From the
commentary on the second letter to the Corinthians by Saint Cyril of
Alexandria, bishop
God has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given
us the ministry of reconciliation
Those who have a sure hope, guaranteed by the Spirit,
that they will rise again lay hold of what lies in the future as though it were
already present. They say: Outward appearances will no longer be our standard
in judging other men. Our lives are all controlled by the Spirit now, and are
not confined to this physical world that is subject to corruption. The light of
the Only-begotten has shone on us, and we have been transformed into the Word,
the source of all life. While sin was still our master, the bonds of death had
a firm hold on us, but now that the righteousness of Christ has found a place
in our hearts we have freed ourselves from our former condition of corruptibility.
This means that none of us lives in the flesh anymore, at
least not in so far as living in the flesh means being subject to the
weaknesses of the flesh, which include corruptibility. Once we thought of
Christ as being in the flesh, but we do not do so any longer, says Saint Paul.
By this he meant that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; he suffered
death in the flesh in order to give all men life. It was in this flesh that we
knew him before, but we do so no longer. Even though he remains in the flesh,
since he came to life again on the third day and is now with his Father in
heaven, we know that he has passed beyond the life of the flesh; for having
died once, he will never die again, death has no power over him any more. His
death was a death to sin, which he died once for all; his life is life with
God.
Since Christ has in this way become the source of life
for us, we who follow in his footsteps must not think of ourselves as living in
the flesh any longer, but as having passed beyond it. Saint Paul’s saying is
absolutely true that when anyone is in Christ he becomes a completely different
person: his old life is over and a new life has begun. We have been justified
by our faith in Christ and the power of the curse has been broken. Christ’s
coming to life again for our sake has put an end to the sovereignty of death.
We have come to know the true God and to worship him in spirit and in truth,
through the Son, our mediator, who sends down upon the world the Father’s
blessings.
And so Saint Paul shows deep insight when he says: This
is all God’s doing: it is he who has reconciled us to himself through Christ.
For the mystery of the incarnation and the renewal it accomplished could not
have taken place without the Father’s will. Through Christ we have gained
access to the Father, for as Christ himself says, no one comes to the Father
except through him. This is all God’s doing, then. It is he who has reconciled
us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
(From the Office of Readings for the 6th Sunday of Easter)
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