As we anticipate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we are filled with joy and hope. In Orthodox Christianity, we do not fear death but rather rejoice in anticipation of our resurrection. Joy is the perfect word of the month for April. As we say in our chapel service every week from Psalm 118:24, “This is the day the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it!”
For the Christian faith, Easter, or Pascha, is the greatest Feast of all Feasts. The Lenten period is one of a more somber and solemn tone, but Pascha brings great rejoicing! Orthodox Christians use the term “Pascha” which in Greek means Passover. Jesus becomes the new Passover Lamb, and through His crucifixion, He gives those who believe in Him freedom from the death of sin and forgiveness of new life.The Resurrection offers us the joy of eternal life with God rather than the despair of eternal life away from Him. Believers in Christ, we can now rejoice because the gates of Paradise have been opened to us.
St. Paul’s letter to the Phillippians reminds us to “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”