Tag Archives: death

Tribulations … Small Time and Big Time

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St. Paul writes one of his letters in this icon. He sits at a writing desk with plenty of writing supplies with his feet on a small pedestal. This is not a footrest. It is common in icons for saints to be slightly elevated by standing on such a pedestal to indicate that they are in a slightly higher position than we are, closer to God, and able to see the world more clearly, more honestly and truthfully. They are “on the heights” (Ps. 18:33). They are where we aim to be when we lift up our hearts.


Even though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For the momentary light weight of our tribulation is producing a more and more exceeding and eternal weight of glory over us who are not looking to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor. 4:16-18)

St. Paul says that although he is physically tormented and wasting away, his inner self–his spirit, his soul–is being renewed and grows stronger every day. His tribulations attack him and damage his body but he is looking forward to the glory that he will share in the Kingdom of God.

All this was true for St. Paul. What about us? We are not being attacked for our faith and tormented physically the way St. Paul was. Why do we still read this passage today? What does it have to say to us?

Not all our tribulations are caused by our mortal, political or social enemies. Sometimes our tribulations are caused by our one True Enemy, which is Death. Some people might say that the Devil is our true enemy but the Devil–the great archetype of Evil, the gigantic monster with horns and bat wings that presides over Walpurgis Night in A Night on Bald Mountain–is actually more a comic figure than a frightful, terrifying figure. In all the stories of the desert fathers and mothers, the Devil is the comic relief: he is foolish and easily duped. He is a vain narcissist and the best way to get rid of him is to laugh at him.

The idea that the Devil is an exaggerated figure of terror comes to us from the Puritans who reduced the invisible world to simply God and the Devil. The Puritans forgot that the one, true, ultimate enemy of the human race–and of the whole created order–is, in fact, Death itself (1 Cor. 15). Death is The Enemy that Christ mounts the Cross to wage war against. Death is The Enemy that is destroyed from the inside-out by Christ’s Death and Resurrection. If we think the Devil is the enemy, then Christ’s Resurrection becomes less the salvation of the world and more a spectacular feat without much direct meaning for us.

Sometimes we bring tribulations upon ourselves. We do something stupid and suffer the consequences. But sometimes we embrace tribulations in order to teach ourselves a lesson. That’s one of the aspects of Lent: we embrace things that are physically difficult–fasting, longer prayers or Bible reading, putting up with people who are difficult–in order to experience a little bit of Christ’s victory over Death here and now.

The renewal of the human race, begun in the sacred bath of baptism, proceeds gradually and is accomplished more quickly in some people and more slowly in others. But many are making progress toward the new life …. No one starts out perfect. To think we can be perfect without a struggle against our fallen selves is a mistake. Thinking we can be perfect without a struggle is to lead the weary astray rather than uplift the weak. Is that really what you want to do?

paraphrase of St. Augustine’s The Way of Life of the Catholic Church I.35.80

God is not a sadist. He does not want us to be miserable. But sometimes we need a little reminder that the victory was won and is being played out and extended throughout the world bit by bit. We need a physical reminder of this and so we embrace small tribulations during the tithe of the year that is Lent.

“I hold the keys of Death and Hades …”

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St. John, in the cave on Patmos, experiences his vision of Christ who holds 7 stars and the keys of Death and Hades-Hell as he is enthroned among the 7 candlesticks. The angels of the 7 churches offer the parishes they protect to Christ.

“Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and–behold!–I am alive for ever and ever! Amen. And I hold the keys of Death and Hades.” (Apocalypse 1:17-18)

In the opening chapter of the Apocalypse, the phrase “I am the First and the Last” is a refrain that occurs several times. First and Last, beginning and the end, alpha and omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet). The original phrase seems to have been “the first and the last, the alpha and the omega;” the words “beginning and the end” seem to have been added in the Latin manuscripts to explain what “alpha” and “omega” were to readers who didn’t know Greek. The phrase is also similar to the famous Ego emi… (“I Am….”) phrases in the Gospel According to St. John: I am the true bread… I am the good shepherd… I am the true vine… etc.

“I am the Living One” is also reminiscent of the Old Testament identification of “the Living God” (Deut. 5:26, Joshua 3:10, Isaiah 37:4, 17). The one who appears to St. John in Patmos is the same Divine Person who revealed himself to Moses at the Burning Bush and repeatedly to the kings and prophets of Israel.

Death and Hades-Hell (Sheol, in some versions) can be understood as two names for the same thing (the experience of separation from God). Hebrew poetry is built on this repetition of ideas and experiences. Many of the psalms repeat themselves in this way.

But Death and Hades are also personified in Apoc. 6:8 as one of the famous Four Horsemen: the fourth rider, who rides a pale horse, is named “Death and Hades.” Early Christian preaching–reflected in the Gospel of Nicodemus–identified Death and Hades as two distinct personages who oversee the land of the dead; they argue as Christ approaches and are overthrown as Christ leads their prisoners to freedom through the gates he has smashed during his Descent into Hell. Some early Christian poetry identify “Death” as a person whiles “Hades” is the place where Death reigns.

Gregory Nanzianzus, commonly known as Gregory the Theologian, thought that the two names Death and Hades referred to the physical and spiritual aspects of death–the result of separation from God. A person can die spiritually many years before they experience death physically–Adam and Eve are examples of people who die spiritually long before their bodies die. Likewise, in baptism people can experience spiritual resurrection before they experience physical resurrection.

Holy Week: The Death of Death

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This 13th century crucifixion from Pisa also depicts scenes from Holy Week: Christ’s arrest, his scourging, carrying the Cross, as well as his death, burial, and resurrection. (Cleveland Museum of Art)

Holy Week is the opportunity to celebrate and contemplate the last week of Christ’s ministry, from his entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to his Resurrection. The heart of Holy Week–the heart of the Christian year–is the nexus of Good Friday-Holy Saturday when Christ’s death and resurrection are celebrated and proclaimed.

Christ’s death was more than a tragic event for a particular person. His death was the encounter between God and Death itself. Once Death had entered the world, following the sin of Adam and Eve, it consumed everything. But when God allowed himself to be consumed by Death, then Death consumed itself. Christ’s resurrection is the pledge that Death has been rendered powerless although it can still be frightening–like a serpent or a chicken with its head cut off, squirming around and spewing blood but harmless apart from whatever fear or disgust we give it.

“Christ concealed the hook under the bait by hiding his strength under weakness. Therefore that murderer who from the beginning thirsted for human blood, rushing blindly upon weakness, encountered strength; he was bitten in the act of biting, transfixed [with nails] as he grasped at the Crucified…. I behold the jaws of the serpent pierced through, so that those who had been swallowed may pass through them…. Well may he be angry, roar, and waste away, for the prey has been snatched from his teeth.” (St. Guerric of Igny, Sermon 30)

In the Middle Ages, many images of Christ on the Cross–especially those based on Byzantine models–contain images of the other events in Holy Week as well.