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Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 5, Sunday | A Reading From The Commentary Of Saint Cyril Of Alexandria On The Second Letter To The Corinthians | God Has Reconciled Us Through Jesus
‘God has reconciled us through Jesus Christ and conferred on us the ministry of reconciliation.’
Rooted in the theological tradition of the Alexandrian school, Saint Cyril brings to bear a rich spiritual and doctrinal understanding of what it means to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. This reading forms a cornerstone of Eastertide’s ongoing theme of renewal and resurrection.
Transformation Of The Believer | New Creation In Christ
Saint Cyril begins with the assertion that Christians, having been filled with the Spirit and promised resurrection, can live as though the future glory has already broken into the present. His exposition of 2 Corinthians 5:17 (‘If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation’) emphasizes a radical transformation of the human person. This is not mere moral improvement but a mystical renewal in which believers are no longer defined by the limitations of the flesh or the corruptibility of sin.
This echoes the broader tradition of theosis (deification), a key concept in Eastern Christian theology, in which the faithful become partakers in the divine nature (cf. 2 Peter 1:4). In being ‘transformed into the Word’, Christians become living reflections of Christ Himself, not by nature as the Son is, but by participation.
Christ’s Death And Resurrection | A New Mode Of Being
Cyril carefully distinguishes between the former life under sin and the new life in Christ. He notes that though Christ was once known ‘in the flesh’, that is, subject to suffering and death, He now lives forever in glory. Christ’s bodily resurrection is not merely a return to mortal life but an entrance into a new, imperishable existence—an existence that He now shares with believers through the Spirit.
Referencing Romans 6:10, ‘The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God,’ Cyril affirms that Christ’s victory over death is definitive and transformative. Believers, therefore, must view themselves as having ‘passed beyond’ the flesh—not in the sense of abandoning the body, but in no longer being enslaved to its corruptible nature.
Reconciliation As Divine Initiative
Central to Cyril’s reflection is the idea that reconciliation is the work of God. ‘This is all God’s doing,’ he insists, echoing 2 Corinthians 5:18. Cyril aligns closely with Paul’s theology of grace: it is God who takes the initiative, reconciling the world to Himself through Christ. The Incarnation is not a mere divine gesture but a full entry into human suffering and alienation in order to redeem it from within.
Here we see the fruit of Cyril’s involvement in the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), where he defended the unity of Christ’s person—fully God and fully man. It is precisely this union that allows Christ to serve as the perfect mediator between God and humanity, able to reconcile us because He truly shares both natures.
Ministry Of Reconciliation | A Vocation For The Church
Cyril’s use of the phrase ‘ministry of reconciliation’ is rich with ecclesiological and pastoral implications. As Christ is the reconciler, so too the Church—His mystical body—is entrusted with continuing this mission in the world. This extends beyond sacramental confession (though it includes it) to the entire life of the Church as a witness to mercy, restoration, and peace.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1461–1466) upholds this idea, stating that bishops and priests, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, act in the name of Christ and in union with the Church to forgive sins and reconcile the faithful to God.
Worship In Spirit And In Truth
Finally, Cyril reminds us that reconciliation leads to true worship. In a clear allusion to John 4:24, he writes that we now ‘worship [God] in spirit and in truth’ through the Son. This indicates that reconciliation is not only a juridical restoration of favor but a relational union that enables genuine worship—communion with the living God.
In this way, the post-Easter season moves us from the penitential realism of Lent into the jubilant celebration of the Church’s new life in Christ. As Saint Augustine once said, ‘The Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot.’
God Has Reconciled Us To Himself Through Christ And Given Us The Ministry Of Reconciliation
Those who have a sure hope, guaranteed by the Spirit, that they will rise again lay hold of what lies in the future as though it were already present. They say: ‘Outward appearances will no longer be our standard in judging other men. Our lives are all controlled by the Spirit now, and are not confined to this physical world that is subject to corruption. The light of the Only-begotten has shone on us, and we have been transformed into the Word, the source of all life. While sin was still our master, the bonds of death had a firm hold on us, but now that the righteousness of Christ has found a place in our hearts we have freed ourselves from our former condition of corruptibility.’
