The Sunday of the resurrection

The archangel went with a multitude of heavenly soldiers to the shepherds (Luke 2:13) to announce to them the birth of the Savior, who is the Lord Christ, to transform the earth into heaven. A multitude of heavenly soldiers accompanied the Lord’s descent into hell to proclaim the spirits in prison, transforming hell into paradise in the presence of the crucified Jesus (1 Peter 3:19). The angels also accompanied the atmosphere of His resurrection (John 20:12).
Just as His birth was unexpected by the Jews in its simplicity, message, and witnesses, His resurrection was a joyful surprise to the disciples, a shock to the Pharisees, and a strange occurrence to the nations (Acts 17:32).
Just as all Jerusalem was troubled at His birth (Matt 2:3), so too was shaken at His death (Matt 27:51) and resurrection (Matt 28:2).
Just as the elders and leaders of the people examined the reality of His birth (Matthew 2:4), they also consulted in denying the reality of His resurrection (Matthew 28:12).
And as they stumbled in understanding the mystery of His birth and upbringing (Mark 6:3), they also stumbled in understanding His death and resurrection (John 7:35).
They did not know that He came forth from the Father – He made Himself of no reputation – in His incarnation and birth (John 16:28) and was going to the Father – in the human body – after His resurrection (John 16:28), (Mark 16:19).
Just as Isaiah testified to the fullness of time in His birth (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6), he also clearly testified to the reality of His death and resurrection (Isaiah 53:9-11).
As the Psalms pointed to His birth and coming in the flesh (Psalm 50:2, 3, 23), they also pointed to His holy resurrection (Acts 2:31).
Just as His birth was under the law (Galatians 4:4), so His resurrection was according to the law (Mark 12:26), (Luke 24:44).
Just as His birth was at the fullness of time and the completion of days (Galatians 4:4), so was His resurrection after the completion of days for His exaltation (Luke 9:51).
Those who came at night saw Him at His birth (Luke 2:8), and those who went to His tomb in the darkness (John 20:1) enjoyed seeing Him at His resurrection.
Those who came from afar and endured all hardships to worship Him at His birth (Matthew 2:1), and those who overcame all difficulties were sanctified by touching His feet after His resurrection (Matthew 28:9).
Those who bought expensive gifts for His birth (Matt 2:11) and those who carried expensive fragrant oils for His burial (Mark 16:1), (John 19:39)
The small towns became glorified by His birth (Matt 2:6) and the humble souls were glorified by His resurrection (Mark 16:8)
He who had no place for His birth (Luke 2:7) and a man donated a place for His burial (Matt 27:60)
He came out of a semi-cave – as found in the ancient Coptic monasteries – in His birth (Luke 2:7) and penetrated the stone of the cave of His tomb in His resurrection (Mark 16:6).
The swaddling cloths accompanied His birth (Luke 2:7) and declared the truth of His resurrection (John 20:6, 7).
Just as the shepherds returned to the place of His birth after the heavens informed them of the truth of His birth (Luke 2:20), so did the disciples of Emmaus return to the disciples after the Lord informed them of the truth of His resurrection (Luke 24:33).
Just as speed and eagerness were part of those who came to Him at His birth (Luke 2:16), so too were those who came to Him after His resurrection (Matthew 28:8).
Just as these witnessed His birth (Luke 2:18), so did those witness His resurrection (Matthew 28:7).
And how amazed were those who witnessed His birth (Luke 2:18) and those who witnessed His resurrection (Luke 24:12).
Soldiers went to search for the place of His birth to kill Him (Matthew 2:16) and other soldiers fled from the place of His resurrection to deny Him (Matthew 28:11-15).
Just as there was false longing to see Him from Herod at the time of His birth (Matthew 2:8), so too was there false longing to see Him from another Herod at the time of His death and resurrection (Luke 23:8-11)
But as King Herod translated his birth time to evil (Matthew 2:7), so did the Jewish leaders translate the time of His resurrection to evil (Matthew 27:63).
And just as the star was a sign of His birthplace (Matthew 2:9), so the star became an announcement of the true glory of His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:41, 42).
And the angel said to Joseph, “Go from here” (Matthew 2:13), and the angel said to the women, “He is not here” (Matthew 28:6).
Joseph the carpenter safeguarded the dignity that was manifested in His birth (Matthew 1:24), and Joseph of Arimathea safeguarded the dignity of His body in His burial (Matthew 27:59, 60).
Just as divine providence was concerned with a righteous man caring for the mother of God after the birth of Her beloved Son (Matthew 1:24), so the Son of God was concerned on the cross with a righteous disciple caring for His mother after His death and resurrection (John 19:27).
Just as Egypt was a refuge for His childhood after His birth (Matthew 2:13-15), so it was a symbol of His resurrection in the Passover Lamb (Revelation 11:8).
Just as Jerusalem was a place of arrival and departure for the nations to the Son of God in his birth (Matt 2:1), so Jerusalem also became a place and refuge for the return of the Jews to him after his resurrection (Luke 24:33).
Just as the wealth of the world submitted to him in his birth (Matt 2:11), so also his death embraced until his resurrection (John 19:39, 40).
Just as he was a king in his birth (Matt 2:2), he was also a king in his death (John 19:19) and a king in his resurrection (Rom 14:9), (Eph 1:20, 21).
Just as He was called a firstborn in His birth (Heb 1:25), so He was also called a firstborn in His resurrection (Col 1:18).
And as we took Him (through our Virgin Mother, the Mother of God) to the temple of the earth after forty days of His birth to offer the sacrifice of redemption of the firstborn (Luke 2:22), so also after forty days of His resurrection, we took Him also to the temple of heaven, presenting the firstfruits of our nature to the Father (Mark 16:19).
And He said that He came down from heaven in His birth and coming to the world (John 6:42) and returned to heaven after His resurrection (Acts 1:11).
Pleasure became the portion of humanity at His birth (Luke 2:10) and happiness flooded souls at His resurrection (John 20:20).
The angel’s message to the shepherds at His birth was “Do not be afraid” (Luke 2:10) at a time when the king was troubled (Matthew 2:3), and also the angel’s message to the women at the resurrection was “Do not be afraid” (Matthew 28:5) at a time when the guards trembled (Matthew 28:4).
His incarnation and birth marked the beginning of humanity being filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35, 41), and His resurrection became the preparation and gateway for the filling of the Holy Spirit for all believers (John 7:39), (Acts 2:4), (Acts 4:31).
The announcement of the birth was made through a woman (the Mother of God) before a man (Luke 1:31), and the announcement of the resurrection was also made to a woman (Mary Magdalene) before the apostles (John 20:17).
The Lord called shepherds to rejoice at His birth (Luke 2:10), and He called His disciples to tend to His sheep in the joy of His resurrection (John 21:15).
Glory was revealed in His birth (Luke 2:14) and in His resurrection (Mark 16:17-19).
The holy fear became a companion of His birth (Luke 2:9) as it was a companion of His resurrection (Mark 16:8).
The world was in awe of His birth (Matthew 2:3) as it was of His resurrection (Matthew 28:4).
Finally, he announced by His birth and coming, His light to the world (Matthew 4:16) and left His light to the world by His resurrection (Acts 26:23).
He – all glory be to Him – was born to die (John 12:27) and died to rise and establish us with Him and in Him (Hebrews 5:7), (Ephesians 2:6) and rose from the dead to give us new birth and make us children of Him (Galatians 4:5).

Christ is risen…

All contradictions came together from the alliance of hostile rulers (Luke 23:12) and the wickedness of the chief priests and leaders of the people (John 19:12) and the frenzy of the forces of darkness (Luke 22:53) and the confusion of the people about their savior (Luke 23:21-23) melted in the divine economy to find itself a servant to His holy death and resurrection.

And so, God’s economy rose and encompassed all that humans do, so that the Day of Resurrection becomes an announcement of the third day, which is the day of God when His glory, power, and authority are revealed after the forces of darkness believed that the first and second days were the fate and end of humanity. Therefore, the Resurrection came to reveal the new day and the new man in Christ.

The first day is the day of the apparent victory of evil, and the second day is the day of the silence of heaven in the eyes of humans (strategically), and the third day is the day of the announcement of the divine economy hidden from humans on the second day and the declaration of the end of the rule of darkness on the first day.

In other words, the first day is the belief of the Jewish leaders and those with them from the Jews and the Romans that the story ends with the crucifixion of the Lord and their certainty that they have rid themselves of Him forever. This is always the belief of the wicked when their efforts succeed against the church or against the children of God (temporarily).

The second day is when the Lord went to hell (the night of Apocalypse) and took all the righteous to open the gates of paradise and the gates of bliss for them. There was great joy for all the souls imprisoned in hell (1 Peter 3:19). But at the same time, all this great divine work was hidden from the eyes of the apostles and the believers on earth, and they did not realize it until the third day after His holy resurrection.

And so the resurrection became our third day that we live every day and every moment, through which we see what the world presents to us on the first day of pain, conspiracies, and death as our salvation path. We experience how the risen One turns our shame into glory (Philippians 3:13) and our despair into joy (Luke 24:17, 21).

The resurrection became our third day through which we realize divine economy on the second day, even if hidden from human eyes, giving us hope to pass through daily depression, confusion, persecution, and distress, thanks to the light of His resurrection that always shines in our hearts (2 Corinthians 4:6-11).

That our third day in the risen Christ from among the dead has become the spiritual eye through which we see our first day and know that it came with the counsel of God and His prior knowledge (Acts 2:23), and through it we see our second day and are convinced that God in it will do more than we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).
This – the third day – is the day that the Lord has made for us to rejoice and exult in it, so the liturgy and Eucharist have become the entry of the third day into our daily reality, and whenever the world presents to us the first day of death, burial, and the alliance of the forces of darkness against the children of God, they turn to the place of rest and the source of rest (Matt 11:28), (Luke 22:11) according to the Coptic translation “The teacher says to you, where is my resting place” (Hebrew 4:11) so they come out of the church and the liturgy as witnesses to His resurrection [In your death, O Lord, we proclaim and in your holy resurrection…] and they present to the world their third day, which is the radiance of their perpetual joy in His holy resurrection.

Let us rejoice today in the One who rose and established us with Him and made all our days the third day (Luke 19:11), (John 6:2) and all our times times of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2) and our years the new year of the Lord (Luke 4:19).

The explanation of the readings

If the readings of the fifty Holy Days all speak of new life, new creation, and the promised land (the dwelling of the Trinity in the new man), then the Resurrection shows us the source of the new life, our Lord Jesus Christ, the firstborn of all creation. Christ is not a created being as the heretic Arius claimed, but rather the firstborn of the new creation, renewing the nature of humanity corrupted by sin through the body He received from the Mother of God. Through His death and resurrection, He made this body the firstfruits of the new creation, and Christ, in His resurrection, became the firstborn among many brethren. Through His holy resurrection, He became the foundation and source of resurrection for every soul in the New Covenant, from the death of sin to the attainment of the first resurrection through the resurrection of Christ.

So the readings for Resurrection Sunday speak of the Risen Son as the firstborn of all creation.

The significance of the church’s selection of prophecies for Easter:

Our holy church has chosen a selection of prophecies from various books of the Old Testament to proclaim to us the blessings of salvation that we have received from the death and glorious resurrection of Christ, and His ascension to heaven in the flesh. Therefore, we find the prophecies of Easter night about these salvific events gathered, which ultimately lead to the salvation of humanity, the renewal of its nature, and the attainment of glory in Christ. Therefore, the prophecies of this night speak of the cross, resurrection, ascension, salvation of the nations, and the birth of the New Testament church.

