Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!

The feast of feasts is upon us, and we are called to enter into the joy of our Lord. For Christ, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame” has conquered death, having set the captives free and destroyed sin and hell on our behalf (Hebrews 12:2). We are called to rejoice, for out of sorrow is born joy. We are called to feast, for out of fasting is born feasting. We are called to die, for out of death is born life.

However, it seems to me that this period of Paschal light and celebration can be darkened by the pain an d suffering we see in our lives. I remember the bombings in the Coptic Orthodox churches on Palm Sunday and feel sorrow. I remember the sufferings of refugees, victims of school shootings, those in poverty, and all who face similar dire circumstances and participate in their weeping. I see my own sins and the work needed in my life and feel shame.

How then do we respond to such things? What are we to do in light of the Resurrection of our Lord?

In order to get a good sense of the answer to such questions, I think one must look at the entirety of the services and experiences in Holy Week. In Holy Week, we participate both in the sorrow, betrayal, and defeat of Christ as well as in His joy, fellowship, and conquering of death. There is a sense in which the Resurrection cannot be understood without the Cross, and the Cross cannot be understood without the Resurrection. For many of us, we experience our crosses more often than our resurrections. We see the pain, injustice, and dreariness of life and are, at times, unable to see beyond this to the Light, Who is Christ Himself. But in and through this pain, there is a movement towards Christ. For Christ, having borne the totality of both physical and psychological pain, is victorious through it, thereby redeeming all human suffering. This pain can sanctify us, if only we let it. And, by participating in the pain and shame of Christ, we also participate in His Resurrection, through which our hearts and minds are raised up out of sin, darkness, and delusion and into the “Light that is never overtaken by night.”

And this is the life and call of the devout Christian: to not be overtaken by darkness, but rather to let the light of Christ shine in our lives so that we too are resurrected with Him in glory. May God grant us this by His grace.