As with any
great event in our lives, there are some preparations which may be done at a
more remote time, and some which can only be done more proximately. Our preparations for the Passover of the Lamb
of God are no different. Before Lent, we
began to pack our bags for our forty day journey, discarding those things that
would only weigh us down on our pilgrimage and packing the essentials to ensure
the success of our trip. But now, the
goal of our journey is fast approaching, and a more proximate preparation must
be made.
It must
have been about this time that the faithful Jews began to leave their worldly
homes to make their way to the spiritual home, Jerusalem, where all would gather each year
for the great festal days of Passover.
In like manner, let us lift up our eyes and see the Holy City of
Jerusalem set in wondrous array on the horizon of our Lenten Journey. Let us see the Cross of Christ being set up,
and the empty tomb being made ready for the entombment of the Savior. For today the Lamb of God makes his way to
the Passover, wherein he will pass mankind over from death to life, from
slavery to freedom, from the tomb to Paradise. As has been our custom during this Lenten
season, let us once again turn to the wisdom of the Church, and sitting at the
feet of Saint Gregory Nazianzen, let us continue our preparations for the
Passover of God.
Excerpts from a homily of St. Gregory Nazianzen:
We are soon going to share 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
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 honoring 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
worshiped 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.
(Saint Gregory Nazianzen, Exerpt from a Lenten
Homily)
In this way, each one of us who has followed Christ during
our Lenten journey will enter into the Passover of the Lamb. And having been
crucified, having died, and having been buried with Christ, we will also rise
with him on the glorious Paschal day.
-Deacon Sabatino
