reconciliation

The Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 5:17–21 (NABRE) looks at the work of Christ as one of reconciliation. Due to the common Church contexts in which we hear this word and its association with the sacrament of Confession, it’s easy to begin to see this as a removing of sin and to lose site of the greater implications of what this language suggests.

The Greek word translated in this passage as reconcile is καταλλάσσω (katallasso), which literally refers to exchanging something such as coins for another thing of equal value. The process of reconciling is a process of matching values. This concept still applies in audits and other financial checks to make sure records match. This idea of making equal seems at first opposed to the core message of Christianity.

The interesting addition to this phrase is that we are being reconciled to Christ. What Jesus Christ offers to humanity is the ability to match him in value, to be made exchangeable with him, and he calls us to help others to be so reconciled.

you also may like our study of the book of Revelation
The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness, a 23-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines ways in which our traditional Christian view of heaven is built on Hebrew apocalyptic visions recorded in the Old Testament. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary and takes a close look at the role of the prophets in present-day Christianity. Illustrations by Tami Palladino depict the often-misunderstood images in the book of Revelation. Click here to view a sample of the first lesson.