He is risen and this changes everything. Barth underscored the glory of God in Christ as he wrote about the logical syllogisms of Man with its unstoppable “therefore” being, now, obliterated through the divine illogical interruption of God. “If A is A , therefore, B.” Yet, now, the glorious nevertheless of God in Christ: “If A is A, therefore, B, but nevertheless Christ is risen!” In Christ’s resurrection, the irreducible has been subjected to the infinite.
The Polish poet, Czeslaw Milosz (1911-2004), wrote: “To put it very simply and bluntly, I must ask if I believe that the four Gospels tell the truth. My answer to this is: Yes. So I believe in an absurdity, that Jesus rose from the dead? Just answer without any of those evasions and artful tricks employed by theologians: Yes or No? I answer: Yes, and by that response I nullify death’s omnipotence.”
Blessed be the Lord, the God os Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be His glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory! Amen and Amen! (Psalm 72:18-19)
He is risen! (Matthew 28:26)
And everything is now possible, for beyond the stone-cold barrier at which we stand—Christ. Alive.
Reference
Barth, Karl, and Clifford J. Green. Karl Barth: Theologian of Freedom. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991. 126-27.
Driscoll, Jeremy, O,M.B. “The Witness of Czeslaw Milosz.” First Things. November 2004. Accessed April 05, 2015. http://www.firstthings.com/article/2004/11/the-witness-of-czeslaw-milosz.
From Green’s Barth (126-127): “Beyond the barrier at which we stand is — God. This is the theme of the Word of God. The more we become aware of the piercing irresistible to a of this Word, the more powerfully and clearly will God speak to us of his justice, and of his kingdom; the more everything human—our good and evil, our belief and unbelief—becomes transparent as glass, the more pronouncedly do we—as we are seen and known by God—stand under his sovereignty and under the operation of his power. The righteousness of God is that nevertheless! By which he associates us with himself and declares himself to be our God. This “nevertheless” contradicts every human logical “consequently,” and is itself incomprehensible and without cause or occasion, because it is ‘nevertheless!’ Of God.”