Letter Iv
LETTER IV
the bitterness of captivity. But now that death and the kingdom of the devil is abolished, we are filled with joy and gladness.
God is no longer known only in Judea, but in all the earth.
"Their voice has gone forth, and the knowledge of Him has filled the whole earth" (Ps. 76:1; 19:4).
What follows, dear brothers and sisters, is obvious. We do not come to such a feast with dirty clothes, but with our consciences clothed, so to speak, with pure garments. We need to put on our Lord Jesus, so that we can celebrate the Feast with Him. We demonstrate that we are clothed with Him when:
—we love virtue; —we are enemies of wickedness; —we actively engage in temperance; —we put to death erotic fantasies and attitudes;
—we love righteousness rather than wickedness; —we aim to live without undue luxury; —we have strength of mind; —we do not forget the poor, but open our doors to all;
—we assist humility, but hate pride.
It was by these things that ancient Israel, after having fought the battle that pictured what was to come, came to the Feast.
All that we would do and receive was foreshadowed in God's dealings with them.
PICTURES AND SHADOWS ARE NOW REALITY
Now the pictures and shadows and types have all been fulfilled and accomplished. So we, dear brothers and sisters, should no longer consider the Feast a figurative one. We do not go up to the earthly city of Jerusalem to sacrifice the Passover. That ancient Jewish practice is no longer suitable. If we followed their practice, we would be celebrating the Easter season inappropriately. No, in accordance with the directions of the apostles, let us go beyond the pictures and types and sing the new song of praise. They, being in the presence of the Truth, asked our Savior, "Where do you want us to make the Passover ready for You?" (Matt. 26:17).
THE RESURRECTION LETTERS
No longer was the old Passover ceremony— belonging to the earthly Jerusalem — to be held. Nor was the New Feast? to be celebrated only there, but rather wherever God wished it to be held. And now He wished it to be celebrated everywhere, so that "in every place incense and a sacrifice might be offered to Him" (Mal. 1:11).
In the historical account, Israel was commanded to keep the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem and nowhere else. Nevertheless, everything pertaining to those times was finally fulfilled.
When that had happened and the time had come for the gospel to be preached everywhere, the disciples, in preparation for spreading the Feast everywhere, asked our Savior that significant question, "Where do you want us to make ready?" Since our Savior was making the change from the type or shadow to the spiritual reality, He gave them the New Covenant promise.
That is, He promised them that they would not eat the flesh of a lamb anymore, but His own: "Take, eat and drink; this is My body and My blood" (cf. Matt. 26:26-28).
Well, dear friends, when we are nourished by His body and blood, we properly keep the Feast of the Passover.
THE TIME FOR OBSERVING EASTER
We begin the fast of Easter Week on March 27 and end it on Saturday, April 1. Then we celebrate the Feast on Sunday,
April 2. Afterward come the holy days of Pentecost, days which show forth the world to come. For in eternity we will be with Christ forever, praising God Almighty in Christ Jesus. Through Him, with all the saints, we say to the Lord, Amen.
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the brothers and sisters who are with me greet you.
We have sent this letter from the emperor's court through an attendant officer, to whom it was given by Ablavius, the prefect of the Praetorium, who truly fears God. I am still at the court, having been summoned by thé emperor Constantine to see
3Easter, the Feast of the Resurrection.
LETTERIV
him. Some Meletians* who were present sought out of envy to influence the emperor against us. Their charges, however, were easily proven false, and they were driven away in shame as liars. Their names, by the way, were Callinicus, Ision,
Eudaemon, and Geloeus® Hieracammon, who because of the shame of his name calls himself Eulozius.
4The Meletians, remember, were a group that had split away from the church.
5The name means "laughable."
THE FIFTH LETTER
A.D. 333
CHRIST SATISFIES COMPLETELY:
RESPOND ACCORDINGLY
INTRODUCTION TO
THE FIFTH LETTER
Although his enemies (enemies also of God) were at this time thinking up new charges to present to the emperor, St.
