In the life of human beings the unforgettable events are the feasts, festivals and celebrations. Celebrations related to each and every one are Birthdays, Feast days, Anniversaries etc., either we celebrate them or we participate in them to enhance our joy with others. Moreover, “It is through festivals and celebrations, we enter into a sacred space”[1]. The world is considered as sacred space, where the celebration takes place and every celebration is related to an event. It is by remembering that important and historical event we enter into the divine rhythm of life. We forget at least for a moment our ordinary life of pains and tears. In the religious sense, particularly in Liturgy, we do celebrate several feasts, solemnities and memories proper to the Apostles, Blessed Virgin Mary, Martyrs and Saints. All these feasts, even they are proper to a particular saint or martyr, are centered on the Paschal event of Jesus. In this article, therefore, let us try to study the importance of the great Christian feast Pascha, from the Biblical and the Liturgical point of view, which is the feast of the feasts and the most solemn feast.
Meaning of the Term
In order to understand the richness of the great feast, Pascha, we have to examine primarily its meaning. The word “Pascha” comes from the Greek word “πάσχα” (Pascha), which means the Passover feast of the Israel[2]. Originally, this term is of Jewish origin and therefore we must also examine the feast of Jewish Passover from which our Christian feast in a certain sense derived. In addition, “Passover is a literal translation of the Hebrew name for the feast”[3]. Only in this sense the word ‘Pascha’ is used to indicate the great feast of Passover.
When we begin to analyze the Etymology of the Greek term ‘Pascha’, we get the exceedingly clear meaning as “to spare”, “to protect”, “to deliver”. Although the Passover was linked with the feast of unleavened bread (Mk 14.1); they were originally distinct two different feasts. The Passover feast was celebrated at home; where as the unleavened bread was a pilgrimage festival demanded the attendance of the adult male (Ex.23.15). Since the unleavened bread was employed in both the feasts as well both took place around the same time of the year, they were eventually joined together.
Feasts in the Old Testament
If we read the OT we can see the important celebrations or festivals of Jews such as Sabbath, Passover, feast of Tabernacle and the Dedication feast. All these feasts were celebrated annually except Sabbath, which was the weekly celebration. For any celebration, there is naturally a certain time for the preparation so also for the weekly feast, Sabbath, Thursday and Friday were considered as the days of preparation.
i) Sabbath was the weekly festival. This was the day of abstention from secular work that followed each six-day of the working week known as the weekly festival rest[4]. The Seventh day or the Sabbath day was “blessed” as no other day and imbued with a unique power. God made this day “holy” by separating from other days. The holiness of the rest day was something that God bestowed on to the seventh day; as God himself took rest on the seventh day (Gen 2.2). This was understood as an invitation to the Jews to participate in God’s rest by enjoying the divine gift, free from labor and thus acknowledging God as their creator.
ii) Feast of Tabernacle was one of the annual feasts for Jews celebrated during the autumn season (Lev 23.34; Num 29.12-34). This was also considered as the pilgrimage festival; and feast of Booths (Lev 23.42). This was celebrated for seven days and all these seven days the sacrifices were offered.
iii) The Feast of Dedication was also one of the annual feasts to remember the reconstruction of the Jerusalem temple and its altar to the traditional service of the Lord. This great feast had a historical significance. The temple of Jerusalem was desecrated and became the center for pagan cult by the order of King Antiocus IV in the year 175-164 B.C. (1 Macc 1.41-50). But the Maccabeans under the great leadership of Judas were able to gain possession of the temple. They cleaned and repaired the temple with the construction of a new altar. Thus every year they began to remember their victory and the restoration of the temple by celebrating this feast.
iv) The other two feasts, namely, the Feast of Passover and the Unleavened Bread were considered as great and important feasts. At the beginning both were celebrated separately. However, the Hebrew Bible uses three different terms in connection with the Passover feast and the feast of unleavened bread. They are: pesah, hag, massot[5]. Pesah denotes the Passover offering more on the sacrifice, which was eaten at the night of 15th Nisan. Hag, means festival, appears only in Ex 34.25. Massot denotes the feast of the unleavened bread. Several scripture scholars agree that these two feast namely pesah and massot are two different feasts.
