In the incarnation, the Son of God became one with human beings–with Adam. But only at this moment, when he accomplishes the supreme act of love by descending into the night of death, does he bring the journey of the incarnation to its completion. By his death he now clasps the hand of Adam, of every man and woman who awaits him, and brings them to the light. — Benedict XVI, Easter Vigil 2007

Is the not the resurrection–as the completion and pinnacle of Incarnation–what Easter is all about? In Christ, the uncreated God has become created that the beloved creation might be rescued from its shackles of sinfulness and self-destruction. Though we had, in our lust for violence and false-power, distorted and sought to destroy any remnants of the deity within us, the Creator did not forget us, nor did the love of God leave us to spiral into oblivion and non-being. Rather, in the supreme act of the immance of love, God has come to dwell with us that we–though poor, wretched and full of violence and hate–might be restored in the image of divinity. In the immortal words of the blessed St. Athanasius, the reality of Incarnation is that "God has become human that we might become God," that we, the created, might become in grace what God is in nature, that we might share in the life of God which is freely and gratuitously given to all those who desire to be reconciled to God.

The resurrection, then, is like the finishing touches on God's creation. It is the apex of what humanity is to become, and that through Christ. God did not desire to see the good creation descend into dissolution and nothingness; therefore, God has condescended in the Incarnation to restore that which was broken and recreate that which was obliterated, reaffirming therein the absolute goodness of that which God has made.

In the resurrection, Christ received from the Father a newness of life without end, full of power and glory. But this life was not given to Christ alone. Rather, because Christ, the Incarnate God, has become like us in our death, so we who bear his image are made like him in the newness of life which was granted him by the Father. In Christ, we are becoming what we have always been created to become–the full bearers of the image of God.

This Holy Easter, then, we celebrate not only the resurrection of our Lord and Savior; moreover, we celebrate our own, the completion of God's creation made manifest in our very hearts through the life, death and resurrection of Christ.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.