The Descent into Hell. Byzantine icon (c. 1350-1375), Walters Museum [CC0 Licence]

On Holy Saturday, the Church falls silent. Christ is dead, the earth trembles, all seems lost. Following the highly symbolically charged liturgical celebrations of Holy Thursday and Good Friday, today is observed in solemn expectation. Yet, on other level, for Christian tradition this day is far from empty, but rather marks the harrowing of Hell: the descent of the victorious Christ to the underworld, defeating death and evil once for all, a profound act of liberation for all those who were waiting for the day of the Lord.

In this, it provides a powerful symbolic reading, that is well worth reflecting upon, and an antidote to some positions that may be often adopted.

The cross of Christ:

  • is about self-giving love that keeps nothing for itself;
  • is the willingness to face evil unafraid, unarmed, to unmask it for what it truly is;
  • is standing up for the truth, whatever it may cost;
  • is the fullness of love that becomes a “refiner’s fire” that purifies;
  • is the victorious power of the fullness of love, that cannot be overcome by evil, and overcomes evil;
  • is the greatest symbol of freedom and liberation!

So, the cross of Christ cannot, and should not:

  • be a way of coercing others to “meekly accept” and submit to discriminatory, abusive or toxic behaviour;
  • be used as a means of perpetuating a status quo that favours the powerful, the rich, and the privileged;
  • be a sorry excuse for what we are unwilling to change in ourselves, in the Church, and in the world.

Whenever, and wherever faith in Christ, and the victorious cross, is used as a means of subjugation, rather than liberation, it become a parody of itself, and — dare I say — blasphemous. After all, in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4,18-19), Jesus spoke of himself in the words of the prophet Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
        to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
        to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Christ sets us free. We should settle for nothing less.