The Works of the Lord

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“The right hand of the Lord has struck with power!” With great power and might, the mighty arm of the Lord has gone forth into the deep darkness, and He has struck with all the power of heaven. The Lord of Hosts has stretched forth His hand and has triumphed gloriously!

Christ our Lord has been crucified and has died. And this is glorious in our eyes! For this is the great glory by which the Lord of heaven stretches forth His mighty right hand. He does not stretch forth His hand in warfare. He does not stretch forth His hand to smite the sinners from the earth. He does not stretch forth His hand to drub Satan into the ground before the world's eyes.

No, the Lord stretches forth His hands upon the cross, and there He displays His power and glory. For there, for all to see, the Son of God Himself dies with all the sins of the world heaped upon Him. And He is then buried into the heart of the earth, that, just as Jonah was swallowed into the belly of the great fish and was three days and three nights in the depths of the sea, so the Son of Man might be buried into the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. But just as Jonah was vomited forth from the fish, and thereby brought back from the belly of Sheol, so also is our Lord cast forth from the depths of the earth and brought out of hell itself.

Jesus Christ, our glorious savior, has descended into hell in body and soul, in order that He might preach to the captives in prison, that He might rout the gates of hell, that He might break the bars of that great prison and lead His people free from death into life. He has descended into hell in order to destroy the devil, to crush the head of him who bit the heel.

Therefore, rejoice now, O you Christians! Shout for joy, O inhabitants of Zion! Break forth into song, O children of God! See, your King is no longer humble and riding on a donkey, but full of power and might, riding on the clouds of heaven. Look up, and see that His face is no longer disfigured with sin and shame, but blazing with the radiance of grace and mercy.

For forty days you have prayed and watched and kept the fast. For the holy Lententide you have meditated on our Lord's Passion. But now no more! No more fasting. No more sackcloth and ashes. No more weeping. The fast is ended, the feasting begins!

Look now and see! The stain of sin is removed. The chaos is banished, the void is filled. The paschal lamb has been sacrificed in your place, and your bonds are loosed. The flood is receded, and you stand on dry ground. You have been delivered safe and sound through the Red Sea, and your feet stand firm under the Lord's cloud. Your bones have been knit together, covered in flesh, and filled with life and breath. All creation no longer groans under the weight of sin, but exults in the joy of the Lord's grace and mercy.

Let the light of the world break forth. Let the song of the angels resound. Let the creation show forth the praises of its creator. Let the holy Church sound forth the trumpet call and gather the faithful to the feast. Christ is risen, and death is dead. The grave is empty, and your grave is become but a bed-chamber and a garden of rest. The gates of hell are now but an eternal cage for the one who thought he could swallow up Life.

O death, where is thy sting? O hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is risen, and you are cast down.
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen.
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice.
Christ is risen, and Life lives and flourishes.
Christ is risen, and there are none dead left in the tombs.

For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of them that have fallen asleep. This Easter victory is your and your day will come. You grave will be as empty as His. So do not be afraid. Do not be sad. Rejoice. This Easter victory is for you. Christ is risen! Alleluia!