Harrowing of Hell Found in 1 Peter 3:18-22, Ephesians 4:9, Colossians 2:15, Acts 2:24, Hosea 13:14, Zech. 9:11, Psalms 23:7
There’s a lot of discomfort surrounding today. Was it just a metaphor? Just the soul of Christ that descended? Body and soul? The arguments go back and forth for hundreds of years. Again, scripture paints the picture of something happening. I don’t believe it was a ‘rest day’ for Christ. Scripture just doesn’t give us that evidence outside of human assumptions.
So how do we/should we approach the day? With celebration, of course! There’s an Orthodox prayer book used for Holy Week that has a hymn for today on page 415. This is what it says:
Today Hades cried out groaning: “Would that I had not received the One born of Mary; for He came upon me and loosed my power. He shattered the gates of brass; the souls, which I held captive of old, as God He raised up.” Glory O Lord to Your Cross and Your Resurrection. Today Hades cried out groaning: “My authority is dissolved; I received a mortal, as one of the mortals; but this One, I am powerless to contain; with Him, I lose all those, over which, I had ruled. For ages, I had held the Dead, but behold, He raises up all.” Glory O Lord, to Your Cross and Your Resurrection. Today Hades cried out groaning: “My power had been trampled on; the Shepherd has been crucified, and Adam He raised up. I have been deprived of those, over whom I ruled; and all those, I had the power to swallow, I have disgorged. He, Who was crucified has cleared the tombs. The dominion of Death is no more.” Glory O Lord, to our Cross and Your Resurrection
That’s beautiful. In a sense, as one author said; “all of hell belongs to Christ”. It’s such a hopeful and restorative promise that it’s hard to wrap our heads around. Christ went to the depths and was rescued. He still does and always will. He meets us in the depths of our lives and frees us. Rids us of our shackles. Some traditions celebrate this day in such a way that on Easter morning the church looks like a party has happened overnight. Throwing flowers all around and leaving things a mess. Beauty from ashes is what it sounds like to me. And that is something worth celebrating.
Harrowing of Hell, Andrej Rublev (iconography), 1408 Moscow

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