This means that none of us lives in the flesh any more, at least not in so far as living in the flesh means being subject to the weaknesses of the flesh, which include corruptibility. Once we thought of Christ as being in the flesh, but we do not do so any longer, says Saint Paul. By this he meant that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; he suffered death in the flesh in order to give all men life. It was in this flesh that we knew him before, but we do so no longer. Even though he remains in the flesh, since he came to life again on the third day and is now with his Father in heaven, we know that he has passed beyond the life of the flesh; for having died once, he will never die again, death has no power over him any more. His death was a death to sin, which he died once for all; his life is life with God.
Since Christ has in this way become the source of life for us, we who follow in his footsteps must not think of ourselves as living in the flesh any longer, but as having passed beyond it. Saint Paul’s saying is absolutely true that when anyone is in Christ he becomes a completely different person: his old life is over and a new life has begun. We have been justified by our faith in Christ and the power of the curse has been broken. Christ’s coming to life again for our sake has put an end to the sovereignty of death. We have come to know the true God and to worship him in spirit and in truth, through the Son, our mediator, who sends down upon the world the Father’s blessings.
And so Saint Paul shows deep insight when he says: This is all God’s doing: it is he who has reconciled us to himself through Christ. For the mystery of the incarnation and the renewal it accomplished could not have taken place without the Father’s will. Through Christ we have gained access to the Father, for as Christ himself says, no one comes to the Father except through him. This is all God’s doing, then. It is he who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
Glossary Of Terms
Reconciliation
The restoration of a right relationship between humanity and God, broken by sin. In this context, reconciliation is accomplished through Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection, bringing peace between God and humankind.
Incarnation
The Christian doctrine that the Son of God took on human nature in the person of Jesus Christ. This is a foundational mystery of the faith, celebrated particularly at Christmas and central to understanding salvation.
Justification
A theological term referring to the act by which God declares a sinner to be righteous on account of faith in Jesus Christ. It involves the forgiveness of sins and a transformation into a new state of grace.
The Flesh
Biblically, ‘the flesh’ can refer either to human physicality or to a state of existence governed by sin and weakness. Saint Cyril uses it primarily in the latter sense — life without the Spirit and marked by corruption.
Corruptibility
The state of being liable to decay, sin, or death. Opposed to the eternal, incorruptible life in God offered through Christ.
The Word
A title for Christ, especially in the Gospel of John (‘In the beginning was the Word…’). It emphasizes his divine nature as the Logos — God’s eternal wisdom and creative expression.
Mediator
One who reconciles two parties. Christ is the unique mediator between God and humanity, because he is both fully divine and fully human.
Sovereignty Of Death
A phrase referring to the dominion death had over humanity due to sin before Christ’s resurrection, which conquered death and offered eternal life.
Ministry Of Reconciliation
The mission entrusted to Christians — particularly to the apostles and their successors — to announce God’s forgiveness through Christ and to invite others into restored relationship with God.
‘In Christ’
A Pauline expression denoting the believer’s spiritual union with Jesus. To be ‘in Christ’ is to share in his life, death, and resurrection and to be part of the new creation.
New Creation
A theological idea, especially from 2 Corinthians 5:17, indicating the total renewal of a person through the Holy Spirit — a transformed life that begins now and is fulfilled in the resurrection.
Curse
Biblical shorthand for the consequences of sin, often symbolized by the law’s condemnation and the power of death. Christ redeems humanity from the curse by taking it upon himself on the cross (cf. Galatians 3:13).
The Only-Begotten
A title of Christ, affirming that he is the unique, eternal Son of God, begotten by the Father before all ages.
Worship In Spirit And Truth
A phrase from John 4:23 that denotes genuine, spiritual worship rooted not in external ritual but in a living relationship with God through Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Blessings Of The Father
Spiritual gifts and graces — such as mercy, forgiveness, sanctification, and eternal life — poured out on the world through Christ.
