Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Christ Is Risen And All Things Are Changed

Christ Is Risen And All Things Are Changed

Last updated on: April 21, 2019 at 2:54 am by Henry Karlson

Christ Is Risen And All Things Are Changed 2019-04-21T02:54:41-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Andreas Ritzos: Jesus Hominum Salvator /Wikimedia Commons

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn. 1:1-5 RSV).

In the new beginning is the Word, the Word who had become man and then took on death itself so that so that all things that were made through him could be remade through him, cleansed from the taint of sin. In him was the life, the life and light of all humanity and the whole world. The light descended into the darkness of death, but death could not overcome it, for the light in its humility overcame the pomp of death. What had been brought about by sin, the spiritual death which destroys all things, was overthrown. The Word of God made flesh, in all love and humility, allowed himself to be taken in by the darkness, to be surrounded by it, but it could not and would not squash out the light. Thus, we read in the homilies of St. Peter Chrysologus:

Hell is caught, and set in its place. Death gets judged – death which, rushing against guilty men, runs into its Judge; death which after long domination over its slaves rose up against its Master; death which waxed fierce against men but encountered God. [1]

Death is judged: and it is found unacceptable. Death is judged, and the injustice of sin is overturned. Death is judged by the light of the world, and the justice of the grave, the justice of hell, is found wanting. It sought to take on the whole of creation, to take all things and hold them under the sway of its dominion, under the dominion of its nihilistic destruction. But it took too much. It took the God-man, the one who willingly let himself be taken by the powers of darkness, only to find that it had no power to snuff out his light, the light of creation itself. He was the light and life of the world, and though he willingly gave himself over to death, death was not his match: even in his humility, even in his silence, in the silence of the grave, as he let himself go powerless unto death, death found its power nullified: life is greater than death, and the author of life greater than the nihilism of sin.

Christ’s death and descent into hell rearranged everything, even in hell itself. All who die now will come face to face with Christ. The afterlife is his. His light shines throughout it. This is what Sergius Bulgakov affirmed, when he discussed the eternal significance of Christ’s redemptive work:

To what extent is the power of the Redemption – Christ’s incarnation, passion, and resurrection – manifested in the afterlife? The answer is given not only by the dogma of Christ’s preaching in hell but also by numerous patristic texts concerning the victory over death and hell (which are crowned by the homily of St. John Chrysostom, which is the sermon read as the Easter vigil). Christ’s resurrection illuminated hell by its victory over death. This event should be conceived not as momentary or of short duration, but as permanent. In the afterlife, there is no place for anything that is not Christian, even among non-Christians, although, of course, each individual receives the revealed redemption differently, depending on his freedom.[2]

Christ is Risen!

Christ is Risen, and all of creation rejoices. Christ is risen: sin has met its end. Christ is risen, and the whole world is reconfigured by its Lord. Christ is risen, and the glory of God has been revealed. Christ is risen and the power of sin itself has been nullified. Death comes to an end in him, so that in him through him the eternal kingdom of God, a kingdom of light and life, is revealed.

Everything is new. Everything is different. Everything is to be transformed. The world, the universe, is Christ’s, and though it had been contaminated by sin, though it too felt the power of sin trying to nullify it and turn it towards nonbeing itself, the whole of creation finds itself restored in the resurrection of Christ. All things, all humanity, all of creation will find itself renewed in the eschaton. The change of seasons reflects this: Spring anticipates and presents to us the kind of glory which is to come, as Archard of St Victor understood:

To increase newness and joy, the world – which fell when humanity fell – will rise when humanity rises, and its very elements will be changed for the better. The form of this world will pass away, and so ‘we are awaiting new heavens and a new earth.’ The created world itself has been subjected against its will to vanity, but on account of him who subjected it in hope; it too will be freed from the slavery of corruption and into the freedom of the children of God. Now the world itself celebrates and echoes the Lord’s resurrection with its own partial resurrection and renewal. Think what the face of the earth was like a while ago, in the winter. Was it not shapeless, unattractive, and in a way empty and void? Now see what it has become, covered and graced with plants and trees, and embellished with flowers. [3]

The world itself shows forth the glory of God, and so the world itself shall partake of the eschatological glory of the resurrection. It already gives us a glimpse of the resurrection as we see the cycle of the seasons. We get a sense of death and rebirth in time itself, giving us a foreshadowing of its own eschatological reconfiguration as it finds its proper place in the kingdom of God.

Christ has brought us something new. But it is a newness which must be understood as not acting contrary to nature, but fulfilling it. Prior to the resurrection, nature existed in a fallen mode of being, which led it to act and being contrary to itself; in the glory of the resurrection, in the innovation given to it by grace, Christ does not change the nature of things, but its mode of existence, allowing it then to be elevated in a mode which can only be said to be supra-natural, as St. Maximus the Confessor taught:

Every innovation, generally speaking, takes place in relation to the mode of whatever is being innovated, not in relation to its principle nature, because when a principle is innovated it effectively results in the destruction of nature, since the nature in question no longer possesses inviolate the principle according to which it exists. When, however, the mode is innovated – so that the principle of nature is preserved inviolate – it manifests a wondrous power, for it displays nature being acted on and acting outside the limits of its own laws. [4]

Christ is Risen! He showed himself to his disciples, he showed himself to his beloved, he showed himself to the world. In the days after the resurrection, he revealed the glory of God. St. Hildegard thus saw the continuation of the work of the resurrection manifested in and through his forty day between the resurrection and the ascension:

God remained visibly among us through his humanity, filling the entire earth with his miracles through those forty days after his resurrection. In that same humanity, which he assumed when he was conceived by the Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary, he cleansed all the elements that had become sullied through the first human’s transgression. Accompanied by a throng of angels with the victorious banner of his power, he had redeemed from hell the once captive souls of the saints and those who were to be saved.[5]

In the time he had before his ascension, then, Jesus revealed the way he had cleansed all things, so that we could know that all things will be welcome in the kingdom of God. “By a wondrous arrangement, God confined all things under sin so that he might have mercy on all.” [6] All things were brought together as one, so that all things can receive a share of his glory. Nothing has been excluded: he who made all things remakes all things so that all things can share together the glory of God. Who can deny the light shining in the darkness, the light which shines upon all things, revealing their proper glory?

Christ is risen! Indeed, he is risen!

[1] St. Peter Chrysologus, “Sermon 74” in Saint Peter Chrysologus Selected Sermons and Saint Valerian Homilies. Trans. George E Ganns, SJ (New Yok: Fathers of the Church Inc., 1953), 125.

[2] Sergius Bulgakov, The Bride of the Lamb. Trans. Boris Jakim (Grand Rapids, MI: William B Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002), 371-2.

[3] Archard of Saint Victor, “For Easter,” in Works. Trans. Hugh Feiss, OSB (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 2001), 159-60.

[4] St. Maximos the Confessor, On the Difficulties in the Church Fathers: The Ambigua. Volume II. Trans. Nicholas Constas (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014), 173 [Amb. 43].

[5] Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Solutions to Thirty-Eight Questions. Trans. Beverly Mayne Kienzle, Jenny C. Bledsoe and Stephen H. Behnke (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2014), 65.

[6] Archard of Saint Victor, “For Easter,” 161.

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you have liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

Previous Post

April 18, 2019

Christ's Death Glorified Him As He Worked For the Salvation of All

Next Post

April 22, 2019 Earth Day and the Resurrection

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz