Today we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. I guess in theory we celebrate it every Sunday, and I guess we should celebrate it every single day.
The Resurrection makes us who we are.
One of the greatest paradoxes of the Christian faith is that God is Just and Merciful. He is more Just than we will ever be and more Merciful than we will ever be. It is because of Christ that He can be both, because in Christ He holds these two together.
God is the Maker of Heaven and Earth. He is the King, a Righteous Ruler. To let rebellion go without punishing it would negate His Holiness, His Justice. A Just Ruler would not allow crimes to go unpunished.
So, the biggest struggle is that when I sin, when I rebel, when I am idolatrous, I feel the impossibility of approaching the throne of God, for it is against Him that I have sinned. My inclination is to run from the Sovereign God. But here is where the beautiful truth and freedom come in: Not only is He Just but He is the Justifier. He is not only the One who judges but He is the One who Saves.
My rebellion is against God Almighty, but at the same time only God Almighty can save me.
How does He do this? He becomes Man to take on the full punishment of rebellion of mankind. God remains Just and Merciful.
What better day to celebrate our Freedom? Religions have much truth to them but lack salvation for mankind. Christianity is so beautiful in that God becomes Man in order that His Character and Salvation are complete.
God is not only our Judge but Our Savior. He is not only the Just but the Justifier.
This is all because of Jesus Christ defeating death on the Cross.
What greater news is this?
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Chrsit Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:23 - 26)
1 comment:
> I guess in theory we celebrate [the Resurrection] every Sunday,
That is explicitly the case in Orthodox liturgics. Every Sunday has a Resurrection hymn appointed (unless overridden by one of the great feasts).
> and I guess we should celebrate it every single day.
There's an Orthodox custom of greeting one another with "Christ is risen!" from Pascha (Easter) to Ascension. But St Seraphim of Sarov was known to greet everyone that way all year round.
> The Resurrection makes us who we are.
Amen.
> One of the greatest paradoxes of the Christian faith is that God is Just and Merciful. [...] To let rebellion go without punishing it would negate His Holiness, His Justice. A Just Ruler would not allow crimes to go unpunished.
Now for the part that actually prompted me to comment. :-) I tend to think that this is mostly a paradox for the West with its inheritance of Roman and Mediaeval legalism and emphasis on cosmic order. In that worldview, God is indeed a king and judge who must maintain order and balance and his own honor by punishing crimes/sin. But in the East, justice and righteousness are more about making things right. This justice isn't opposed to and in tension with mercy but rather seeks to restore and to heal.
There's a podcast that often talks about this other perspective which I try to keep up with at http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/pilgrims particularly the episodes on 'oneness' (as in unity with God, not a certain form of Pentecostalism). I do think the author occasionally goes a little overboard, and his presentation style in earlier episodes could be a bit irksome at least to me, but on the whole it's pretty good.
Christ is risen! And Happy Easter! :-)
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