Therefore, the prophecies of the resurrection begin with the book of Deuteronomy, which refers to the Trinity’s economy for salvation and divine power (Deut 32: 39-43). (“There is no god with me.” This phrase refers to God as a Trinity. (Hilary of Poitiers – On the Trinity – 5-36.37). [God revives all dead. (Aphrahat). [3]
The prophecy of Isaiah speaks of the manifestation of the glory of God through the cross and resurrection, and the glory that the new man received in Christ (Isaiah 60:1-8). The glory of God has shone on earth; and He has shared it with us in glory, elevating our nature to become like His nature. (St. Cyril) This glory surpasses in splendor the glory of even the greatest kings. (St. Ambrose) Isaiah speaks of those who will rise high like clouds, resisting sin and its evil powers, those who cannot be touched by any force as long as their faith elevates them above those powers. (St. Gregory of Nyssa)
The second prophecy from Isaiah also confirms the Trinity’s economy for salvation, the glory of the nations in the New Covenant, and God’s patience in His sufferings, which declared His justice and compassion, as Saint Augustine said (Isaiah 42:5-17):
“The Son and the Holy Spirit are with the Father, as one God – all working to plan our salvation” (Saint Ambrose).
“The new spiritual beginning has the right to sing a new song” (Origen).
“The most deserving to sing this song are the children of the nations, as they have long been in bondage” (St. Ephrem the Syrian).
“God’s patience is His justice enclosed in His compassion” (Saint Augustine).
“As He willed, He subjected Himself to the humiliation of torture and even death” (Saint Alexander).
In the third prophecy of Isaiah, the fathers clarify the birth of the New Covenant Church after Christ, who removed the grip of Satan by the power of His death and resurrection (Isaiah 49:13-23).
“Zion for Christians, which is Jerusalem, serves as an example of various things: the place of Christ’s sufferings, the gathering place of believers, the angelic covenant, and the heavenly city” (St. Jerome).
“The blood of Christ has washed away all sins for all peoples” (St. Ambrose).
“And He made the Church pure and white, so that all who live in it may wear a shining garment” (St. Jerome).
“Christ has removed Satan’s grip on humanity with His mighty power” (St. Cyril).
The prophecy of Jeremiah tells how our sorrow turns into joy through the redemption of Christ, glory be to Him (Jeremiah 31:23-28). We purify ourselves with our tears for our sins. In response to that sorrow, God promises us mercy. Jesus was saddened not by a sin He committed, for He was without sin, but He was saddened by the sins we carry, even unto death, so that we may turn our sorrow into joy. (St. Ambrose)
Habakkuk’s prophecy speaks of how the Lord quenched hell with His cross and filled the Church with praise (Hab 3:2-19). The glory of the Lord refers to His glorious ascension; this fills the Church with praise] (St. Augustine). Christ is symbolically represented as an ox, the son of the cross, of which the prophet said that the rays of light emanate from it. The cross of Christ sent forth a burning flame of fire, the one that extinguished the flames of hell] (St. Jerome). God’s rising to measure the earth is a sign of Christ’s crucifixion. The cracking of the mountains and hills on which the altars of idols were erected is a symbol of Christ’s victory over the demons] (THEODORET) [8]
In his commentary on this prophecy, St. Cyril of Jerusalem explained the purpose of the Messiah’s mission to save all, Jews and Gentiles, in Christ Jesus (Zech 2:10-13). “God promised to send the Messiah to Jews and Gentiles; and because His word is true, He has fulfilled it in Christ.” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem)[9]

The psalm of Matins

The Psalm speaks of mankind’s sleep and drunkenness with sin in the Old Testament, and the Lord’s likeness to us in all things except sin, so He said that “Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.” (Psalms 78:65)

He was not asleep like mankind, nor did the wine of sin approach Him, but He took the likeness of the body of sin (Ro 8: 3), and rose in this body as the firstfruits of all mankind, and with this resurrection He built His holy church (His body), i.e. all those who believe in Him from all nations, and established them forever (Ps 57:60), and “built like a unicorn His holy place and established it on the earth forever.” (Ps 57:60).

