| There are many reasons why a Christian
would want to venerate this holy place, essentially it can be
an experience of deepening ones faith and glorifying God in
the very spot of His Holy Resurrection. One might ask though,
how is this possible and what role does it play today -- The
dwindling Christian community might ask itself the same question
-- what role do we play? For the tomb seems like a contradiction
-- it is empty, yet it is life giving. Our community is small,
but has within its reach sites of such significance.
The significance of the Tomb being referred
to as the "Life-Giving Tomb," is that Christians
seek a life with Christ which is not of this world but of
God's Heavenly Kingdom, our Promised Land is Paradise. If
we choose a life with Christ and place Him first in our lives
then earthly and material things seem less important. Life
with Christ becomes a focus for the individual and more important
to pursue. These Christian values and beliefs can help to
promote non violent resolutions to the conflict and violence
all around us. Thus, we come and venerate this holy site seeking
forgiveness of sins and seeking life with Christ for eternity.
Christians learn from the Creation story in Genesis that man
was created in the image of God and lived in communion with
God, until he broke that communion and was expelled from the
Garden and became subject to death. So, the question becomes,
"How do we return to communion with God? How can we get
back to that place where we can talk to and walk with God? Many
feel that there's a void within, a void that can only be filled
by communion with our Creator. It is the Life-Giving Tomb that
reminds us that the barrier between God and man was removed
by Christ's resurrection. When one walks the footsteps of the
Lord, this is the message that reaches the soul. That all darkness
can be overcome by God's love and God is here for us. If ever
one needed an indication of how relevant and powerful this message
is, one need look no further than Holy Saturday, when many from
the Christian community in Jerusalem gather to witness the greatest
of all miracles "the Miracle of the Holy Fire. The Miracle
of the Holy Fire is the celebration of Christ's resurrection,
when the flame miraculously appears, literally, from within
the marble stone tomb. This is the uncreated light of God not
God Himself. It is received by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch
as it has been done every year, on the same day, in the same
manner, at the same time, at the same holy place of Christ's
Life-Giving Tomb. Sometimes it can be a gathering of chaos with
the soldiers, the police, the large crowds, the noise, the drums
of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts anxiously waiting to receive
the light outside the Holy Sepulchre. During peaceful times,
representatives of many churches from all over the Holy Land
come to receive the Holy Fire and carry it back in small lanterns
to their particular churches for the Midnight Resurrection Service.
Even now, many local people go to great extremes to get the
proper permits in order to partake in this centuries old celebration
that reflects our Christian heritage and deep roots in Palestine.All
lights, candles and vigil lamps are put out at the start of
this ceremony. The Holy Fire is physically apparent as a blue
mist, a moving cloud in the air and the words "Christ is
Risen" are chanted in many languages as the light is quickly
distributed to everyone present. The light that proceeds from
the core of the stone that covers Christ's Life-Giving Tomb
has been celebrated as one of the oldest unbroken Christian
ceremonies that exist in the world today. Some people find it
hard to comprehend what happens, just as people find it hard
to comprehend the eternal love and presence of God. It therefore
takes faith to believe in the significance of the Holy Tomb.
Christians appreciate that they have a holy place that is the
remembrance of Christ coming to earth to reconcile us to God
and God to us. The very spot were victory was shown over death
by Christ's resurrection.This is the miracle that allows us
to know that Christ is in our midst. This is the miracle that
allows us to feel that Christ is truly among us. This miracle
is another way that God communicates to us as a community our
role to the world today. As we remember when we chant in our
Midnight Resurrection Service: "Come ye and receive light
from the unwaning Light, and glorify Christ, Who a rose from
the dead." When you glorify Christ you begin to hear the
gospel message and practice it. .jpg)
The ceremony of the Holy Fire is one of the most magnificent
celebrations in the Holy Land that has been overshadowed because
of the violence and turmoil that this region has experienced.
Living the cycle of death every day has made it even more
important for Christians to celebrate Christ in Our Midst
and place all of our hope in the Saviour. Many years of killing,
back and forth, people here have surely been living in the
darkness of all evil. It would therefore seem even more important
than ever to see Christ as the true light and to be inspired
towards peaceful ways to coexist. As it is written in the
Gospel of John, "And the light shineth in darkness; and
the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:5)
As a small Christian community in the Holy Land we have a
duty to share this message with the entire international community.
To give hope to people that might be suffering from darkness
in other corners of the world. At the Orthodox Easter service
we sing:"You arose, O Christ, and yet the tomb remained
sealed, as at Your birth the Virgin's womb remained unharmed;
and You have opened for us the gates of paradise." During
the ceremony, Orthodox Christians remember that Christ is
the One Who has smashed the gates of Hades and opened the
gates of Paradise, and gone before us! Seeing the Life-Giving
Tomb of Christ is another reminder of our final destiny. As
a small Christian community we want to witness and reflect
Christ's eternal love. We pray for peace and hope Jerusalem
can be an open city of all faiths so Christian pilgrims from
all over the world can come and be inspired and spiritually
uplifted by the true Light of Christ and share the richness
of the Christian roots that exist in the Holy Land. The Myrrhbearing
Women who came to the Holy Tomb over two thousand years ago
may have wondered who was going to roll away the stone. Later
on, they may have even wondered whether it was Jesus or the
angel who did it. Either way, it doesn't matter. The stone
wasn't rolled away so Christ could get out. Rather, the stone
symbolizes death and the barrier that existed since the original
sin between man and God. Through our annual recollection of
Christ's passion and holy resurrection, Orthodox Christians
are physically reminded that once again that this barrier
between God and man is removed, now and forever!
For us, the stone symbolizes the boundary
between the living and the dead, between those who are dead
in sin, which are separated from God, and those who are alive
in Christ and growing in union with Him. This is the message
the Life-Giving Tomb has for the world today. St. Peter says,
in his first Epistle, that God has called us out of darkness
into his wonderful light. Also, St. John wrote: "Then
Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of
the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but
have the light of life.'" (Jn. 8:12).
The significance of Christ's Life-Giving
Tomb is a reminder of this call to be in the image and likeness
of our creator. To fill our souls with God's love since God
is love. To fill our hearts with God's grace thus fostering
understanding ndcompassion. To answerthe call to be in the
image and likeness of God means, more than anything else,
that we must love with a perfect love.
The tomb also reminds us that Christians
are called not merely to love God with all their heart, mind,
soul and strength; and their neighbour as themselves. These
are the chief commandments of the Old Testament. But we Christians
are called to hear the Lord of the New Testament and to fulfil
His commands found in Matthew 5: "Love your enemies;
Do good to those who hate you; Bless those who curse you;
Pray for those who abuse you; Turn the other check to those
who strike you." In Luke 16:15 we read that Jesus said:
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved"
We witness the truth and receive the Holy Fire every Holy
Saturday so that all who are not blessed to live in the land
of Christ's Holy Resurrection can believe that Christ is the
true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world. (John 1:9)
In this Holy Lenten Season, the Life-Giving
Tomb of Christ can serve as a reminder that no matter what
we have done, how badly we may have suffered or what deep
pain we may have experienced, we too have a chance for a new
life with Christ, an everlasting life. It shows that no matter
how small and seemingly insignificant, we have a purpose and
that through commemorating Christ's holy resurrection, we
too can rise up with a pure heart, a cleansed soul and a new
life in God.
Note: This article was recorded for the
BBC Radio Annual Lenten Talks at the site of Christ's Holy
Tomb in Jerusalem.
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