The feast of Passover, however, was celebrated on the 14th Nisan to commemorate the deliverance of their exile from Egypt. That deliverance was granted on a certain condition that each head of a Hebrew family was to slay a lamb without blemish on the evening of the Nisan 14. The head of the family was to sprinkle its blood on the lintel and side-posts of the door. Then the Lamb was to be roasted and eaten with unleavened bread by all the family members. If some one was not circumcised he was not allowed to take part in it. This was the law for all the Jews with regard to the observance of the annual feast of the Passover.
However, looking into the practice, for the celebration of Passover a one-year old sheep or goat was sacrificed on the 14th Nisan and on the 15th Nisan it was eaten within the family. Where as the feast of the unleavened bread was celebrated for seven days starting from the night of 15th Nisan to the 21st Nisan. The Jewish calendar consisted normally of twelve months of twenty-nine and half days each. The first month was Nisan and the 14th was the full moon day[6]. For the Jews the day begins in the preceding evening. Hence, it was clear that the unleavened bread, which was eaten on the 15th Nisan, was to be eaten along with the Passover sacrifice. The Passover meal, which was different from the ordinary meals, had to be eaten with in the walls of Jerusalem[7].
With regard to the date for the celebration of Pascha the Council of Nicea in the year 325 has fixed the Sunday after the 14th of Nisan as Pascha[8]. The feast in the Old Testament, however, distinguishes the two great feasts such as Passover and the unleavened bread. Indeed, they were considered as great feasts. They were popularly combined and the term Passover was used for both. Moreover, the Passover feast was celebrated as a great national feast of Israel, which celebrated its establishment as the people of Yahweh. It is by this the Israel were redeemed from their slavery. Many scholars would say that Passover feast was older than the event of Exodus so only it was mentioned in the book of Exodus, how it should be celebrated (Ex. 12.1-20). Thus we can understand Pascha in the OT is that the deliverance of the Israel from their Exile. In order to remember the historical event of their lives, they began to celebrate it every year.
Feasts in New Testament
The study on the Old Testament feasts will really help us to understand the important feast celebrated during the New Testament period. At the time of Jesus all the males of Israel were expected to appear in Jerusalem three times in a year for the feasts of Passover, Pentecost and the feast of Tabernacle[9]. The New Testament term πάσχα (Pascha) denotes the Jewish feast of Passover in the usage of Christian Easter, which is also called Pascha[10]. The New Testament feast of Passover does not have a narrower sense on the basis of Old Testament usage to denote the actual Passover of 14th and 15th Nisan.
How to understand the relationship between the Passover feast in the OT with the New Testament Pascha. Thus, any ordinary reader may have the question whether the last supper of Jesus was a Passover meal? For this, none of the gospel writers focus the exact date on which Jesus had celebrated the Last supper. Moreover, different scholars would say that during the time of Jesus, there were at least three different calendars in use in Israel: namely the Roman calendar, the Temple calendar and the Qumran calendar[11]. This is one of the reasons that the Evangelists do not give a date for any of the events in the gospel. Looking into the New Testament, it is significant that the synaptic gospels describe the last supper as the banquet of Pascha. In addition, Jesus had sent his disciples to prepare a room to celebrate Pascha (Mk 14.12-16, Lk 22.8, Mt 26.18). Explicitly the Gospel of John does not affirm or deny that this is a Passover event; but says clearly that the Jews had not yet eaten the Passover supper when Jesus died (18.28, 19.14). As well, the title Lamb is applied to Jesus in Jn 1.29, 36 certainly an allusion to Jesus, the Passover lamb.
John seems to place the last supper on the night 13th –14th Nisan (Jn 18.28; 19.14). Jesus himself, however, has made the comparison with the paschal lamb, which is seen in the writings of St. Paul (1Cor 5.7) and in other New Testament text (1 Pet 1.19; Jn 1.29, 36, Rev. 5.6,9,12). It is only St. Paul interprets the death of Christ as the real Paschal sacrifice. Moreover, he calls “Christ our Pascha” (1Cor 5.7). This is the first and the only place, where the New Testament speaks of ‘our Pascha’ all the other references are expressed in relation with the Jewish Pascha. Hence, we can say that in the sayings at the Lord’s Supper (Mk 14.22-24) Jesus was comparing himself with the paschal lamb and calling his death as a sacrifice (Lk 22.16; 1 Cor 5.7, 1 Pet 1.13-21). This comparison is the core of a rich Passover in the primitive church. Thus, Jesus becomes our Pascha. In the early church the two great feasts namely Passover, which was celebrated on the 15th night of Nisan and the Pentecost celebrated on the 50th day of Pascha are seen in the Jewish calendar. In fact, the Jews were already waiting for the coming of the Messiah.
