Sunday, April 1, 2018

Patristic Wisdom for Easter Sunday

I saw the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
Therefore my heart was glad,
And my tongue rejoiced exceedingly;
My flesh also shall dwell in hope.
For You will not abandon my soul to Hades
Nor allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You made known to me the ways of life;
You will fill me with gladness in Your presence;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Ps 16:8–11 LXX)


So at this place, too, Christ the Lord in human fashion says, “Constantly supported by the divine nature, I am in the midst of My saving passion and find gladness in the hope of resurrection. My soul, you see, will not be abandoned in Hades, nor will My flesh suffer natural corruption. I shall achieve a rapid resurrection and return to life, giving all people a glimpse of this path.”

Since He had said approaching His passion, “My soul is sorrowful to the point of death,” it was right for Him to recall the resuurection, teaching that in place of that discouragement He will be in unceasing joy, having become immune to suffering, to change, to death, even in His human nature. As God, you see, this was always the case, and of course even in His human nature once formed in the womb it was easy to provide Him with this. But He allowed the nature He had assumed to travel through the sufferings so as by these means to loose the sway of sin, put a stop to the tyranny of the devil, undo the power of death and provide all people with the basis of a new life. So as man He assumes both incorruption and immortality.

Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Psalms

No comments: