"O taste and see how good the Lord is"

Christ is Risen, dear Brothers and Sisters!

Before His suffering and death, the Lord Jesus Christ foretold of two resurrections, His own-resurrection and all-encompassing resurrection. Therefore, when the prediction of His resurrection was realized, through truth and reality, any doubt that His second resurrection would be known through true and clear facts, was cast away.

Christ was resurrected and revealed himself as the Savior of man from man's oldest enemy, death. Christ was resurrected and the church was established as God's family believing in life and only in life. Christ was resurrected and God appeared as the God of the living and the dead with the capacity of bestowing life upon the dead. Christ was resurrected and the gates of heaven were opened to all those, who through prayer and faith in Him, deserve to go from this temporary life, as with a morsel, to the splendor of the eternal banquet in the other world.

On today's holiday we all observe, in spirit and in thoughts, the resurrected Christ. We watch Him with the Angels, with the Myhrrbearing women and the Apostles, and in so doing, we marvel in His splendor and at His victory.

All believers rejoice at the resurrected and tender Christ. But the sinners will tremble when they see Him as the Final Judge. It will be terrible. No longer will His mercy flow, but true justice will prevail. No longer will He forgive, but rather He will punish and reward.

At that time, all Christ's persecutors will tremble, the destroyers of churches and holy things, heretics and hypocrites alike. The modern day murderers of Serbianism and of the Orthodox people, together with their cohorts, will quiver before the righteous face of the Judge.

Who will be spared? Those who know and believe that Christ, through His resurrection, trampled down death by death, and to the righteous gave life eternal. Each and every one who invokes the name of God will be spared.

Today's resurrection of Christ warns us of the future. Let us prepare to rejoice at the coming resurrection as we are rejoicing today at this resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, as always, "Embrace one another and tell even those who hate us; we forgive all because of the resurrection." Together, let us all exclaim, "Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tomb bestowing life!"

My blessings are upon all of you with the victorious greeting, "Christ is Risen!"

Always with you in Prayers in the Resurrected Christ,

Bishop Jovan

Easter 1997