The psalm also refers to the power of the resurrection, about which the late Abouna Bishoy Kamel said:

[It is an intrinsic power in the Lord Jesus, who cannot be overcome by death.

It is a power in the lives of those who died with Christ.

The women thought that the large stone would be an obstacle to the resurrection, but no power in the world can stand in front of the power of the resurrection.

The resurrection is a force in the life of every repentant person who returns to God.

The resurrection renewed the faith of Thomas, who had fallen into doubt, and the resurrection renewed the love of Peter, who had denied, cursed and insulted.”[10]

The gospel of Matins

In the Gospel of Matins, he speaks about the fate of the Old Testament man and his natural end “they came to the tomb” and about the New Testament man and his holy resurrection “He is risen, He is not here” Not only Him, but all those in the graves of sin have been granted eternal life, and this is the good news for all who mourn: “She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.” (Mark 16: 10).

Pauline Epistle

Paul speaks of Christ as the firstfruits and the basis of all resurrection in the New Testament: “But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” (1Cor 15:23).

Resurrection is the foundation of faith, life, and ministry. If there is no resurrection of the dead, faith is futile and life is futile: ” Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”(1Cor 15:32). Ministry is meaningless because it is not based on the act of resurrection.

Therefore, Paul emphasizes that the new Adam is the source of life: ” And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.” (1Cor 15:45-48).

Catholic Epistle

It speaks of the vicarious Son who opened the way to the Father through His death and resurrection, ” For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,” (1 Pet 3:18).

And about the New Testament baptism, the Ark of Salvation, in which we receive the act of Christ’s death and resurrection “There is also an antitype which now saves us–baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” (1 Pet 3:21).

Praxis

It talks about how Christ’s death is in the Father’s economy for the salvation of mankind and that death and corruption cannot hold Him, but He is the One who will give life and nullify corruption for everyone who believes in Him, “whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.” (Acts 2:23, 24) “For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” (Acts 2:27).

The Liturgy psalm

It declares that this day, the day of salvation, is the one that all mankind awaits and longs for: “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.). Hallelujah” (Ps 118:24, 25, 27).

The liturgy gospel

It declares that the resurrection is the subject of the whole book and the goal of the prophecies: “and he saw and believed.For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.” (John 20:8,9).

His resurrection is also the door to our ascension in Him and in Him to the Father, and man in Christ receives permanent communion with the Father: ” go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God. ” (John 20:17).

[Note on today’s rite: The history of the resurrection drama: Abouna Yassa Abdul-Masih says: closing the temple door and what the psalmist says, to which the priests inside respond, “Christ is risen. Open, O kings, your doors” is not found in the ancient books, nor is turning off the lights.”[11]

The summary of the explanation

(The Firstborn of All Creation)

Tonight’s prophecies speak of the cross, the resurrection and ascension, the salvation of the gentiles, and the birth of the New Testament Church.
The Lord took the likeness of the body of sin and made it the firstborn of the new creation, and with it He established His Church, the members of His body. (Psalm of Matins ).
The Son of Man freed mankind from the death of the grave by His resurrection and preached the joy of the resurrection to all believers. (Matins Bible).
The New Adam is the source of life. (Pauline Epistle).
The Son opened the way to the Father through His death and resurrection, and this gift was revealed to us in baptism, the ark of salvation (Catholic Epistle).
Christ’s resurrection is in the Father’s economy and foreknowledge, and neither death nor corruption can approach Him. (Catholic Epistle).
The day of Christ’s resurrection is mankind’s hope and the end of its waiting. (Psalm of the Liturgy).
The resurrection is the theme of the whole Bible and the end of prophecies. (Gospel of the Liturgy).
The resurrection is the door to our ascension in Christ and in Him to the Father (Gospel of the Liturgy).