About seeking the living among the dead

St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Why do you seek the living One among the dead?
(St. Luke 24:5)

    

The angel of God asks the Myrrh-bearing women as though in astonishment: “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?” As though the perceiver of the mystery of God and God’s power wanted to say: “How could you have thought for a moment that He is the hostage of death? Do you not know that He is the principal source of life? Do you not know that all life is through Him and that not one living thing can borrow not even a drop of life from any other source? Did He not fully reveal to you His authority over life and death on earth? Who gave life to the lifeless Lazarus? Who took away the life of the barren fig tree?”

O my brethren, let us also cease to look for the living among the dead. If there are some of us who are still seeking Christ among the dead, let them desist from this soul-destroying effort. This is the vain effort of the Jews, pagans and non-Christians. We know that the Lord and Giver of life is not in the tomb but on the Throne of Glory in the heavens. The spirit, not darkened by sin, looks up into heaven and does not see the tomb; and the spirit, darkened by sin, looks into the tomb and does not see heaven. Sin and virtue govern the spiritual vision of man and reveals to each man its own world at cross-purposes with one another. Sin overthrows the vision of the spirit to the earth and reveals to it the corruption of the world. Virtue uplifts the spirit to heaven and reveals to it the eternal world and the resurrected Christ as the King in that world.

O my brethren, let us not seek life among creation, but from the Creator. Let us not commit an even graver sin i.e., let us not seek the Creator in the tomb of creation nor the Illuminating, Immortal One in the darkness of death.

O Lord Jesus, Victor over death, we cry out to You: resurrect us also into life eternal from the corruption and darkness of death.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

From: The Prologue from Ohrid: Lives of Saints by St. Nikolai Velimirovič for April 7/20.

St. Nikolai Velimirovich

4/16/2015

See also
Holy Pascha—The Feast of Feasts Holy Pascha—The Feast of Feasts
Demetrios, Archbishop of America Holy Pascha—The Feast of Feasts Holy Pascha—The Feast of Feasts
Demetrios, Archbishop of America
Through faith we affirm that Christ is Risen and is among us, and we bear witness of His Resurrection and presence through our participation in the Holy Eucharist. In this Great Mystery, the pure Body and precious Blood of the Risen Lord is offered for us and to us. Through faith and our reception of the sacrament, we are joined with the One who lives! The Joy of Orthodox Pascha The Joy of Orthodox Pascha
Wesley J. Smith The Joy of Orthodox Pascha The Joy of Orthodox Pascha
Wesley J. Smith
“Pascha?” I asked. “What’s Pascha?”The man chuckled and said, “You know it as Easter.” He then spent ten minutes explaining why “Pascha”—the “new Passover” by which the entire human race passes from slavery to freedom under Christ—should replace “Easter” as the favored term for the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection. Songs of the Resurrection Songs of the Resurrection
An overview of the Paschal services, with audio recordings Songs of the Resurrection Songs of the Resurrection
An overview of the Paschal services, with audio recordings
The services of Pascha mark the end of Christ’s passion and the beginning of new life in the resurrection of the risen Lord. All come and partake of this joy. Along with audio recordings of Paschal hymns sung by the Sretensky Monastery Choir, we present an outline of the services of the Bright Resurrection of Christ.
Comments
Fr. Radomir Plavsic4/17/2015 12:31 am
Христос Воскресе!
I just wanted to make a remark, St. Nikolai Velimirovich's title is St. Nikolai of Ohrid and Zhicha, or "of Serbia". Св. Николај Охридски и Жички или Сербскии.
Thank you
in Christ.
Fr.Radomir
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