Growing up, some of the most fascinating stories were those of the martyrs, young men and women who fearlessly went to face lions and tortures without any fear. What was their strength? Where did they get their courage from? In fact, St. Athanasius says that the fearless running of women and children to their death is one of the greatest proofs of the resurrection, for by His death and resurrection, Christ has completely annihilated death, corruption and the fear of death altogether.
Today, we're looking at Christ's work of salvation through His death and His resurrection. In Christ, death is no more. We affirm, in the Litany of the Departed, that there is no death for Your servants, but [only] a departure. It is a departure into the eternal embrace of God. This too is salvation. All this was made possible by Christ being the victor over death through the cross, when He tasted death and killed it in the process.
I love how St. Athanasius puts it. Christ, in His love for us, became man in order to access what was unnatural to Him, namely death and corruption. And so He took on a full humanity to be able to die and to kill death itself. St. Athanasius says:
''It was by surrendering to death the body which He has taken, as an offering and sacrifice free from every stain, that He forthwith abolished death for His human brethren by the offering of the equivalent.'' (St. Athanasius, On the Incarnation, Chapter 2, Paragraph 9)
St. John Chrysostom gives this nice imagery as an example. He resembles death to a famished beast that has been eating the souls of every human being as they die. The soul, after it leaves the body would descend into Hades where it met this beast, I mean death, and that beast would eat it. Until one time, approximately two thousand years ago, the human soul of a man named Jesus descended into Hades as well. The beast devoured this soul as well, only to realize that this Jesus was not a mere human, but was God in the flesh. He was, I mean, He is the Source of Life. That human soul descending into Hades was perfectly united with the divinity of the Logos. The beast, which is death, could not resist the Source of Life and died on the spot.
This imagery simply illustrates what took place on the cross as Christ breathed His last and gave up His spirit. By the same token, it was impossible for death to overpower the Source of Life. I was therefore natural for Christ to be raised from the dead. By doing so, every human being who is part of Christ's body, i.e. the Church, participates in this mystery of death and resurrection in Jesus Christ. Consequently, the state of the glorified or spiritual body that Christ took on after the resurrection will be shared with every human who is in Him through
baptism. Through this death and resurrection, Christ has done away with death and the corruption of human nature. St. Athanasius says:
''Naturally also, through this union of the immortal Son of God with our human nature, all men were clothed with incorruption in the promise of the resurrection. (...) by virtue of the Word's indwelling in a single human body, the corruption which goes with death has lost its power over all.'' (St. Athanasius, On the Incarnation, Chapter 2, Paragraph 9)
St. Paul puts it this way:
'' 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.'' (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)
As a result of this salvific work, innumerable Christians have stood in line to be martyred for the name of Christ, not fearing death.
'' 55 O Death, where is your sting? Oh Hades, where is your victory?'' (1 Corinthians 15:55)
Glory to God forever. Amen.