On The Lord’s Pascha, by Saint Melito of Sardis
Once, the slaying of the sheep was precious,
but it is worthless now because of the life of the Lord;
the death of the sheep was precious,
but it is worthless now because of the salvation of the Lord;
the blood of the sheep was precious,
but it is worthless now because of the Spirit of the Lord;
a speechless lamb was precious,
but it is worthless now because of the spotless Son;
the temple below was precious,
but it is worthless now because of the Christ above.
The Jerusalem below was precious,
but it is worthless now because of the Jerusalem above;
the narrow inheritance was precious,
but it is worthless now because of the widespread bounty.
For it is not in one place nor in a little plot
that the glory of God is established,
but on all the ends of the inhabited earth
His bounty overflows,
and there the almighty God has made His dwelling
through Christ Jesus,
to whom be glory forever. Amen.
You have now heard the account of the model and what corresponds to it;
listen also to the constitution of the mystery.
What is the Pascha?
It obtains its name from its characteristic:
from suffer (pathein) comes suffering (paschein).
Learn therefore who is the Suffering One,
and who shares the suffering of the Suffering One,
and why the Lord is present on the earth
to clothe Himself with the Suffering One
and carry Him off to the heights of heaven.
It is He that delivered us from slavery to liberty,
from darkness to light,
from death to life,
from tyranny to eternal royalty;
and made us a new priesthood
and an eternal people personal to Him.
He is the Pascha of our salvation. It is He who in many endured many things:
It is He that was in Abel murdered,
and in Isaac bound,
and in Jacob exiled,
and in Joseph sold,
and in Moses exposed,
and in the lamb slain,
and in David persecuted,
and in the prophets dishonored.
It is He that was enfleshed in a virgin,
that was hanged on a tree.
~Taken from Fr. John A. Peck, The Preacher’s Institute, On the Lord’s Pascha, by Saint Melito of Sardis, http://preachersinstitute.com/2010/04/10/on-the-lords-pascha-excerpts-st-melito-of-sardis/.
