We think of the Risen Life in man as a summer of Christhood in the world, a splendor of flower and fruit, a harvesting of love; and so it is, but not unconditionally. Christ has told us himself what the condition is: that the seed must be buried, must be buried deep down in the darkness, under men's feet, under the weight of the earth. That it must be subjected to the winter, to the season of frost and iron, of long darkness and short light. That it must accept the preordained measure, the slow pace and long pause in the periods of growth. It is only on this condition that it can bear fruit.
It is only on the condition that Christ dies that he rises from the dead; it is only because he surrendered himself to death, that we can live the splendor of his Risen Life.
Caryll Houselander in The Risen Christ
No comments:
Post a Comment