Resurrection of Jesus

When the word Resurrection comes to mind, the thought of Jesus Christ is brought out. In terms of a definition, Resurrection is the return of a dead God or person to life as the same individual. The resurrection of Jesus plays a major role in the Christian religion. All of the four gospels mention Jesus' return to life. A brief summary of the resurrection of Jesus would be the story in the gospels about a group of women who found Jesus' torab empty on the third day after his crucifixion. Then as told in the bible, an angel confirmed the resurrection of Jesus with a message from God. Christians celebrate Jesus' return to life on Easter Sunday. This paper will reflect on four sources and their discussion and meanings of resurrection. The four sources are The Reality of Jesus by D.Lane, The Eucharist, the Resurrection, and the Future by J. McKenna, What Are They Saying about Resurrection? by G.Collins, and Hope for the Flowers by T.Paulus.
Although we can not fully understand the resurrection until it is our time, we cannot help but wonder. The mystery of resurrection can be traced to the historical life of Jesus. Through Jesus came strong faith from the Jewish people, this came to be from his good teachings and preaching. That is why today many approach the term resurrection in conjunction with Jesus.
In the book, The reality of Jesus we come across a section known as the "The Pauline Evidence". This particular section interested me because Paul makes a contrast between two types of bodies. One type is the physical body (soma psuchikon) of which we are in now. Soma is the man's body and personality which is a quality of the inner being. The second type is the spiritual body (soma pneumatikon) which is life after death. In this body, the flesh is said to be transformed through resurrection and filled with the spirit. This becomes clear to us that resurrection is a type of transformation.
Paul gives us the highlights of the transformation involved in the transition in the resurrection. He used expressions such as "he was raised" which refers to the transformation of Jesus rising from the dead. Another phrase used was "he appeared" which implies that Jesus made himself be known. The final important highlight is the eyewitness who actually saw the appearance of the risen one. These highlights are the historical points of view of those whom encountered the resurrected Jesus.
Science is also another point which comes about when talking about resurrection. Science tries to give some possibilities of images of resurrection. The topic of matter is discussed and how it contains immense energy. The Einstein equation is used. The equation is energy equals mass by the speed of light squared (E=MC2). In my opinion, it is somewhat hard to apply nuclear physics to our imagination of resurrection "Is it too much to use this miracle of nuclear physics as an image of Jesus being utterly weak in death and then transformed to such power through his resurrection?"(O'Collins 76). Modern biology plays a role in this as well. In the pats people knew nothing about the human body. However, today we know that the circulation of our lives is between our bodies and the environment.
Many people have different views in life. Some feel that there should be a scientific explanation to resurrection, while others feel that we should just accept God's astonishing power and leave it as that. We must remeraber that resurrection is a mysterious object of faith and not a theme of science.
In this article, O'Collins also mentions factors such as love, freedom, thought, and sex, which are parts of resurrection. Love plays a role in resurrection because with many, a loved one who passes on is painful. Therefore, many people want there loved ones resurrected. Freedom is also an aspect because many wonder if we live free lives. Meaning if we choose the right or wrong path what would happen. Jesus died on the crucifix for the freedom of his people and opened the gates of heaven. Human thought can erabrace the universe; there are no limitations to thought. Human beings fail to keep pace with thought and their actions are held back. This transformation in the aspect of thought has not yet occurred for the human life, there can only be imaginations. As for human sexuality, it helps people make sense of resurrection. Two aspects of sexual life are discussed: Union and ecstasy. Resurrection entails a transformation that includes both aspects; "The risen person in an enduring ecstasy breaks free to enjoy union with god and the world".
In the future, most Christians believe that on the last day of the world, the dead will come to life and be reunited with their physical bodies. The early Christians lived their lives in the light of resurrection. They look forward to this day because it brings them closer to God. This is why we fulfill the sacrament of the Eucharist. The Eucharist links them to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Some believe that the resurrection of the dead is an irresponsible way to deal with the present and the world's future. However, for the Christians resurrection is important because it involves hope, transformation, and spirit which all can help renew the world. Resurrection is a powerful motive for new efforts to renew the world and make it a better place.
The short story Hope for the Flowers helps the reader understand a simple approach to the meaning of resurrection. The story is about two caterpillars, Stripe and Yellow, and their approach to try to find another meaning to life. All they knew how to do was roaming and grazing around in the grass, but they wanted to do more. At first they tried to clirab to the top of a pillar because that's what everyone else was doing. They both had hopes of something great at the top, however they gave up because the struggle was too difficult. They decided to accept what they were capable of doing and return to their original life. After a while, Stripe just couldn't do the same thing everyday, so he decided to try to clirab to the top of the pillar. While Stripe was gone, Yellow came across a caterpillar hanging upside down on a tree. This caterpillar informed her that in order to find another meaning to life you had to give up your life as a caterpillar to transform into another creature, a butterfly.
So Yellow did what the other caterpillar was doing, she made a cocoon around herself and eventually transformed into a beautiful butterfly. She immediately flew over to Stripe who was still trying to clirab to the top of the pillar. She reached out for him and tried to explain what had happened to her. He finally realized what he had to do to join her. In conclusion they both transformed into butterflies and flew off together to explore the world.
Up until now I really had no precise definition of what resurrection was about or where it originated from, or what it meant spiritually. I enjoyed learning more about it and the implications involved in it. Even though resurrection is a mysterious aspect of the Christian faith it is still nice to have hope in what the future, or life after death, will bring. For example, the two caterpillars gave up their life as a caterpillar in order to find that there was so much more to life, as a butterfly.
The purpose of the authors of the articles and Hope for the Flowers was to help the reader understand the meaning of resurrection, the history of it, and the factors involved in it. Even though people have different views about resurrection, and what really happens after life, I personally feel that it does not matter where you are as long as you are with God. It cannot hurt to have faith in something that can bring you closer to God.


WORKS CITIED

1) Lane,D.A. The Reality of Jesus. New York: Paulist Press, 1975. 44-81.

2) McKenna,J.H. "The Eucharist, the resurrection, and the Future," Angelican Theological Review. 60(1978) 144-165.

3) O'Collins,G. What Are They Saying About Resurrection? New York: Paulist Press, 1978. 68-86.

4) Paulus,T. Hope for the Flowers. New York: Paulist Press,1972.