Letter Xi 175
LETTER XI
the nourishment He offers at His Table. Therefore, our lives are barren of holiness, for we have denied their very source.
But come! Let us go up to the Feast in faith. Christ our Passover is indeed sacrificed. Let us keep this Passover with Him in faith and in truth. Then let us live as people made holy by that living connection with the Savior, as people who have received those "great and precious promises, that by these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:4).
LETTER XI
A.D. 342
The joy of our Feast is always with us, brothers and sisters, and always available for those who wish to celebrate it. For the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is all things to us, is always here. He promised that He would be with us forever, saying,
"So, I am with you all the days of the world" (Matt. 28:20).
He is the Shepherd, the High Priest, the Way, the Door, and everything at the same time for us. Further, He has been revealed to us as the Feast, for St. Paui writes, "Christ our
Passover is sacrificed" (1 Cor. 5:7). He is the one who was long expected. He brought light to bear on the prayer of the psalmist, "My Joy, deliver me from those who surround me" (Ps.
31:7, Septuagint). Deliverance from wickedness is true rejoicing, a true feast, and it is obtained by totally adopting an upright way of life and centering your mind on reverent obedience to God.
It was by such attitudes and behavior that throughout their lives the saints were like men rejoicing at a feast. One found rest in praying to God, as did the blessed David, who rose at midnight to do so (Ps. 119:62). Another was renowned for his songs of praise, as was Moses, who sang a song of praise for the victory over Pharaoh and his taskmasters (Exod. 15). Others worshiped with constant cheerfulness, like the great Samuel and the blessed Elijah. And now, having come to the end of their perfect way of life on earth, they are keeping the Feast in heaven. There they rejoice in the instruction they once re-
LETTER XI
eer ceived through symbol; now they understand the truth without types or symbols.
CHRIST: OUR GUIDE TO THE FEAST
But what shall we sprinkle ourselves with now (cf. Exod.
29:21; Num. 8:7) to prepare ourselves to celebrate the Feast?
And who will guide us on the way to this festival? No one can do this, my dear friends, except the One whose name you will repeat along with me, our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the Way" (John 14:6). He is the One of whom St. John wrote that He "takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). He is also the One who purifies our souls, as Jeremiah told us, "Stand in the roadway and look for and ask for the path to righteousness, and in it you will find cleansing for your souls" (Jer. 6:16).
In ancient Israel, the blood of male goats and the ashes of a heifer were sprinkled upon those who were considered unclean.
But these things were only to purify the body (Heb. 9:13). Now, however, through the grace of God the Word, we are all cleansed inside and out. When we follow Him, we are able even on earth to contemplate the eternal Feast, as if we stood on the very doorstep of the heavenly Jerusalem. Thus the blessed apostles, by unreservedly following their Leader, the Savior, became teachers of that attitude. They simply said,
"Behold, we have left everything and followed you" (Mark 10:28).
Of course, following the Lord and keeping His Feast is not just a matter of words; actions are required. Every set of laws and commands involves definite things to be done. For example, when Moses gave the holy laws of God to Israel, he extracted from them a promise to obey—a promise intended to keep them from being labelled liars for neglecting the commands (Exod. 19:8). Therefore, when it came to the celebration of the Feast of the Passover, there was no question to be raised and no reply to be made. When the instructions were given, the Jews obeyed. Moses simply said, "And the children of Israel shall keep the Passover" (Exod. 12:47), expecting that they
THE RESURRECTION LETTERS
would obey without question, so that everything would go smoothly.?
Well, on such things as this I have confidence in your wisdom and your concern for doctrine. After all, I have dealt with these things often and in several letters.
THE JEWISH PASSOVER: "TYPE" OF THINGS TO
COME Above all, however, I wish to remind you, and myself along with you, that the Lord would not have us come to the Easter
Feast irreverently or unprepared. We must have our doctrine straight, follow the proper liturgy, and do all things properly.
The historical record of Israel's feast tells us, "No foreigner, no slave purchased with money, no uncircumcised man, may eat the Passover" (Exod. 12:43,44). Nor is it supposed to be eaten in just "any" house; there is a proper place. Also, He commands it to be done in haste, because we were once groaning under the sorrow of our "bondage to Pharaoh" and the "commands of the taskmasters." In the old days, the children of Israel were considered ready to receive the Feast, which was the "type," only if they had followed the instructions. And that type was the forerunner of our Feast, although the Feast was not established because of the type.
When the Word of God was ready to establish the Feast, which is the fulfillment of all, He told His disciples, "I have longed very much to eat this Passover with you" (Luke 22:15).
The account of how the Passover was to be celebrated, as given to us in the Scriptures (Exod. 12:11-13), presents a marvelous word-picture of what they must have looked like.
Had we been there, we would have seen them equipped like 1Athanasius is arguing from Scripture. In Exod. 19:3-7 we read that God gave
Moses the terms of the Covenant with Israel. These terms were simple: They were to obey whatever commands God gave them. When Moses told the people, they said (v. 8): "All that the Lord has said we will do." After that they were given the Law. The command to keep the Passover was also renewed. So the Israelites had both their promise and their duty of obedience to God as binding reasons to keep it.