Athanasius carried on his ministry to the flock. Again he visited the churches, giving personal attention to needs and problems and serving the poor and needy. Intensely devoted to the Lord, he followed the annual liturgical cycle from feast to feast, prayer to prayer, fast to fast, advancing from one holy day to the next with intense zeal.
Anticipating the Easter Feast, Athanasius turns his thoughts this year to the fact that at the Table we eat the food of life and drink from the life-giving fountain of the Savior's precious blood.
In thinking of this, he naturally considers what we can do in return; after all, we owe everything. Nevertheless, there is no adequate return for what the Lord has given us. We do offer
Him a holy life, but even that is supplied to us by Him.Thus we must properly acknowledge — by praise, thanksgiving, and a holy life— His gifts to us.
What a contrast the heathen, the Jews, the schismatics, and the heretics offer! Blinded by sin and doing what they think is right rather than following the Lord's instructions, they utterly fail to receive what He offers. That tragedy will not, however, befall those who eat the Passover in truth and sincerity. Says
Athanasius, "For the Passover truly is a turning from wickedness to godliness, and a conversion from death to life."
Who in all the world is satisfied today? Just as always it is
INTRODUCTION TO RESURRECTION LETTER V
those who eat His body and drink His blood, those who eat the Lord's Passover, who rejoice in having all their needs fulfilled.
Owing Him everything, we want to give a proper gift. What acceptable offering can we give to the High King of Heaven?
Alas, we seem so poor. Yet by our union with Him, He gives us all we need. We can say with Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal.
2:20).
LETTER V A.D. 333
We follow the clock and the calendar around, brothers and sisters, from prayer-time to prayer-time, from feast to feast.
More than that, we advance year to year, from this year's fast to next year's, from this year's holiday to next year's holiday. So as the year has moved around, the time has come once again for a new beginning—this year's announcement of the blessed Passover, the date on which our Lord was sacrificed.
Because He was so sacrificed, we eat, as it were, the Lord of Life. And, being people who are always thirsty, we drink continuously and happily of His precious blood, as from a fountain.
For we really are always thirsty, and He is always prepared to satisfy that thirst. As He, in His love, said on the day of a certain feast, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37).
But the grace of the true Feast, the Great Feast, is not just available at one time and never again. That grace is always present. Whenever anyone seeks the Savior, He is available.
Nor does the splendid brilliance of His grace ever suffer an eclipse. No, it is always at hand to enlighten the inner thoughts of those who really want it. Great good comes to people who, enlightened by the grace of God, make it their habit to apply the truths of Holy Scripture to their lives. They receive just such a blessing as the psalmist describes: "Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of corrupters. But his
LETTER V
delight is in the law of the Lord, and He meditates in His law day and night" (Ps. 1:1,2).
Those blessings come because the person who accepts God's grace is not illumined by mere physical light from the sun, the moon, or even the whole host of stars. Rather, he glows all over with the radiant brilliance of God.
ALL CHRISTIANS UNITE IN THE FEAST
Remember, dear friends, that we are given this annual celebration of the Easter Feast by the God who established it in the first place. It was God the Father who sent His Son to be slain for our salvation, and thus gave us a reason for the Holy Feast.
Every year the Feast, coming as it does at the same time, is a witness to that great act of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And so, knowing of the death of Christ on the cross, we proceed from the daily routine of life in this world to the Feast, and in that celebration God gives us the joy of His glorious salvation. For every year He brings us all together and unites us all in spirit, although we meet in many different places. We share everywhere the same prayers and the same grace in our common Feast.
HUMAN NATURE INADEQUATE TO REPAY GOD
Well then, brothers and sisters, why don't we acknowledge His grace in a way proper to this great holy day, this blessed
Feast? Why don't we repay our Benefactor? Of course it is impossible to adequately repay God. Still, it is really wicked for people who have received such a gracious gift not even to acknowledge it. Nature itself is enough to show that we are unable to pay the debt, but even our own desires rebuke our unthankfulness.
St. Paul, expressing reverence for the greatness of God's gift, said, "And who is sufficient for these things?" (2 Cor. 2:16). For the Father freed the world by the blood of our Savior. And above all else, He opened the gates of heaven so the Savior would have a clear and open passage for all He brings in.