When members of the Eastern Church (including the Orthodox) wish someone a Happy Easter they do it with an affirmation of faith: “Christ is Risen.” And the appropriate response is: “indeed He is Risen.”
One day an Orthodox bishop in the Soviet Union was asked to present the Christian position in a debate on religion.
He let the fervent Communist who was opposing him have the first word. He gave a long discourse explaining that God didn’t exist, and much less the Son of God, and extolled the virtues of Communism. After the communist leader spoke, it was the Bishop’s turn to head to the podium.
The Bishop simply said, “Christ is Risen.” The audience, some out of faith, many out of habit, responded: “indeed He is Risen.” “Thank you,” replied the Bishop, and returned to his seat. Nothing more needed to be said.
Jesus’ resurrection is the irrefutable fact that He is God and that He has power over life and death. We do not need anything else; the world does not need any other testimony than this: Christ is risen. We have that testimony because His resurrection was a historic fact. All the Evangelists constantly repeat this fact: Christ is risen.
“We have three incredible things, all of which have already come to pass. It is incredible that Jesus Christ should have risen in the flesh and ascended with flesh into heaven; it is incredible that the world should have believed so unbelievable a thing; it is incredible that very few men, of mean birth and the lowest rank, and no education, should have been able to so effectively persuade the world, and even its learned men, of so incredible a thing. Of these three incredible things, the parties with whom we are debating refuse to believe the first; they cannot refuse to see the second, which they are unable to account for if they do not believe the third… the world has put faith in a small number of men, of mean birth and the lowest rank, and no education, it is because the divinity of the thing itself appeared all the more manifest in such contemptible witnesses… But if they do not believe that these miracles were wrought by Christ’s apostles to give credence to their preaching of His resurrection and ascension, this one grand miracle suffices for us, that the whole world has believed without any miracles.” (St. Augustine, De Civitate Dei, 22,5).
Our faith is support by the undeniable fact that Jesus rose from the dead. All those who deny His Resurrection do so because they do not want to accept Jesus rather than because it is not a historic fact. Let us ask Our Blessed Mother for the grace to increase our faith in Jesus’ Resurrection.
