Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on the 1st Sunday during Lent.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! The fourth article of the Apostle’s Creed is “Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate, He was crucified, He died, He was buried” There are ten (10) In Brief passages in the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding this article of the Creed. The following is a reflection on article 629.
Saint John Damascene (+794) wrote that “Jesus has tasted death” (The Orthodox Faith, 3, 27). This is a poetic way of saying that Jesus died. There are heresies which deny the death of Jesus Christ (Aphthartodocetae Monophysites and Docetism, 6th century). But upon the Cross on Calvary Jesus Christ, true God and true man really did die. The death of Jesus was not just one crucifixion among many. It was to save the human race all together and each human being in particular that Jesus Christ died on Calvary and rose triumphantly. The incarnate eternal Son of the eternal Father died on the Cross. Before the incarnation God did not have a body and could not suffer physically, nor could He die. While we are able to distinguish the two natures of Christ (human and divine) His Person is one. The Father was not nailed to the Cross, nor the Sprit but the Son made man for us was crucified. Good Friday is not a myth or fairy tale, neither is the Easter (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:6). There is history in Sacred Scripture even if there is also poetry and prophecy and legislation.
Death is one of the consequences of Original Sin (together with suffering, ignorance and the tendency to sin called concupiscence). Jesus Christ (like His Blessed Mother) was without Original Sin. By the death of Jesus Christ we are set free from the eternal death which is separation from God. In the saving waters of Baptism we die with Christ (try breathing under water without scuba equipment!) that we might share His resurrection (cf. Funeral Rite).
While Jesus Christ died to save everyone, not everyone accepts His grace and mercy or His saving Gospel (cf. Matthew 7:21; John 8:24). The grace and mercy are available for the asking and receiving… We are responsible to meet the Lord half way… He came from Heaven to Earth, He climbed the height of Calvary… what will we do to meet Him?
Not only did Jesus really die on the Cross for our salvation, He also was buried in a tomb, sometimes called a sepulcher, monument or grave (cf. Matthew 27:57-60; Mark 15:43-46; Luke 23:50-53; John 19:38-42). Jesus’ burial emphasizes again His real death. Jesus’ burial has hallowed the tombs of all believers (cf. Funeral Rite) and made them places of hope: Christ rose from His tomb :: those who die in Him will rise with Him. For Christians the grave is a place of hope, the place from where our bodies will rise on the last day, when the trumpets sound…. (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 10:7; 11:15).
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr