Posts Tagged ‘resurrection of the body’

Resurrection of the Body!

Sunday, April 12th, 2020

Easter Sunday

Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Col 3: 1-4; Jn 20: 1-9

Deacon Larry Brockman

The Lord is Risen!  But just what does that mean to most of us?  Have you ever really thought about it?   

For the 40 days of Lent we were all asked to reflect on our lives, just like Jesus did when he went into the desert for 40 days.  We needed to appreciate the great gift that God the Father gave us in his only begotten Son- that Jesus Christ, God made man, came and walked amongst us, lived among us, and showed us the way to please God.  He showed us that we must all be willing to accept God’s will, take up our own crosses, whatever they might be; and follow after Jesus in defending the truth and living that life, even if we have to suffer in the process.   And the key to living the life God gave us is to do everything out of love.  The reason we follow Jesus is because he promised us that we would receive a share in his inheritance-  Resurrection and Everlasting Life.  But what does that really mean for us?

Now this morning, we see that even after everything Jesus told his disciples about what would happen to him, including His suffering, death, and resurrection, they just simply still didn’t get it; and here’s the proof:  Mary Magdalene says “They took the Lord and we don’t know what they did with him!”  Even the disciples needed to see the rolled up burial cloths before they believed.    And so gradually, slowly, almost painfully, the Disciples began to see.  If we read further in the Gospel, we would hear accounts of the Risen Jesus walking, talking, eating, and being in their presence.  He tells them that if they believe and follow after him, they too will be resurrected when they die and will live forever in the Kingdom of God.    

So, the reality of the Resurrection settles in with the Disciples.  That reality is expressed well in Peter’s address in our first reading from Acts.  The disciples have now had a complete conversion- they saw, they comprehended, and they believed.  What was the essence of that conversion?  Well, that life in this world is not all there is to life.  They realized that if they followed after Jesus, they would be resurrected in body on the last day.  And they were filled with joy and inspiration when they realized that.   

You know, I think most of us never really ponder the implications of that.  Our bodies will be resurrected with us; and that gives new meaning to what life in the Kingdom of God will be like.  It gives new meaning to what all of our bodily experiences in this life are for; especially in that we all have relationships and special talents.  We naturally assume that life in the next world will be life in the spirit world  because that is our perception of where all our loved ones who have passed away are.  But what about the Resurrection of the Body?   We profess this truth every time we say the Creed- that “We believe in the Resurrection of the body and life everlasting, Amen”. 

Why is that in the Creed?  Because the Apostles saw the Resurrected Jesus in his glorified body.  And based on what he did and said during the 50 days that he spent with them until his Ascension, they came to believe thoroughly in the Resurrection of the Body as well.     

Now St. Paul tells the Colossians that “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above.”  And we are to “Think about what is above, not what is on earth.”  If we do that, he tells us that “When Christ your love appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.”  So, at the Last Judgment, Christ will appear, and so will all of us who believe in our glorified bodies.   

But just what is it that is above that we should seek?  Well, everyone in the Kingdom of God is in harmony with God and with each other.  And that is what we need to seek, those are the things that are above.  Somehow we will all be in harmony with each other; we will exercise our talents for the common good, not just for our own good; and we will all be happy and in the presence of God forever.   

In the last month, all of us have witnessed something that has never occurred in the history of the world before.  Amazingly, just about all of the world governments are cooperating remarkably well to suppress the Corona Virus.  And just as amazingly, most of the people are cooperating as well.  But sadly, all of this is based on secular knowledge and efforts.  Our Bishops, the Pope, and other religious leaders have called us to pray, but we are hampered aren’t we.  We can’t gather in our Churches, and although there have been some efforts, there are no cohesive efforts to bind us together.  Moreover, as our President has remarked, the path back to “normalcy” is completely unknown.   

If ever there was a time when we needed to “seek the things that are above”, it is now.  If ever there was a time when we needed God to shepherd us; it is now.  If ever there was a time we needed to trust in God; it is now.  Look at it this way.  We are close to the Kingdom of God- as Jesus said, it is amongst us.  But we may also be far from it, if we just depend on ourselves.   

I bring this up, because it is important that we focus on two things in this time of need, as people of the Resurrection:  first, we need to embrace the things that are above- to be in harmony with God and his plan for us; and second, we need to realize that no matter how bad things might get in our physical world, this life is not what it’s all about.  That puts the proper perspective on the Virus and its effects on us.  That perspective will help us to avoid panic and selfishness; and to trust in God’s providence.   

You know, the Resurrection signaled a new beginning for mankind.  Before the Resurrection, there was no certainty of everlasting life.  God had revealed it through the prophets; but there was a lot of controversy over it because people wanted “proof”.  Jesus’ Resurrection wiped away all doubt for his witnesses, some 500 of them.  We are the benefactors of those witnesses; their testimony has been passed down to us.   

