India Vision: |Venad| Christ . . . went and preached to the spirits in prison

Saturday, April 11, 2009

|Venad| Christ . . . went and preached to the spirits in prison

Christ . . . went and preached to the spirits in prison.

I Peter 3:18–19 (RSV)

There's no service at our church today; it's a time for quiet meditation. The sanctuary is dark and bare, stripped of hangings, vessels—everything bright and colorful. On the altar a wooden cross is draped in black.

In the silence I reflect on a world whose Light has gone out. Jesus shrouded and motionless in the tomb.

It's an image I don't want to linger on. I'm relieved when the sanctuary lights are switched on, and people begin carrying in pots of tulips, lilies, hyacinths and daffodils for tomorrow's great celebration. I leave to get mint jelly for our Easter dinner. After all, I think, this is essentially just a day of preparation for the great event.

I thought so, that is, until last year, when I made my first trip to Russia for a seminar on the Orthodox Church. In icons, those images that are not paintings but "windows into heaven," I recognized familiar scenes of Jesus' life—His baptism by John, the raising of Lazarus, the Crucifixion. But what episode was this? In every church a prominent icon showed Jesus, robes flying, striding into a dark opening in the earth. Graves are opening as He seizes the hands stretched out to Him, drawing lost souls from the depths of hell.

Jesus, on this day, inert and passive in the tomb? Not in the Orthodox tradition! Here is an avenging Savior, confronting the forces that corrupt and imprison His creatures. Gazing at the drama depicted in these icons, I thought of the phrase in the Apostles' Creed that I've said so often and reflected on so little: "He descended into hell." Here, Holy Saturday celebrates the Savior Who has endured the worst that Satan can do and now descends to free the captives of a defeated enemy.

Free me, too, Lord, on this holy day and every day, from the sin that entraps.

MERRISON STEPHEN

LOCATION INCHARGE

INTERCAT HOSPITALITY L L C

POST BOX # 52044

DUBAI, U A E

Email : merrisonstephen@yahoo.com

website : www.intercat.ae

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The region south of Cochin centered around Quilion came to be known as Venad. It was an autonomous kingdom within the Chera empire. The port was visited by Nestorian Christians, Chinese and Arabs. A new calendar was established called 'Kolla Varsham' (Quilion year) starting in AD 825.The Kulasekara empire lasted for three centuries. }