Some of the most emotional and contentious debates I have had with other pastors and theologians have been about what exactly happened on Easter.
Some feel there is no Christianity without a resurrection in which Jesus of Nazareth is literally brought back to walk bodily among his followers for 40 days. Others believe we are dealing with stories using the blessed ambiguity of words to describe spiritual encounters with Jesus that his followers experienced after he was executed.
Some feel they can harmonize what seem to be differing accounts in Paul and the four gospels, while others pass over them by dealing with them one at a time.
Quite frankly, it sometimes seems to depend on the day. For instance, one world-famous theologian could talk about Christ being raised in his body, the Church, one day and the body of Jesus of Nazareth the next without batting an eye.
Lest it seems like the more devout insist on a literal restoration of life, one of my most spiritual weekends was spent with a theologian who freely let his imagination move where the Easter texts inspired him. He felt the apostles went back to Galilee and, inspired by the liturgy on a Jewish holiday, experienced Christ’s presence and returned to resume the ministry in Jerusalem.
I have come to think of resurrection as a continuum rather than as a singular event. Raised to eternal life then means a transformation that might be described as exorcism, healing, forgiveness, rebirth, restoration, and being raised to new life. In that sense, we already participate to some degree in the great future resurrection when we are transformed after Christ encounters us in this life.
I think John is writing about something like this when he observes it is coming and now is.
I also think we should be thinking of being resurrected as a community as much as individuals. The big deal of the promised future beloved community is that we all shall love God with our whole hearts, minds, and souls, and we shall all love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. Once Christ encounters us, we work together to prepare ourselves and others. As much as possible, we try to return good for evil because love has the power to transform. As Dr. Martin Luther King wrote, one “reason why we should love our enemies is that love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. We never get rid of an enemy by meeting hate with hate; we get rid of an enemy by getting rid of enmity. By its very nature, hate destroys and tears down; by its very nature, love creates and builds up. Love transforms with redemptive power. “