We are all in for a metamorphosis of sorts in this world as we emerge out of quarantine and lockdowns.  But it is only one of a number of metamorphoses we will experience going forward.  This one right in front of us may be big; it may be relatively small.  But compared to our metamorphosis at death; and the subsequent metamorphosis of the Last Judgement and the Resurrection of the Body; well, it is relatively minor. 

As people of the Resurrection, we know that there is no reason to panic because God loves us and his plan for us ends in the Resurrection of our bodies in the Kingdom of God.  That’s what it’s all about. 

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Anticipating Our Resurrection

Wednesday, March 14th, 2018

Westminster Towers Ecumenical Service
John 11: 1-45
Dc. Larry Brockman
“Anticipating Our Resurrection”

We have just heard the story of the most dramatic and moving miracle of Jesus in the Bible- the raising of Lazarus from the dead after 4 days. It was performed in front of a large audience of family and friends, with Rabbis and Pharisees of the Jewish faith looking on. This miracle can shed light on our Resurrection, so, let us consider some details in this story that are easily overlooked.

The first thing about this miracle that helps us understand it better is to know something about first century Jewish burial customs. When a person died, it was required that they be buried within 24 hours. The body was perfumed with oils and fragrant material, and then tightly wrapped in a shroud of linen. It was paraded to the tomb in a procession. The people used group tombs with stones in front of them. The body was carried down a dozen or more stairs to a chamber and laid on a flat surface adjacent to other burial positions in the chamber. Bodies were not cremated, and they were not placed in coffins.

You can imagine that medical technology in those days was much more primitive than ours. So those who examined the body could not absolutely certify that the person was dead. And in fact, there were cases where folks were not dead; they only appeared to be dead, and once and a while someone would recover.

But this just never happened after the third day. So, the rabbinic traditions held that the spirit hovered about the body for the first three days; but by the fourth day, all hope was lost. And also, by the fourth day there would also be a pronounced stench as well as signs of decomposition would be clear. If you look at the other Resurrection miracles in the Bible, including several involving Elijah the prophet and the raising of a dead child by Jesus, all of them occurred before the fourth day.

With this background in mind, all of the bystanders were thoroughly convinced that Lazarus was dead. So, when Lazarus ascends those 24 or so steps at Jesus command, wrapped in a tight shroud of linen cloth from head to toe, you can just imagine the shock and amazement of the people. How could this be! This was completely unheard of; the resurrection of the dead; body and spirit. Clearly, this Resurrection gave credence to Jesus’ teachings about an afterlife.

Now, there are two stories of weak faith imbedded in this account that lead up to Lazarus awakening. The first relates to the Apostles and disciples of Jesus and the second has to do with Martha and Mary. Jesus is testing the faith of both the Apostles and Martha and Mary. Jesus had left Jerusalem and Bethany, having been chased away by the Jewish authorities who tried to stone him. So, when Lazarus got sick, Martha and Mary did not send for Jesus right away, knowing that he would be in danger if he returned. Rather, they waited until Lazarus was very, very ill, and then sent a messenger to Jesus, giving him the option.

Notice that the Gospel says that when Jesus was told that Lazarus was ill Jesus first says “This illness is not to end in death”, but then the Gospel says “So, when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was”.

Let me ask all of you a simple question. If you knew that someone you dearly loved was deathly ill, would you purposely hold up your departure for two days before you visited them? I don’t think so. So why did Jesus do that?

Well, notice Jesus has a little discussion with the Apostles, saying that Lazarus is asleep. In fact, Jesus knew that Lazarus was dead. The Apostles didn’t understand that and took Jesus literally. Then Jesus tells them quite plainly that Lazarus is dead. Jesus knew that it took two days to get to Bethany. So Jesus knew he would arrive at Bethany 4 days after Lazarus was dead. Jesus wanted to wait so he could be sure everyone was convinced that Lazarus was dead! Jesus clearly planned to raise Lazarus from the dead. Jesus plan was to perform a miracle that would prove his divinity and establish everlasting life at the same time.

Now the apostles, having been told that Lazarus is dead, are reluctant to return to Bethany because they fear the Jewish authorities will still kill Jesus. So, having been told that Lazarus was dead, it is an incredible act of faith that the Apostles agreed to return to Bethany at all. After all, what could one do? It doesn’t seem to have occurred to them that Jesus would raise the man from the dead.

And yet, they went with Jesus. Their attitude is summed up well in Thomas’ comment: “Let us also go to die with him.” For although these men believed in Jesus, they just could not see the possibility that Lazarus would be raised. They had faith, strong faith, faith enough to trust Jesus’ judgment and follow after him; but not faith enough to grasp what Resurrection and everlasting life really meant.

The second story of insufficient faith is that of Martha and Mary. Both of these women knew that Jesus loved them and their brother; and that Jesus would come despite his life being in danger. Both of them separately say the same thing to Jesus after he arrives: “If you had been here our brother would not have died”. Both of them say that they believe in the Resurrection on the last day. But they also didn’t see that everlasting life had already arrived for those who believe.

Now one of the verses in this Gospel is the shortest verse in the Bible. It simply says: “And Jesus wept.” This verse is packed full of meaning. Why did Jesus weep? Jesus planned to raise Lazarus from the dead, so it is doubtful he wept over the fact that Lazarus was dead. But Jesus did have compassion; compassion for his friends Martha and Mary. It grieved Jesus to see the two of them suffering and in pain. Jesus could feel their sense of loss; but he also saw that their faith was incomplete and that saddened him.

But that is not all. Many commentators say that Jesus also wept because he was angry. Jesus was angry that the whole process of his salvation mission had to occur. Jesus was angry over the fall of Adam and Eve which ushered the advent of death itself into the world. Jesus was angry over the evil in the world and the inability of the people to embrace the faith that he had preached to them.

And so, Jesus wept in frustration and anger over the plight of the people that He was born into. Jesus knew that this was the culmination of his ministry. Jesus was taking this last opportunity before his passion to make a point: There is death, yes; but the Resurrection of the Body and everlasting Life are on the way.

Now there are other things about the Gospel of John that are unique and shed light on our Resurrection. The Gospel of John contains a number of messages which are hidden, Much like the Book of Revelation also attributed to St. John, contains hidden messages. These messages are especially hard to pick up when we read a selection out of context, as we did today. One of those messages is that John talks about “signs” that Jesus performed during Jesus’ ministry. These “signs” demonstrated Jesus divinity. It turns out that John records 7 such “signs” performed by Jesus prior to his Passion and Resurrection. These seven signs are the turning of 180 gallons of water into wine at the Wedding Feast of Cana; curing a royal official’s son of disease without even visiting him; cure of a blind man on the Sabbath; multiplication of the loaves and fish with the feeding of five thousand families; Jesus walking on water for miles; the curing of a man born blind from birth at the pool of Siloam; and seventh and last, the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

Now, the number “7” has significance in several ways in the Bible. It means perfection and completeness taken together; and it also means a sort of perfect ending. There are seven days in a week; seven days of creation, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; just to mention a few examples of perfection and completeness.

However, there are two examples of the second meaning of seven as well in the Gospel of John. First, John begins his Gospel by talking about things that occurred in the “first seven days”. These are the things that occurred before Jesus ministry began. And it happens that the Wedding Feast at Cana occurred on the seventh day.

Now there are strong parallels between the wedding Feast at Cana And the Wedding Feast of the Lamb described in the last chapters of the Book of Revelation. Indeed, the Wedding at Cana points to the final resting of all believers That will take place after the Resurrection of the body at the Wedding feast of the Lamb. And so, the seventh significant sign of Jesus as recorded by St. John points to a sense of completeness of Jesus ministry.

Notice that Jesus ministry began with the wedding feast at Cana; And it all ended with the working of the seventh and last sign. In this sense, the raising of Lazarus brings to perfection the message of his entire ministry.

Now Lazarus Resurrection also points to and predicts details of Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead. And it also points to the Resurrection of the body that all of us believers will experience as we enter the wedding feast of the Lamb on the last day! This miracle foreshadows and anticipates the perfection and completion of our lives. We may have to sleep after death for a while, in a state of unknown Just like Lazarus did. But all of that is in preparation for what happens on the last day- our life everlasting in the Kingdom of God.

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Believing in Our Resurrected Bodies

Thursday, April 4th, 2013

Easter Thursday

Acts 3: 11-26; Luke 24: 35-48

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

There are some things we just find hard to accept, things which seem so hard to believe and impossible to picture that we shake our heads in bewilderment.  The resurrection of the body is one of those things.

First, there is the whole idea of life after death.  Death seems so final, doesn’t it?  Especially when we watch a person lowered into the ground.  What could life after death possibly be like?  Much has been written recently by people who clinically die and then come back to life.  These people claim to have experienced “life after death”.  And while their experiences are similar, there are definite differences- important differences; not to mention that these experiences are difficult for even the most articulate person to describe- they are basically indescribable, they are not of this world.  And so, reasoning people doubt these experiences as well.

And second, how can we rise with our physical bodies?  Our bodies are corruptible.  They decay and are gone in a matter of years or decades.  Now there are some saints whose bodies have not decayed- we have many stories of that.  Certain popes and St. Francis for example.  But still, what about all the rest of us?  And what function would these physical bodies have in the Kingdom of God?   The Resurrection is something that we learn in Religion.  But when it comes to living in the real world, our science and reason driven secular society leaves us doubting the Resurrection of our bodies to Everlasting Life.

