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March 22, 2008
> 7:03 PM
holy saturday thoughts Holy Week is nearly over. This day would have been an odd one for the Apostles and Jesus' first disciples. We prepare for a joyous celebration of Easter Resurrection. We know the end of the story. They didn't know this. It would be very difficult to say with certainty how much faith each of them had in the fact that Jesus would rise and really be alive in front of them again. There was likely a good bit of grief and anxiety going on in their midst - we know there was. I think my feelings on this day are more like that than leaning to any sort of joyous anticipation. I feel a bit on the dark side, wondering if any sort of resurrection will come after all this. And where was Jesus during all this? "Where" - that designation comes up a bit short, as does any that are bound in the space-time continuum. We use this language to talk about dimensional realities like heaven and hell, but they are only ways we have of talking about something we can't quite fully grasp as we presently see things. So, to answer the question as I've come to see it: He was in hell. Now, I'm honestly not trying to be controversial. I'm sharing how I understand what took place at that time - see, there we go talking about time. The early creedal statements talk about Jesus descending into hell before He rose again. Many believe this must have been talking about a visit to what is known as "Abraham's bosom" - the place of the dead in Jewish thought. All these are mysterious concepts to us - some "place" other than heaven or hell, or purgatory, where faithful people "went" when they died before Jesus provided a way to heaven - odd. The concepts of heaven or hell are odd. So, trying to say we have these things nailed down would be even more odd. The Church over the centuries hasn't said much about the details of these... places. And as far as I know, there has never been an absolute "this is the way it is" about whether or not Jesus could have or did actually go into hell when He died, at some point, for some reason. I've heard theological speculation in both directions. It seems like the thought is repugnant to some. To others, the argument seems to be something along the line of it being ontologically impossible. I imagine that could well be applied to Him becoming a human being as well - but He did that. It's hard to guage that kind of thing. I'll tell you how I think about it, obviously not completely or in the form of a full-fledged theological thesis. Short story - it's consistent to me. It makes sense that if we are going to talk about Jesus' passion and death by crucifixion acting as payment for our sins, as a sacrifice that paid a price for our salvation (and yes, this is deep inside Catholic thought about salvation) - if we're going to do that, it would make sense to say that if He's going to pay the price and cover the whole deal, that to do that in as complete a fashion as possible, hell would need to be a part of the picture. If Jesus would take upon Himself the stripes and total consequence of all our sin, it follows that He would do this both inside and outside of time. In short, if we can agree that hell is outside of time, in the realm of what we refer to as eternity, then if Jesus "went there," He was there to pay an eternal price. This, as I see it, makes the whole passion, death, descending into hell, and resurrection thing even greater. He not only soaked up any kind of punishment in the earthly dimension, but He also soaked up all the mess of hell itself - for us, for me, for you. And through the power of His Resurrection, as He ascended from the dead, His Life, eternal Life, neutralized the death, the eternal death, of hell. So, when we say yes to Him - when we allow His Life to take root in us and swallow us up, the effects are incomprehensibly greater than perhaps we once imagined. Our Life in Him is eternal Life. We have been saved from eternal death. Looking at it in this way does no harm to the Glory of God in Jesus at all. What it does in my mind and heart, is cultivate an even greater harvest of thanksgiving to God. Again, just some thoughts before our celebration of His Resurrection. technorati tags > holy saturday, jesus descended into hell, holy week 0 Comments:| permalink | e-mail me | 
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