Posted on 04/08/2006 7:12:48 AM PDT by DouglasKC
God bless you for posting this, Doug.
Thank you for asking God to bless me! I hope you enjoyed the article.
Ignorance expounded at length.
How so?
| Reading | From a homily by Saint Gregory Nazianzen |
|---|---|
| We are soon going to share in the Passover | |
| We are soon going to share in the Passover, and although we still do so only in a symbolic way, the symbolism already has more clarity than it possessed in former times because, under the law, the Passover was, if I may dare to say so, only a symbol of a symbol. Before long, however, when the Word drinks the new wine with us in the kingdom of his Father, we shall be keeping the Passover in a yet more perfect way, and with deeper understanding. He will then reveal to us and make clear what he has so far only partially disclosed. For this wine, so familiar to us now, is eternally new. It is for us to learn what this drinking is, and for him to teach us. He has to communicate this knowledge to his disciples, because teaching is food, even for the teacher. So let us take our part in the Passover prescribed by the law, not in a literal way, but according to the teaching of the Gospel; not in an imperfect way, but perfectly; not only for a time, but eternally. Let us regard as our home the heavenly Jerusalem, not the earthly one; the city glorified by angels, not the one laid waste by armies. We are not required to sacrifice young bulls or rams, beasts with horns and hoofs that are more dead than alive and devoid of feeling; but instead, let us join the choirs of angels in offering God upon his heavenly altar a sacrifice of praise. We must now pass through the first veil and approach the second, turning our eyes toward the Holy of Holies. I will say more: we must sacrifice ourselves to God, each day and in everything we do, accepting all that happens to us for the sake of the Word, imitating his passion by our sufferings, and honouring his blood by shedding our own. We must be ready to be crucified. If you are a Simon of Cyrene, take up your cross and follow Christ. If you are crucified beside him like one of the thieves, now, like the good thief, acknowledge your God. For your sake, and because of your sin, Christ himself was regarded as a sinner; for his sake, therefore, you must cease to sin. Worship him who was hung on the cross because of you, even if you are hanging there yourself. Derive some benefit from the very shame; purchase salvation with your death. Enter paradise with Jesus, and discover how far you have fallen. Contemplate the glories there, and leave the other scoffing thief to die outside in his blasphemy. If you are a Joseph of Arimathea, go to the one who ordered his crucifixion, and ask for Christ’s body. Make your own the expiation for the sins of the whole world. If you are a Nicodemus, like the man who worshipped God by night, bring spices and prepare Christ’s body for burial. If you are one of the Marys, or Salome, or Joanna, weep in the early morning. Be the first to see the stone rolled back, and even the angels perhaps, and Jesus himself. |
|
I wear my funny hat on *every* spring, summer, and early fall Sunday, changing the artificial flowers to match my outfit. (My children pretend they don't know me ...)
I don't disagree with much that homily. Thanks for posting it. However, there is a huge difference between celebrating Passover in a new testament context as opposed to celebrating a holiday that has clear pagan origins and that our saviour none of his followers celebrated. History is clear as to it's origins.
Thank you for the recommendation....I had never heard of it. A quick search revealed it is available to read, free on line:
I'll be perusing it over the next few days...thanks!
Easter is the Pasch, anniversary of Jesus' resurrection.
It has always been kept by Christians.
All the other stuff came later.
It's only in English that you could even begin to make this claim because only in English is the name a seasonal name instead of the Pasch.
Easter bunnies aren't easter.
The Empty Tomb is.
Easter eggs aren't easter.
The Resurrection is.
Celebrating spring isn't Easter.
Acknowledging the anniversary of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection are.
And that's all I will say on this stupid concept.
My understanding is that God created certain days for us to celebrate and honor him. These days are outlined in Leviticus chapter 23. God, being perfect, also knew that these days would apply when, and after, his first born son was sacrificed on the cross for us. These days are markers and outline God's salvation. That's why Christ celebrated Passover and all the other festivals ordained.
For example, Passover in the OT clearly pointed to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross "our passover". However, Christ changed the symbols and said we were to celebrate it as a remembrance of him (Luke 22:19, 1 Cor 11:26)
The Days of Unleavened Bread represent new Christians, those who have accepted Christ, as coming out of sin, spiritual Egypt. Leaven is a symbol of sin and removing leaven teaches us that we are to leave sin behind.
Pentecost represents the formation of the new testament church.
These harvest festivals took place in the spring. We are now in the long summer in God's prophetic calendar. The fall festivals start with the Feast of Trumpets, which symbolizes the return of Christ, at the "last trump" (1 Cor 15:52). The day of atonement pictures the putting away of Satan and the feast of tabernacles pictures the millenium reign of Jesus Christ.
I've greatly simplified these, but this is the gist. God doesn't create in vain and he didn't create holy days only to have man ignore them.
In Greek you can't replace "Passover" with "Easter", because they're both Pascha. It's the same holiday.
It was never kept in the bible. And as the article points out, it wasn't settled officially until 325 AD that Easter was to be kept by Christians.
All the other stuff came later.
All the other stuff came long before. Fertility rites, pagan symbols and such long predated Christ.
Celebrating spring isn't Easter. Acknowledging the anniversary of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection are. And that's all I will say on this stupid concept.
Jesus commanded us how to remember his death. His death was the most important thing. I don't think the resurrection was unimportant, but without his sin free life and his atoning death the resurrection would have been meaningless. That's why we are told to remember his death, not his resurrection and that's the reason God created the Passover.
Excellent decision. You'd just get a headache ... although I suppose that would be penitential!
Speaking of penance, there goes Vlad again ...
Yes and no. It started off as Passover, the time sanctioned by God, and evolved into Easter, the holiday. The greek word originally meant just that, Passover, the day ordained by God. Over the centuries it became corrupted and came to mean the holiday, Easter, as well.
Supplying your own means of penance, are you? ;0) Hugs to Vlad.
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