Dearly Beloved,

We have reached the goal of our Lenten and Holy Week journey. Today we approach the tomb of our Lord and Savior and, like the women in the Gospel, we find it empty. Only an angel is present, a messenger of God, telling us: "He is not here. He has risen." This is a simple message, a few words, yet one that not only transformed the disciples, but transformed the world. The Jesus Christ Who was born in Bethlehem of Mary, had lived among his people, taught them with great authority, healed their ailments, forgave their sins so that they would experience the love of God the Father, and yet was rejected by these same people and suffered a most horrible death on the cross and buried in a borrowed tomb had risen from the dead. As St. Gregory the Theologian states so profoundly, “We needed an incarnate God, a God put to death, that we might live. We were put to death together with Him that we might be cleansed. We rose again with Him because we were put to death with Him. We were glorified with Him because we rose again with Him.” (St. Gregory the Theologian, Easter Oration)

Our proclamation of the resurrected Christ is the core of our Christian Orthodox Faith. As St. Paul said to the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Every tenet of Orthodox Christianity must revert back to our faith in Jesus Christ and his triumph over death, from our understanding of God as Trinity and Jesus as the Son of God to our understanding of the Church and how we are to live as Christians today. All these and more begin in the experience and witness of the disciples of the Risen Lord. This is the apostolic faith we maintain and proclaim.

Proclaiming Christ is at the heart of our Church and the life of our community. Everything we do as a Church must reflect Jesus Christ, His life, His teachings, His care for humanity, and His death and resurrection. Our communal and personal behavior must be consistent with our words and claims to be followers of Christ. Our liturgical life is focused on Christ. Our educational and philanthropic life must reflect Christ.  Our outreach and evangelism must proclaim Christ. As St. Peter wrote so many centuries ago to Christians who did not know Jesus as Peter knew him, “Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy.” (1 Peter 1:8). And yet we have seen Christ's Resurrection. We hear the Good News and we are there at the empty tomb. We have become witnesses of the Risen Christ and have put our trust in Him and His teaching.

And for this reason, our Paschal season is filled with baptismal references, reminding us of the commitment we made to Christ at our own baptism. The candles we hold at Pascha and for the next forty days are the same candles that were held at our baptism. Then and now, we made a commitment to following and proclaiming the light of Christ in a world filled with darkness. This is why St. Paul could tell the Christians in Ephesus, “Now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8).

We proclaim the Resurrection of Christ in the safety of our country. Our Church lives in freedom. But for countless Orthodox Christians in the world, raising their Paschal candles, proclaiming their faith in Jesus Christ and participating in the life of the Church- indeed, even just attending – is filled with risk and mortal danger. These are today's martyrs, holding up the light of their faith in places that seek to extinguish it. These are the new saints, witnesses for their faith, willing to accept their fate, while still striving for peace and understanding with those who do not believe. In these days of celebration, remember your brothers and sisters who live under these conditions. Pray for them as St. Paul prayed, “Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13).

And so when you gather with family and friends, share your faith as well as your hospitality. Share the joy that the Good News of the Resurrection brings to the world and cry out to all, without fear or hesitation:

Christ Is Risen! Truly He Is Risen!

With Love in Our Resurrected Lord,
+  G E R A S I M O S
Metropolitan of San Francisco