs that surpassed all nature. However, He did not reveal all these signs to very many, for it was impossible for men yet living in this world to hear such inexpressible wonders (thavmata).
The miracles before the Passion were performed in the presence of the multitude of people and revealed Jesus to all as the Son of God. The miracles after the Resurrection were performed while He was alone with His Disciples during the forty days: their purpose was to reassure them that He was still the Son of man, with human body, albeit one now incorruptible, more Godlike, and no longer subject to the laws of the flesh. Of the many miracles after the Resurrection, only these are written. They are not described ostentatiously, to vaunt the glory of the Only-begotten, but simply, as the Evangelist says--"that ye might believe". So what is the profit here, and to whom does it accrue? Certainly not to Christ, for what does He gain by our belief? It is we who gain. The Evangelist himself tells us that he wrote so that believing ye might have life through Jesus' name. When we believe that Jesus rose from the dead and lives, we win for ourselves Eternal Life. He arose and is alive, for our sake. But whoever imagines that Christ is dead and did not rise from the grave has no life in Him. Indeed, by thinking this he confirms and ensures his own eternal death and corruption.
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"-- Saint John Chrysostom
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With sincere agape in HIs Holy and Glorious Resurrection,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!