(Church Times) Andrew Davison–Theology Matters: ‘And was buried’

The meaning of death, dust, and of the grave, is transformed, although none of these is taken away. A collect from the Office of compline puts this well: by resting in the sepulchre, Christ “sanctified the grave to be for us a bed of hope”. All that finds its most profound expression in baptism, which is a redemptive entering into the death and burial of Christ, that we might die to sin, and share in his resurrection.

That is rather an upbeat — although entirely serious — approach to salvation: it is a vivification, a sharing in life. Barth also thought about the burial in terms of sin and salvation in a more sombre tone. Christ’s burial, he wrote, showed us God’s attitude to sin: that “there is nothing else to be done with sinful man, except to bury him and forget him.”

Here is not the comforting idea of God as keeping company with us in death. Here, rather, is God’s fierce anger dealing with sin itself. God puts our sinful humanity in the ground with a terrible finality. He does not accommodate himself to sin: he destroys and buries it. Again, baptism makes this clear: there is something about us — our sin, our guilt, the “old man” (or woman: Romans 6.6) — which does not make it out of the baptismal font.

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Theology Matters: The Gospel 📖 in All of the Creed: Andrew Davison continues his occasional series #Faith #ChurchTimes @AP_Davison https://t.co/JAu4AGf1v1

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 28, 2026