Theology Corner

Easter in the year 400!

Thank you for all your encouraging feedback about Holy Week and Easter. We are grateful to Rev. Dr. Cara for preaching and presiding at our 10.30 service on Easter Day, and you can re-watch that service on our YouTube channel.

At our 9.00am service this Easter, we took a leaf out of the book of the Eastern Orthodox tradition, and read the “Paschal Homily” of John Chrysostom (347 – 407). This sermon was originally written for Easter Day in the year 400, and it has long since been the tradition of the Eastern Church to read it as part of the Easter Day liturgy. I was taken aback by how well received it was, and how many people said it seemed so fresh and relevant despite its antiquity; so I thought I would pop the full transcript of the short homily here.

The text builds on two themes: invitation and victory.

Invitation: Drawing on the parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), the sermon makes clear that all are invited to share in the feast and celebration of Easter, however new or familiar you may be to the faith.

Victory: With this second theme, John Chrysostom extols the total victory of Christ over sin and death. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, this idea is typically portrayed with an icon such as the one below. Here, Christ, in the power of his resurrection, retrieves Adam and Eve from their tombs.

The Paschal Homily of John Chrysostom

Are there any here who are devout lovers of God? 
Let them enjoy this beautiful, bright festival! 
 
Are there any who are grateful servants? 
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord! 
 
Are there any weary with fasting? 
Let them now receive their wages! 
 
If any have toiled from the first hour, 
let them receive their due reward; 
If any have come after the third hour, 
let them with gratitude join in the Feast! 
And they that arrived after the sixth hour, 
let them not doubt; for they too shall sustain no loss. 
And if any delayed until the ninth hour, 
let them not hesitate; but let them come too. 
And they who arrived only at the eleventh hour, 
let them not be afraid by reason of their delay. 
For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first. 
He gives rest to those that come at the eleventh hour, 
as well as to those that toiled from the first. 
 
To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows. 
He accepts the works as He greets the endeavour. 
The deed He honours and the intention He commends. 
Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord! 
 
First and last alike receive your reward; 
rich and poor, rejoice together! 
Sober and slothful, celebrate the day! 
You that have kept the fast, and you that have not, 
rejoice today for the Table is richly laden! 
 
Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one. 
Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith. 
Enjoy all the riches of His goodness! 
 
Let no one grieve at their poverty, 
for the universal kingdom has been revealed. 
 
Let no one mourn that they have fallen again and again; 
for forgiveness has risen from the grave. 
 
Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Saviour has set us free. 
He has destroyed it by enduring it. 
He destroyed Hell when He descended into it. 
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh. 
 
Isaiah foretold this when he said, 
“You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below.” 
Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with. 
It was in an uproar because it is mocked. 
It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed. 
It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated. 
It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive. 
 
Hell took a body, and discovered God. 
It took earth, and encountered Heaven. 
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see. 
 
O death, where is thy sting? 
O Hell, where is thy victory? 
 
Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated! 
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down! 
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice! 
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated! 
 
Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead; 
for Christ having risen from the dead, 
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 
 
To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!