Lent with the Early Church Fathers Day 33

Day 33

Lent with the Early Church Fathers

A daily post from Tom Bandy 

Based on Day by Day with the Early Church Fathers (Eds. Christopher D. Hudson, J. Alan Sharrer, and Lindsay Vanker: Hendrickson Press, 1999) 

Jesus really died 

Tertullian 

Wasn’t God really crucified? And, having been crucified, didn’t he really die? And, having died, didn’t he really rise again? If not, Paul would have falsely “determined to know nothing among us but Jesus and him crucified.” He would have falsely imposed on us that Christ was buried and rose again. Then our faith is also false. And all that we hope for from Christ is a dream. Will you spare the whole world from its only hope by destroying the essential dishonor of our faith? Whatever is unworthy of God is profitable to me. I am safe if I’m not ashamed of my Lord. “Whosoever,” he says, “shall be ashamed of me, of him will I also be ashamed.” 

The son of God was crucified. I am not ashamed because mankind must be ashamed of it. In the son of God died. It is to be believed because it is absurd. And he was buried and rose again. The fact is certain because it is impossible. But how will all this be true if he wasn’t true himself, if he hadn’t had within himself that which might be crucified, might die, might be buried, and might rise again? 

TGB: The paradox of incarnation is that Jesus the Christ was – is – fully human and fully divine. But the paradox of our faith is that it is divinely dishonorable. It is flagrantly foolish. It is unverifiably true. So faith is only sustainable through trust.