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CHRISTOS ANESTE! ALETHOS ANESTE!
A rledi'bation
Delivered in Ue Duke lniversi t y Ct.apel
by
'Il·e Reverend Professor Janes T. Cleland
Dean of the Chape 1
April 10, 1966.
(Easter Day)
TPe Easter season is a time of one special memory for me. It dates back to
April, 1939, in tJ ~ e city of Athens in Greece. On Good Friday nigtt a seemingl y
endless procession marched throu ~l: tt.e city. TI1e street li gl ts were draped in
black; illuminated si ~ ns were darkened; fla gs were lalf-mast or furled. In quietness and with dignity came t he marchers : police, sailors, boy and girl scouts,
firemen, soldiers, with the "evzones ", the Greelt re rriment of the Guards, in their
picturesque uniform; 'Il.en followed tl.e clergy of t he Orti'odox Cl.-urch escortin ~ an
effigy of tt.e dead a lrist. Funeral dirges were the only music; t 1 e troops carried
their rifles reversed, Here was a city , a people, church and state, officially
and unanimously, lamenting t he death of Jesus of Nazareth. And on that Good Friday
in 1939, ~~ssolini and bis Fascist troops be ~an invading Albania, the country w ich
bordered Greece. It was a crucifixion world. The next ni ~ht three of us climbed
Lycabettus, the hill of Atilens, and watched tl' e worsl'ippers standin ~ around the
crowded churches waiting for the news of the Resurrection and the lighting of the
Easter candles. JUst after midnight the Acropolis was flood-lit, bells peeled,
fireworks exploded and a twenty-one gun salute was fired to honor the risen Christ.
Atl:ens became a city of walking candles. Then t he Easter greet in~ and answer were
spoken: Christos aneste (Christ i s risen)! Alethos aneste (He is risen indeed)~
It was the Easter versicle all day long that joyous Lord's Day--said to friends,
said to strangers.
'lbere was another Greek phrase which one learned and used in Athens. It was
Den peirazei, and it means: It doesn't ~atter; never mind: forget it; skip it.
When one has been bumped into or stepped on, and the person apologizes, the correct
answer is Den peirazei, like the French: Ca ~fait rien, or the German: ~ macht
nichts. Cnfortunately, one American student on being accosted at Easter with
Christos aneste • . unintentionally blurted out Den peirazie instead of· Alethos aneste .
• • .• • * *
Much of the world today intentionally answers Den peirazei to the Easter
proclamation Christos aneste--It doesn't really matter; forget it. But we are
here today because we believe--to some extent, hopefully, longingly--that it does
really matter. It does, for three reasons.
First, Easter is God's imprimatur~ Jesus. It is the divine nihil obstat,
the sacred seal of approval on the life and death, the work and teaching , of the
prophet of Nazareth. His followers, God knew, needed such a vote of confidence.
.
2.
had been condemned to death for bl ~ sp hemy by the church and for treason by the
state. His view of the Messiah was so contrary to all his disciples had learned
in the synagogue that he baffled t hem, even when t hey tried to believe in him.
He didn't rUQ true to any form the y had been taught.
Ea s ter was God's effective
testimonial to the crucified criminal. The surprised and wondering disciples were
given their second wind . T.he Otristian Church is the outcome. Easter does matter.
Alethos aneste!
He
Second, Easter is the symbol of the defeat of ~· We may not accept the
Pauline argument read in our morning Lesson, but it is worthy of understanding.
In the Jewish-Christian tradition death is the result not merely of physiological
limitation but of sin, sin whi~h is the fact which separates man from God. Now,
if at Easter death was defeated, then sin was defeated. That is why Paul wrote
a sentence which is a shout: "Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57), Easter doesn't matter? It does, if evil
is real to us, if sin is real to us.
Third, Easter is the pledge, the assurance, that we go on after death. The
--.~ question put by Jbb:-,r::-:;-If a man die,- shall he live--again?
haunted the Jews. In
Jesus' day, the Sadducees answered: "No" to the question. For t hey were fundamentalists, and they could find no proof of life after death in the Law and the
Prophets. The Pharisees, being liberals, answered: "Yes." Jesus, in his
teaching sided with the Pharisees. And Easter is God's endorsement. Paul extended
the endorsement; "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive"
(15:22). Our life, be~ 1 n here in God, shall be continued with God.
The Christian
faith is an Easter faith. We live by this, And we die by this in the confidence
that life--our individual, particular, personal lives--life goes on. Easter
doesn'~ matter?
No, to some people, it doesn't. But we are here today commemorating the Resurrection because we think it does matter to us. Easter has taken
the sting out of death.
• * ****
Someone once wrote this sentence in a novel: "Easter's a funny story, but it
fits--it fits." That is the faith we celebrate today with organ and trumpets, in
choir and congrecration. Christos aneste. let the world say Den peirazei. We say,
in gratitude and hope: Alethos aneste. He is risen indeed.~aster's a funny
story, but it fits--it fits.
let us pray:
Praise be to Thee, 0 Father Almi ghty, who didst raise up Thy Son from the dead and
give Him glory, that our faith and hope might be in The£.
Praise be to Thee, 0 Lord Jesus Christ, who as on this day didst bring life and
and immortality to light.
Praise be to Thee, 0 Holy Spirit of God, who dost quicken us together with Christ,
and shed abroad his love in our hearts, that we may rejoice in the hope of his
glory.
All praise and thanks, dominion and power, be unto Thee, 0 holy and blessed Trinity,
now and for evermore.
AMEN,