History itself acquired a new meaning, or rather its hidden meaning was revealed, when the Word of God became incarnate and entered into history. Time itself was now an Epiphany of the Creator and of the Redeemer, the “Lord of Ages.” And yet time also acquired a new solemnity, a new urgency, since the Lord Himself now declared that time would have an end.
We live in the kingdom of Christ, the new world, consecrated to God, the messianic kingdom, the new Jerusalem. The history of the kingdom is working itself out, but in the mystery of faith, hidden from the wise of this world (I Cor. 1:19-21) and the final day of its manifestation is reserved for the future-the end of time.
Time, which is now enclosed between the two advents of Christ-His first coming in humility and obscurity, and His second coming in majesty and power-has been claimed by God for His own. Time is to be sanctified like everything else, by the presence and the action of Christ.
The redemption is not simply a past historical fact with a juridical effect on individual souls. It is an ever present reality, living and efficacious, penetrating the inmost depths of our being by the word of salvation and the mystery of faith. The redemption is Christ Himself, “who of God is made to us wisdom and justice and sanctification and redemption” (I Cor. 1:30) living and sharing His divine life with His elect. To be redeemed is not merely to be absolved of guilt before God, it is also to live in Christ, to be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, to be in Him a new creature, to live in the Spirit.
Thomas Merton, OCSO
Seasons of Celebration, p. 49
