Pascha is as much a call to action as it is a dance of victory.

Today, we celebrate the victory of Christ, our champion, who has freed us from the oppression and despair of Death. Unable to achieve victory on our own, Life himself became incarnate, and did battle with Death, on our behalf.

Many will have heard in sermons this feast day, how Christ was the ransom, the “debt” paid for our “sin”. This is popular, and very bad theology. A ransom is handed over in exchange for the liberation of those in bondage. It becomes the property of the one holding the captives. But Christ our champion is risen from the dead, he remains at liberty, and has gained our liberation.

This was no ransom – it was a subtle deception, and a complete route of the power of Death. The “ransom” was the fullness of his human nature, for only the entirety of humanity would satisfy Death’s demand; thus, no individual man could satisfy the demand, or overcome the power of Death. God in his love for us, became incarnate, and presented himself as the ransom before Death, for he could not tolerate such an injustice against his people.

The “flesh” or humanity of the Incarnate One, however, Death could not touch, its incorruption made it the perfect weapon, wielded by the Most High God; Death was taken completely by surprise, he had no chance of victory, over Christ. Death sits upon his haunches in the murky darkness of his abode and bewails his crushing defeat: “Would that I had not received Him who was born of Mary, for he came to me and destroyed my bronze gates, and being God, delivered the souls I had been holding captive. My power has vanished. I received one who died as mortals die, but I could not hold him; with him, and through him, I lost those over which I had ruled. I had held control over the dead since the world began, and lo he raises them all up with him!”

Christ is risen! Indeed he is risen! No man could enter Sheol and return – free. The resurrection is a bold statement of our liberation – in his victorious return from the realm of Death in his body, Christ proves that our liberation is complete; that Death can menace us no more. We are free.

This is only part of the Paschal mystery, as I said, Pascha is as much a commemoration of what has been accomplished for us, as it is a call to action. Today, we too are raised up with Christ. Neophytes are clothed in Christ, and we recall how, emerging from the waters of baptism, the tomb of non-being, reborn in His Image, we are now properly called “Christ”. He is God by nature, through his Incarnation, death, resurrection. Our own baptism – our personal appropriation of that grace and victory, we are reborn gods by grace.

God rises in the divine council, gives judgment in the midst of the gods.
“How long will you judge unjustly and favour the cause of the wicked?
Defend the lowly and fatherless;
render justice to the afflicted and needy.
Rescue the lowly and poor;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
The gods neither know nor understand, wandering about in darkness,
and all the world’s foundations shake.
I declare: “Gods though you be, offspring of the Most High all of you,
Yet like any mortal you shall die;
like any prince you shall fall.”
Arise, O God, judge the earth, for yours are all the nations.

We sing Psalm 82 in the night of Holy Saturday. We may read this, in light of our baptism, and the victory of Pascha, not only as an account of God’s crushing defeat of the ancient Powers, but also as a reminder to us; gods though we are by grace, sons and daughters of the Most High, we are called to bring light into dark places, relief to the poor and the defenceless, or we will die, the death of mortals, returning to the nothingness from whence we were created.

Today we are witnesses of the long expected prophecy: “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays; and you will gambol like calves out of the stall and tread down the wicked; they will become ashes under the soles of your feet; on the day I take action, says the Lord of Hosts.” Today, the feast of the resurrection, is that day of action. Christ is risen! Today we are witnesses of the resurrection. This is not the end of the story, merely the beginning.