On Holy Friday night, at the end of the Orthros service for Great and Holy Saturday (the Lamentations service), Fr. Matthew Howell reflects on the themes that we heard during the service. He explains how the procession that went around the church temple was not only a stroll through Wasilla, Alaska but was also a mystical procession with Christ through Hades. He explains how Christ frees us from bondage to sin just as He delivered the Israelites from bondage in slavery to Egypt. He points out that Christ comes to free everyone from slavery to sin and death, yet He still gives us a choice as to whether we will follow Him out of Hades into the Kingdom of Heaven or whether we will stay bound in the darkness of sin. Along the way, he touches on baptismal vows, tears of repentance, the Dry Bones prophecy of Ezekiel (Ez. 37:1-14), the creation of mankind for Life rather than Death, the depths of our brokenness, and how Christ is the ultimate superhero who embarks on the ultimate rescue mission to free us from an eternity of corruption by breaking down the gates of Hades while reopening the gates of Paradise.