In the normal usage the other term ‘Easter’ is used commonly to indicate the feast of Pascha. The word “Easter” originally derived from the practice of Anglo-Saxons, who had their goddess called ‘Eastre’. Moreover, they called their spring month as ‘Eosturmonath’. It was during the spring season the Christians celebrated their great feast Pascha. Thus, naturally based on the season and of the name of the goddess, people began to call the feast of Pascha as Easter[12].
The Christian term ‘Easter’ was used to express the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus. Towards the end of the fourth century the Easter vigil had been expanded into the Sacred Triduum, as the three paschal days of Good Friday, Holy Saturday and the Easter Sunday devoted to the passion, death and resurrection. Because of these three days of Easter the entire week is called as ‘Holy week’ or “Great week”. During fourth and fifth centuries, the Sunday before Easter was considered as the commemoration of Jesus entry into Jerusalem[13]. The actual Pascha, however, is the Easter vigil, which St. Augustine describes as “mother of all the vigils”; so also St. Leo the great called Easter as the “feast of feasts”, the greatest solemnity of all Christian solemnities.
When we look into the New Testament it makes a close connection between Christ’s resurrection and the Israel’s Pascha festival. The Pascha of the old covenant finds its fulfillment in Christ’s Pascha as the passage through death to glory[14]. The Christian Easter and the Jewish Pascha were indicated by the use of slightly altered term as Pascha. It is necessary that the Church use the name Pascha, not only to the passion and death of the Lord but also to his resurrection. Although Pascha referred originally to the sacrifice of the paschal lambs on 14 Nisan, and in the early Church it also embraced the resurrection. For the sacrifice of Jesus did not end in death but in resurrection. Thus as St. Paul says: “Christ our Passover, has been sacrificed and is risen for us. Let us call Pascha both the death and the resurrection of the Lord”.
Pascha in the Early Church
In the beginning, the sole feast celebrated by the Christian communities was the weekly Passover of the Lord celebrated every Sunday[15]. At least in some churches the yearly Christian Passover appeared with its long vigil, which developed the three faces of the Passover: death, resurrection, and the parousia of the Lord. The church keeps the command of Jesus to celebrate the paschal mystery on fixed days during the year. Each Sunday has to be celebrated as the weekly Pascha to remember the memory. Therefore, Pascha was celebrated as the weekly public celebration of each Christian community. In the second century, some special attention was given to the Sunday after Passover, since this was the Sunday on which Jesus rose from the dead. In the course of the third century the joy marking the end of the paschal vigil was extended into a “fifty-days of rejoicing” regarded as one great Sunday spread over fifty days. Until the fourth century the feast of Pentecost acquired the status of the completion of the fifty days, parallel to the Sunday of the resurrection.
We often hear the expression that each Sunday is a little Easter; because in the early church it was considered as bigger Sunday because of the Easter. Only from the middle of the third century, we see that this festival was celebrated over the period of a week. We can find it in the Didiscalia Apostolorum as follows: Monday recalled the Betrayal; Tuesday the Last Supper; Wednesday the Arrest and Caiphas; Thursday Pilate and Herod; Friday the crucifixion and Sunday the resurrection. Each day was not seen as a separate mystery rather the entire week was on the great celebration of the mystery of the salvific plan of God. By the latter part of the fourth century, the progressive celebration of the events of holy week was celebrated at the several locations in the Jerusalem area. Therefore, the fathers of the fourth and the early fifth centuries designate the days i.e. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday collectively as Pascha; because these days refer to the glorious passion, death and his passage from death to life.
