Resurrection and Life
The Resurrection means moving from death to life, and therefore the Resurrection is fundamentally connected with true life.
Pope Shenouda III explains that life is not merely the continuation of the body’s breathing, but that there is life for the body and life for the spirit, and that true life is the life of the spirit with God.
Earthly life is a temporary period, while eternal life begins as a foretaste in the person while he is still on earth and is completed in heaven.
Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and He is also the resurrection and the life; therefore, a person cannot have true life apart from Christ.
Spiritual Message
True life is based on loving God, listening to His voice, remaining attached to Him, and truly believing in Him.
The teaching emphasizes that sin is spiritual death, and that repentance is the path of moving from death to life, just as moving from concern for the flesh to concern for the spirit represents a true resurrection in a person’s life.
Spiritual life is also connected with being nourished by the Word of God, meditation, virtue, love, and receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord.
Whoever does not taste fellowship with God on earth has not begun to experience the life that he will complete in heaven.
Educational Lesson
The teaching calls each person to examine his life and ask himself whether he is spiritually alive or whether he has a name that he is alive while he is dead.
Spiritual life is not measured merely by the existence of the body, but by the measure of faith, love for God, love for goodness, and attachment to Christ.
Life is also connected with movement and fruitfulness, for a spiritually living person moves toward God, does good, and influences those around him.
Practical Application
The path of true life begins with repentance, leaving sin, remaining attached to God, and listening to His voice.
A person should care for the nourishment of his spirit as he cares for his body, nourishing it with the Word of God, meditation, virtue, love, and receiving Communion.
The joys of the Resurrection become real when a person rises from stagnation, laziness, and failure, and moves from the death of sin and concern for the flesh to the life of righteousness and concern for the spirit.
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