I began this series by suggesting most of us associate resurrection with questions about whether there is life after death and if there is, whether we shall enjoy the presence of our beloved. I probably should have added that some have fears about some sort of last judgment.
I decided I would begin addressing the issue by looking at the biblical accounts. Lupe immediately reminded me the ancient texts do not necessarily represent what happened as they have been modified over the years. It soon became evident that this development began in the texts themselves when you look at Paul and the gospels one at a time. This selective reporting also involves not including all the ways people experienced the Risen Christ.
In other words, we have a narrative that the church has chosen to make her standard for judging other teachings and experiences, including our own.
That standard is pretty generous. Although it defines resurrection as being raised to life, there is a great variety in interpreting what each of these words means.
They predominantly refer to the future beloved community when God promises to make all right. The background of the word itself is to straighten something out. Even the Last Judgment is focused more on purging creation of evil than rewarding or punishing individuals.
Making things right is described as overcoming the obstacles preventing peace, justice, and love. Some like Luke see this as a complete reversal of the world’s values. The first shall be last and the last first, the rich poor and the poor rich. Most regard it as fulfilling the dreams of the righteous among us.
God begins to fulfill this promise in the resurrection of Jesus when God raises to glory the one executed as an enemy of humanity. God will finally complete it in the future Great Resurrection when all are raised to life.
Any consideration of resurrection must begin with this promise to make all right. Every other feature of being raised to life is secondary to God’s basic intent. This vision of the future inspires Christians to work for peace, justice, and love in spite of the evil that constantly confronts them.
Next week I want to look further into what this means for us as individual persons.