Christian Art | Our Lord Jesus On The Cross | God The Father | God The Son Office Of Readings | Advent December 23rd | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Hippolytus Against The Heresy Of Noetus | The Hidden Sacrament Is Revealed ‘The hidden sacrament is revealed.’ In this reading, Saint Hippolytus writes against the Noetic heresy, which denied the real distinction between the Father and the Son by treating them as the same person acting under different names. The purpose of Saint Hippolytus is to defend the Church’s confession of one God who is not solitary, but who exists with his Word and Spirit. Hippolytus begins by setting a principle: knowledge of God comes from the Holy Scriptures, not from speculation or private reasoning. Faith is not shaped by human preference but by what God has chosen to reveal. The Father determines how He is believed, the Son how He is glorified, and the Spirit how He is received. This establishes Scripture as the rule of faith and guards against theological invention. Hippolytus then affirms that God existed alone before creation, with nothing co-eternal alongside Him. At the same time, God was not without reason, wisdom, or power. Hippolytus insists that plurality within God does not compromise divine unity. God contains within himself Word, wisdom, and counsel. Creation begins when God wills and manifests His Word. The Word is not created from nothing but proceeds from God and acts as the agent of creation. The Word is first invisible to the created world, though known to God. When God chooses, He makes the Word visible, described as ‘Light of Light’. This language safeguards both distinction and unity: the Word comes from God and reveals God, without being separate from Him. The manifestation of the Word is ordered towards salvation, so that the world may see and be saved. Hippolytus identifies this Word clearly with the Son of God. Through him all things were made, and he alone comes forth from the Father. The Law and the prophets belong to the same saving plan. God speaks through them by the Holy Spirit, so that they proclaim not their own ideas but the Father’s will. Revelation is therefore coherent: creation, prophecy, and incarnation belong to one divine purpose. Hippolytus appeals to the Gospel of John to show continuity between prophecy and fulfilment. The Word spoken of by the prophets is the Word made flesh. Though the world was made through him, it failed to recognise him. This failure does not negate God’s plan but reveals the depth of the mystery now disclosed. A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Hippolytus Against The Heresy Of Noetus | The Hidden Sacrament Is Revealed There is, brethren, one God, the knowledge of whom we gain from the Holy Scriptures and from no other source. Whatever things the Holy Scriptures declare, at these let us look; and whatever they teach, let us learn it; and as the Father wills our belief to be, let us believe; and as he wills the Son to be glorified, let us glorify him; and as he wills the Holy Spirit to be bestowed, let us receive him. Not according to our own will, nor according to our own mind, nor yet storming by force the things which are given by God, but even as he has chosen to teach them by the Holy Scriptures, so let us discern them. God, subsisting alone, and having nothing coeval with himself, chose to create the world. And conceiving the world in mind, and willing and uttering the Word, he made it; and at once it appeared, formed it in the way he desired. For us it is sufficient simply to know that nothing was coeval with God. Outside him there was nothing; but he, while existing alone, yet existed in plurality. For he did not lack reason, or wisdom, or power, or counsel. All things were in him, and he was the All. At a time and in a manner chosen by him he made his Word manifest, and through his Word he made all things. He bears this Word in himself, as yet invisible to the created world. He makes him visible, uttering the voice first, and begetting him as Light of Light. He presents him to the world as its Lord; and whereas the Word was visible formerly to God alone, and invisible to the world which is made, God makes the Word visible in order that the world might see him and be able to be saved. This is the mind which came forth into the world and was manifested as the Son of God. All things came into being through him, and he alone comes from the Father. He gave us the Law and the prophets; and in giving them, he made them speak by the Holy Ghost, in order that, receiving the inspiration of the Father’s power, they might declare the Father’s counsel and will. Thus, then, was the Word made manifest, even as the blessed John says. For he sums up the things that were said by the prophets, and shows that this is the Word, by whom all things were made. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made. And later, The world was made by him, and the world did not know him; he came to his own, and his own did not receive him. Christian Prayer With Jesus Lord God,You are one, and from You come the Word and the Spirit.You have chosen to make Yourself known, not by human effort,but by what You have revealed in the scriptures. You spoke Your Word, and all things were made.You made that Word visible, so that the world might see and be saved.Grant that we may receive what You give,believe what You teach,and worship You as You have shown Yourself to be. Keep us […]
Psalm 81 is a beautiful and sensitive call to worship God. The psalm becomes a tapestry of remembrance, recounting the historical journey of the Israelites from the land of Egypt and God’s faithfulness in delivering them. The psalmist invites the people to celebrate the appointed feasts, recalling the statutes and laws established by the God of Jacob. In this call to celebration is a reminder of human disobedience and consequences of turning away from God’s loving guidance. There is earnest plea for Israel to heed the divine voice, embrace obedience, and receive abundant blessings promised by their covenant-keeping God [ … ]
Saint John Chrysostom, preaching in the late fourth century, sets out a contrast between external honour given to Christ in the liturgy and the practical demands of charity. His central argument is that Christ’s body is not only present in the Eucharist but also in the poor, the hungry, the imprisoned, and the stranger. To neglect the afflicted while adorning the sanctuary is to dishonour Christ himself [ … ]
