Sunday, December 15
Hymn: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (ELW, No. 257, st. 4)
In medieval Christianity, it was widely believed that Christ’s death on the cross sent him down into the depths of hell. Christian art shows Christ there, stomping on the head of Satan and opening the gates of hell. Christians streamed out toward this victorious Christ—the Christus Victor. This imagination about Christ’s victory over hell is hopeful and helpful, even if we are no longer sure that hell is a particular supernatural place. What we do know is that hell happens all over the globe when entire communities are destroyed by natural disasters, when war makes neighborhoods into killing zones, when entire peoples are threatened by genocidal impulses. The experience of disasters or tragic death and displacement can leave people in a state of trauma and “hell” that will never entirely leave them.Christ’s descent into hell reminds us all that even though we may not be able to heal all who are traumatized, Christ can and does. He calls us to join him in stomping down the gates of hell.
Hymn: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (ELW, No. 257, st. 4)
In medieval Christianity, it was widely believed that Christ’s death on the cross sent him down into the depths of hell. Christian art shows Christ there, stomping on the head of Satan and opening the gates of hell. Christians streamed out toward this victorious Christ—the Christus Victor. This imagination about Christ’s victory over hell is hopeful and helpful, even if we are no longer sure that hell is a particular supernatural place. What we do know is that hell happens all over the globe when entire communities are destroyed by natural disasters, when war makes neighborhoods into killing zones, when entire peoples are threatened by genocidal impulses. The experience of disasters or tragic death and displacement can leave people in a state of trauma and “hell” that will never entirely leave them.Christ’s descent into hell reminds us all that even though we may not be able to heal all who are traumatized, Christ can and does. He calls us to join him in stomping down the gates of hell.
Jesus, hell is a painful, terrible state of being. Thank you for not being afraid to move into that terrible space with us and take on our trauma so that we are not abandoned in our pain. Amen.
From O Come, O Come Emmanuel, a publication of Luther Seminary. Used with permission. You may download O Come, O Come Emmanuel via this link. If you subscribe to Luther Seminary’s God Pause, you will receive O Come, O Come, Emmanuel in your email inbox each day of Advent. If you’re not a God Pause subscriber, sign up here and select “God Pause Daily Devotions.” You’ll continue to receive daily God Pause devotions, written by Luther Seminary alumni, after Advent ends.
Writers: Michael Binder ’17, Affiliate Faculty in Congregational Mission and Leadership; Amy Marga, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology. Theological Editor: James L. Boyce ’71, Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Greek. Cover photo by Elizabeth Explores on Unsplash.