Indeed He is risen, and it is a beautiful thing!
"Beauty will save the world" is a famous quote from Dostoevsky, which has been misunderstood and, simultaneously, underappreciated, for quite some time. What does it mean to have a theology of beauty?
In the Orthodox Church, we are always striving for beauty. I've mentioned recently how amazing Fr. Seth's transformation of our space has been, for example. But the beauty of Pascha is another level entirely. It always has been.
I have to confess, I was skeptical whether we'd be able to pull it off in our little mission. We have a small choir comprised of the choir director, John (also a Reader and founder of the mission), me, his daughter, two of my daughters, and our friend Alicia. For now, that's it. Could we do these elaborate pieces the Slavic tradition gives us for this feast of feasts?
It turns out, yes we could, and yes we did. I don't say this to brag on the choir's aptitude (though John did a great job preparing us) so much as to say thanks be to God that He provides what we need. The music was beautiful, as it has been every year I've been in the Church.
Could we pull off the procession and revel in its beauty with our little storefront in a strip mall beside the Subway sandwich shop? Also yes. We gathered in the parking lot, candles lit, and sang and prayed and when we entered the nave, everyone was singing Christ is Risen.
For those who don't know, the Orthodox celebrate the Resurrection. It is an hours long party where the priest yells "Christ is risen!" in different languages and the parish responds. I remember being stunned, because the choir was pretty loud that day, the first time the parish responded "indeed He is risen!" That response felt like someone muted the choir, it was so loud and boisterous! All of the rest that followed felt the same way.
It felt, in other words, like every other Orthodox parish I've ever celebrated Pascha in (three in total, not including St. Patrick). The surprise was, our little mission, smaller than those, felt exactly like any of them. The beauty of Pascha shone through.
Does it matter? Isn't Christ risen even if we can't pull off the aesthetics of a proper Paschal liturgy? Of course. And yet, we nonetheless strive for beauty. We aren't functionaries or utilitarians, leaving our music bland and our architecture like the Soviets, useful only for getting stuff done. We are worshipping the One True God, and His only begotten Son, our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ! Our worship, our space, and our piety ought to reflect His beauty.
So why do we beautify? Because God is beautiful! His infinite love is beautiful. His creation is beautiful. Beauty is a reflection of Him Who created us in His image, and seeks to conform us again to His likeness. So we tend the garden, hoping her seeds will bear fruit. Thanks be to God we can do that even in our nascent little mission parish.