Pascha and Liturgy
All our Liturgical celebrations whether celebration of the sacraments or the celebration of the liturgy of the hours are centered on the paschal event. Jesus has become our real Pascha. It is by Jesus we are saved and redeemed; and through the sacrament of baptism we are made as sons and daughters of God. Therefore, the Church celebrates the passion, death and resurrection in all the liturgical celebration. Through our liturgical celebration we as faithful glorify God and God sanctifies us (SC 7). This sanctification is possible not only by means of the Liturgy of the Hours, but also of the yearly cycle in which the Church “unfolds the whole mystery of Christ from the Incarnation to the day of Pentecost and the joyful hope of the coming of the Lord”(SC 102). All feast and commemorations in the liturgical year celebrate man’s salvation[16] through the one great saving deed of the incarnate, crucified, risen and glorified Son of God.
The content of the annual cycle of celebration is the mystery of Christ with his Church, which is concerned with celebration of the saving deed of the Lord in this world[17]. Thus the liturgical year contains much from the life of the earthly and the glorified Jesus. For this reason the liturgical year is not a mere recalling of individual incidents of earthly life of Jesus, but the celebration of the whole mystery of Christ. The Church celebrates the saving work of god, Pascha, in a sacred commemoration on certain days throughout the course of the year.
Conclusion
As we pray in the Third Eucharist Prayer, “All life, all holiness comes from you, Father, through your Son Jesus Christ, by the working of the Holy Spirit”. We in turn, go to the Father, we answer his invitation of love through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Mediator. It is through Christ that God comes to us and it is through Christ we return to God. In the beginning the people were content with the sole paschal celebration of every Sunday because the unique object of the Christian memorial is Christ’s Passover in its undivided unity of death and resurrection. That is why H. Dalmais writes; Easter is the feast, not only the feast par excellence, the feast of feasts, the only feast, beside which there could be no other.
Christ, our Pascha, has completed the salvation prepared in the OT and continues in the liturgical actions of the Church. Liturgy is the privileged time of salvation, because it helps us to revive under signs and symbols the entire salvific mystery through the celebration of the sacrament. For, liturgy is the source and submit of our Christian life, which activates through the church our salvation.
[1] VINEETH, V.F., Indian Festivals and Christian Celebrations in Word and Worship, July 1987, 163.
[2] ADDIS, William E., A Catholic Dictionary, Virtue & Co.Ltd, London 19955, 614-615.
[3] ADDIS, William E., A Catholic Dictionary, 278.
[4] FREEDMAN, David, N., (ed.) The Anchor Bible Dictionary, (Vol.5), Double day, New York 1992,
p.849.
[5] FREEDMAN, David, N., (Ed) The Anchor Bible Dictionary, (Vol.6), p. 755.
[6] CHUPUNGCO, Anscar, J., The Cosmic Elements of Christian Passover, Editrice Anselmiana, Roma,
1997, 55.
[7] FRIEDRICH, Gerhara, (Ed.) Theological Dictionary of New Testament, Wm.B. Eermans Publishing
Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan 1983, p.899.
[8] The Month of Nisan is to be understood according to our calendars March 21 to April 21.
During these days, the Sunday after the full moon day is Easter.
[9] WOOD, R.W., New Bible Dictionary, Om Books, Secunderabad 2000, p.872.
[10] BROMILEY, G.W., (ed) Theological Dictionary of New Testament, Wm.B.Eerdmans Publishing
Company, Grand Rapids 1983, 896.
[11] ROWLAND, Thomas, God Acts-We React, Costello Publishing Company, Northport, New York 1992,
p.130.
[12] ADDIS, William, E., A Catholic Dictionary, p.278.
[13] KUNZLER,Michael, The Church’s Liturgy, Continuum, London-New York 2001, p.399.
[14] KUNZLER,Michael, The Church’s Liturgy, p.400.
[15] ROWLAND, Thomas, God Acts-We React, pp. 131-132.
[16] MASSI, Pacifico, Il Mistero Pasquale nella Costituzione del Vaticano Secondo sulla Liturgia, Edizioni
Paoline, Roma, 1968, 186.
[17] MASSI, Pacifico, Il Mistero Pasquale nella Costituzione del Vaticano Secondo sulla Liturgia, 189.
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