The Proclamation of Pascha

The forty-day fast practically ends on this day. Tomorrow, after we follow Jesus in His entry into Jerusalem, the Church will call us to join another fast, the "Great Week Fast", which used to be, in ancient times, the preparatory fast for Pascha. The convergence of the two fasts, the forty-day fast and the Great Week fast, into one fast does not revoke the "Proclamation of Pascha" resounding on this day. What the Church intends from the feast today is for us to identify with Lazarus who was raised from death. Christ, Who, since the beginning of Lent, has been seizing us to His Pascha, will not only triumph over His own death but also over His death and all of ours. This has made both the Feast of the Raising of Lazarus and Pascha two appropriate days for the baptism in which we die with Christ and rise with Him. I am not saying that the raising of Lazarus enlightens us in our understanding Christ's Resurrection, but rather that the Living Christ gives today's event its meaning. Complete the fast. Christ is coming to the tombs of all His friends. His love is stronger than death.