Re-Creation: "I Make All Things New" (Kerygma Part 4)

The story does not end on Good Friday. Yes, it is the climax of the story, but it is not the end. Jesus rises on Easter Sunday and he also rises in us and makes us a new creation. In this episode, Dr. Edward Sri addresses the fourth “R” in his series on the Kerygma. He explains what it means for each of us to be a “re-created” in the Lord.

Snippet from the Show
God comes to heal us. He is the Divine Physician. God’s love descends into the dark corners of our souls and brings light into the darkness of our souls.

The Four “R’s”

• Relationship
  God chose to bring you into existence so that he could be one with you.

• Rebellion
  We became separated from God through our grasping for things of this world. We rejected God and became slaves to sin.

• Reconciliation
  God does not abandon us. He seeks us and offers himself as a gift of love.

• Re-Creation
  God does not simply overlook our sins. He heals us and makes us a new creation.

• Response

Revelation 21:5

“See, I am making all things new.”

Galatians 2:20

“It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Iron Rod

Since early Christianity the metaphor of the iron rod has been used. It is a metaphor used even by St. Thomas Aquinas. The metaphor is that of a cold iron rod being put into the fire. The iron rod becomes hot, it glows, it takes on the characteristics of fire even though it does not become fire itself. This is what happens to us when we are baptized, when we receive other sacraments, and when we pray. We become more like Christ.

How to View the Cross

The cross is not just about Jesus taking on our punishment for us. The story does not end with the cross. The cross is the perfect image of God’s love for us. Christ died on the cross so as to reproduce his perfect love in us. He wants us to love like he does.

What do You Seek? Encountering the Heart of the Gospel by Dr. Edward Sri

The Good News of Jesus Christ is known as the kerygma , based on the Greek word kerysso , meaning “to herald” or “to proclaim”. It is the core message of Christ that each of the Apostles, the original heralds of the Gospel, proclaimed to the world. It is Christ’s answer to his own penetrating question, “What do you seek?”

This is why the Catholic Church emphasizes the importance of what it calls the “First Proclamation”: the core Gospel of God’s love and the person and mission of Jesus Christ, which ideally we surrender ourselves to, so that a more in-depth, systematic presentation of the Faith can take deeper root in our soul.

Unfortunately, many Catholics today might know facts about Jesus and the Gospel, but they do not know him and this story of his love in a way that shapes their entire lives. How about you? In What Do You Seek?, Scripture scholar Dr. Edward Sri helps us enter more deeply into the Gospel, to ponder the mysteries of God’s love for us and his work of salvation, so that we can be transformed and join in Christ’s work of saving the world. Learn more here!

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