But wait a minute: What about Easter, and the joy of Easter?  You see, we can really begin to understand true Christian joy if we put ourselves in the position of the Apostles on Easter Morning.  Because they had just lost the Lord to a terrible death and doubt reigned supreme in their minds.  After all, they had all the same natural inclinations that we do to doubt the Resurrection.  But in their case, they had gone out on a limb.  They had believed Jesus was the Messiah.  But rather than conquer the Romans, Jesus had been brutally victimized by the Romans and was dead.  How depressing; how final it all seemed.

And then, walla, Jesus Christ is raised from the dead and he is seen by them- in His physical body.  Not only that, he eats and drinks with them.  He explains the scriptures to them, that all of what happened to him was prophesied so that they could see, once and for all, that everything God had promised had come true.  And now- here He was, Resurrected.

Life after death is real, and all who believe, and follow God’s will are heirs to the same Resurrected life in the Kingdom of God.  That is the Christian hope for those who believe, I mean really believe.  Imagine their joy, and why it lasted for 8 weeks while Jesus was with them.  I can understand that kind of joy.

All of us are called upon to believe and to live in Christian hope.  We are not eye witnesses like the Apostles were.  But the bodies and souls of those of us who believe will rise on the last day.  And inherit everlasting life- just believe it.

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Resurrection of the Body

Wednesday, August 15th, 2012

Assumption

Rev 11: 19a, 12:1-6a, 10ab; 1 Cor 15: 20-27; Lk 1: 39-56

By Deacon Larry Brockman

 

A paradox!  Life is a paradox, because all of us will experience physical death.  And yet, as our first reading predicts, at the second coming of Christ, humanity’s last enemy, death, will be destroyed, and destroyed forever.  That means that none of those who are saved will really die.  So, all of us are going to die; and yet all of us who are saved will not die but live forever- seemingly a paradox.   

 

I just attended my Cousin Jack’s funeral Monday.  He was the first of my generation in my family to die.  It brought home to me the reality of my own mortality; and that got me thinking about the real implications of the Assumption.  Our church teaches that when we die, we don’t really die; rather, we transition to a different kind of life.  It’s the resurrected state of life in the Kingdom of God that Paul talks about in Corinthians.  But that is not all, because somehow, we will all be reunited with our bodies after the Last Judgment.  Recall that we profess just that in the Apostles Creed.  When we say “I believe in the resurrection of the body”!   

 

Now Jesus lived amongst His disciples for 40 days after Easter in His resurrected body.  So there is the first instance of a resurrected body.  Today, the feast of the Assumption we celebrate a second incidence of a human who remains in their resurrected body- the Blessed Mother.  And so, the implications of the Assumption are clear.  It is not just God the Son, Jesus, who somehow will retain His body in the resurrected state in the kingdom of God but as promised, Christ has conquered death for all of us who are saved, so all of us humans will be reunited with our bodies somehow as well.  Mary is proof of that, and Mary has been seen over the centuries in her resurrected body by many.  She was and is not divine, but fully human, just like you and I.  And so, life remains a paradox- our bodies die, yet somehow, we will not die but will ultimately live forever reunited with our bodies when Christ returns.   

 

Now there are a couple of important points to make about all of this.  First, how we can be reunited with our bodies, and just what will these bodies be like. Well, these are mysteries- like the incarnation and the resurrection of Jesus are mysteries of faith.  Yes, like many of the tenets of our Faith, we are called to believe in these mysteries of faith. 

 

Second, the experiences of Mary and Jesus in their resurrected bodies are validation of the reality of both the promise of our resurrection and life in the kingdom and the actual demonstration of that reality.  So, although we are called upon to accept as a mystery how all that happens; we have been gifted with the demonstration of that reality through the Gospel account of Jesus resurrection and the appearances of Mary throughout history.   

 

For most of us, when a loved one dies, it seems as if a permanent wall comes down that separates us from them.  We say that we believe that they continue to live, only life has changed for them, but for us, they seem so totally gone.  It’s part of the grieving process that we go through.  Sometimes that feeling of grief is so great that it can cause both doubt in the resurrection, and fear of death of ourselves in our minds.  We see that apparent permanent wall, and it just seems so daunting and real.  Well, that’s what makes the Assumption, and the centuries of validated appearances of Mary, so important for us to recognize, because Mary lifts for us that veil of separation.   

 

In the reading from Corinthians today, Paul says it all very well from a theological perspective.  Christ was raised; the first fruits.  And all of us will follow in the right order when Christ returns.  So, we really don’t need to fear death at all.  But, do we really believe that.  Most of us want validation, and Mary’s Assumption that we celebrate today, is part of our validation.   

 

So rejoice, because our Blessed mother has shown us the reality of our future destiny.  Life everlasting, reunited in our bodies, in the Kingdom of God.

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