Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Bright Monday, Bright Tuesday

Christ is risen from the dead
By His death, He trampled death
And to those in the graves He granted life!

source: comeandseeicons.com

Easter continues until Pentecost, so we continue to sing Christ is risen throughout the Divine Liturgy. We continue to greet each other with Christ is risen- indeed He is risen. We have fasted for 40 days, so the Church balances that with feasting for at least an equal amount. The Great Fast and the Easter season are the most important moments of the Christian's life as a 'spiritual seesaw.' 

The Byzantine spiritual life is always mixed with joy and sadness- we continue to sing Alleluia during the Great Fast, we dwell on His death even while we are singing of His resurrection, we celebrate the triumph of the cross during fast time, His shroud is decorated with flowers. I suppose we do this because to completely focus on one aspect would be too sad. Whenever we look at the crucifix, we must remember the resurrection because that is the 'happy ending' that we all aspire to. To fully appreciate the Risen Lord and what He did for us, however, we must commemorate His death as well.

2 comments:

  1. there is no resurrection without death ... and you're right, it is a spiritual "see-saw" which is also a spiritual reflection of life in general.

    ReplyDelete

thanks for commenting! (comments on old posts are moderated)