"They wondered what it meant to rise from the dead" (Mk 9:10)
As the Apostles once did, it is also difficult for us today, and perhaps even more so today, to believe in the resurrection. Many ask: What does it mean to believe in Christ's resurrection? How am I, a mere mortal, assimilating this truth? How is it going to be seen in my daily life that I believe in the resurrection of Jesus?
Well, this faith should be manifested mainly in the conviction that Jesus, having risen from the dead, is present in the world. He assured us many times that, having ascended to the Father, he would send us his Spirit. This belief in the presence of God among us people on earth is an extremely important issue today. Saint John Paul II laments over the contemporary world as follows: “At the root of this loss of hope is an attempt to promote a vision of man apart from God and apart from Christ. This sort of thinking has led to man being considered as “the absolute center of reality, a view which makes him occupy – falsely – the place of God and which forgets that it is not man who creates God, but rather God who creates man. Forgetfulness of God led to the abandonment of man”. It is therefore “no wonder that in this context a vast field has opened for the unrestrained development of nihilism in philosophy, of relativism in values and morality, and of pragmatism – and even a cynical hedonism – in daily life”. European (modern) culture gives the impression of “silent apostasy” on the part of people who have all that they need and who live as if God does not exist.” (Ecclesia in Europa, paragraph 9).
In turn, a few words about the practical consequences of believing in the reality of Jesus' resurrection, and especially about the obligations arising from the conviction that the Risen One is among us. Well, the moral quality of our whole life should depend on this faith and this conviction. It is possible, however, on one condition: the conviction that one must also be well knowledgeable and formed before God. By itself, an analogy arises here to our interpersonal relations: if there is someone particularly important in our lives, and at the same time extremely kind to us, we try to avoid indiscretion towards him/her. The awareness of someone like that next to us determines sometimes the way we also behave towards other people.
With this state of affairs in mind, let us move into our earthly reality with the risen Christ present in it. The awareness of His presence, the constant memory that He sees, hears and feels everything should make us care about maintaining a certain style of life. This concern is nothing but the fruit of our faith in the reality of Jesus' resurrection. Let us repeat it again: the moral quality of our entire mortality, and therefore also the kind of eternal life, depend on a well-understood and properly lived faith in the resurrection of Christ. This is why also for Him and His Church is so important that we believe that he is truly risen. However, there will be no such faith - let us repeat it again - if we do not strive to be well-form and to have a knowledge about God. If knowledge is internally shaped and lived by us, it becomes a wisdom. And then we will participate in the life of God. To believe that the Lord is truly risen is to always take under consideration His presence in the world.
Finally, some thoughts, which is at least indirectly related to faith in the resurrection of Christ. This is a theme that appears mainly in the theology of St. Paul, or more precisely in his motivation for encouraging the proper use of the effects of our co-resurrection with Jesus. It is a matter of appealing to the so-called common sense of a Christian, and our resurrection in this case has a metaphorical meaning; it is about rising from sins. Sin, especially greave sin, is compared by Paul to death, and that Jesus' work of redemption brings us back to life. Well, common sense dictates that this regained life should be properly cared for, rather than risked being lost again. The apostle writes: O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Are you so stupid?After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did you experience so many things in vain? " (cf. Gal 3: 1-4). Or elsewhere: " For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.” (cf. Rom 6: 5-6). It is an appeal to a new reality in a Christian's life; this reality cannot be squandered; it would be contrary to elementary common sense. A side theme here is - that this is also an appeal to common sense - the hope of a future resurrection and of being in communion with Christ forever.
In the letters to the Corinthians, the Apostle recalls the saving effects of baptism. There are three effects: washing, sanctification, and justification (cf. 1 Cor 6: 5-20, 7, 26-25). This is nothing but a demand for a rational respect for what has already occurred in a Christian's soul; it is a call to be consistent and rational also in relation to God. In exhorting cleanliness, Paul asks: “do you not know that anyone who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? (cf. 1 Cor 6:16). Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take Christ’s members and make them the members of a prostitute? (cf. 1 Cor 6:15). Finally, a text from the Letter to Colossians referring directly to our co-resurrection with Christ: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.” (Col 3: 1-4).
So, what does it mean to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? It means:
- to be convinced that He is present among us in this world;
- take into account His presence among people;
- that is, to be gentle and focused with love towards Him, and to use common Christian sense in all our actions.
Christ's resurrection is like His second appearance on earth. It places obligations on us similar to those that flowed from His first appearance. The Apostle wrote about this: “For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age ... ”(cf. Titus 2: 11-12).
Until Tomorrow
fr. george