Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Col 3:1-4; Jn 20:1-9
Saint Augustine once said: “The faith of Christians is the resurrection of Christ. It is no great thing to believe that Jesus died; even the pagans believe this, everyone believes it. The truly great thing is to believe that he is risen”.
Yet, the question often is asked: Can the resurrection of Christ from the dead be proven historically? Or, in common parlance, did it really happen?
Theologians would answer the question by appealing to two indisputable facts. First is the recorded tradition of those who had come to believe in it; and second is the sudden and unfathomable faith of the disciples, a faith so strong as to endure persecution and martyrdom.
Saint Paul is considered to have written the oldest testimony to the resurrection of Christ. In his first letter to the Corinthians, written around A.D. 56 or 57, he says: “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me” (15:3-8). Unmistakably, the heart of this text is the Easter Faith which Paul claims he received from others.
The gospel accounts of the Lord’s resurrection were written some decades later and obviously manifest a development in the Church’s reflection. And yet, the core of the testimony remains the same: The Lord is risen and was seen alive (Mt 28:1-8; Mk 16:1-14; Lk 24:1-40; Jn 20:1-9).
Nonetheless, what appears more compelling than the written tradition of the resurrection of Christ was the sudden change of the first followers’ state of soul. The trial, persecution and death of Jesus brought excessive fear and confusion to the disciples. They fled and hid themselves from the Jews, without any thoughts concerning the resurrection. But something unexplainable did happen which brought a radical revolution in the hearts and minds of the disciples. All of sudden, the disciples started to come out and preach Jesus Christ boldly to the people. Theologians suggest that the stirring factor of their fearless proclamation of Jesus was the disciples’ full conviction that Christ indeed rose from the dead.
For us who also received the Easter Faith, what does it mean to believe in the resurrection of Christ? First of all, the Lord’s resurrection reminds us that evil will not triumph in the end. Love is more powerful than evil; it is stronger than hatred and sin. Christ faced all that evil can give and, by so doing, transformed sin to grace, hatred to forgiveness, and death to life. Hopefully, this thought will console those who are victims of injustice, jealousy, conspiracy, persecution and other forms of human cruelty. The challenge is to descend with courage into the world’s darkness, trusting that in the end we will ascend victoriously with Christ.
Moreover, the resurrection of Christ inspires us to see death not as an end but as the beginning of an endless, happy life with God. Through faith and baptism, we become one with Christ. Like Paul, we can now say, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Because of this, we learn to hang on to the words of Jesus in John’s gospel: “I live and you will also live” (14:19). Thus, we believe in eternal life because we believe in our existential communion with Christ who is himself the source and the giver of life.
A priest was called to give the sacrament of holy anointing to a terminal cancer patient. After hearing her confessions and after anointing her with holy oil, the woman said to the priest, “Father, for the first time in my life I feel God’s loving embrace.”
Saint Augustine once said: “The faith of Christians is the resurrection of Christ. It is no great thing to believe that Jesus died; even the pagans believe this, everyone believes it. The truly great thing is to believe that he is risen”.
Yet, the question often is asked: Can the resurrection of Christ from the dead be proven historically? Or, in common parlance, did it really happen?
Theologians would answer the question by appealing to two indisputable facts. First is the recorded tradition of those who had come to believe in it; and second is the sudden and unfathomable faith of the disciples, a faith so strong as to endure persecution and martyrdom.
Saint Paul is considered to have written the oldest testimony to the resurrection of Christ. In his first letter to the Corinthians, written around A.D. 56 or 57, he says: “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me” (15:3-8). Unmistakably, the heart of this text is the Easter Faith which Paul claims he received from others.
The gospel accounts of the Lord’s resurrection were written some decades later and obviously manifest a development in the Church’s reflection. And yet, the core of the testimony remains the same: The Lord is risen and was seen alive (Mt 28:1-8; Mk 16:1-14; Lk 24:1-40; Jn 20:1-9).
Nonetheless, what appears more compelling than the written tradition of the resurrection of Christ was the sudden change of the first followers’ state of soul. The trial, persecution and death of Jesus brought excessive fear and confusion to the disciples. They fled and hid themselves from the Jews, without any thoughts concerning the resurrection. But something unexplainable did happen which brought a radical revolution in the hearts and minds of the disciples. All of sudden, the disciples started to come out and preach Jesus Christ boldly to the people. Theologians suggest that the stirring factor of their fearless proclamation of Jesus was the disciples’ full conviction that Christ indeed rose from the dead.
For us who also received the Easter Faith, what does it mean to believe in the resurrection of Christ? First of all, the Lord’s resurrection reminds us that evil will not triumph in the end. Love is more powerful than evil; it is stronger than hatred and sin. Christ faced all that evil can give and, by so doing, transformed sin to grace, hatred to forgiveness, and death to life. Hopefully, this thought will console those who are victims of injustice, jealousy, conspiracy, persecution and other forms of human cruelty. The challenge is to descend with courage into the world’s darkness, trusting that in the end we will ascend victoriously with Christ.
Moreover, the resurrection of Christ inspires us to see death not as an end but as the beginning of an endless, happy life with God. Through faith and baptism, we become one with Christ. Like Paul, we can now say, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Because of this, we learn to hang on to the words of Jesus in John’s gospel: “I live and you will also live” (14:19). Thus, we believe in eternal life because we believe in our existential communion with Christ who is himself the source and the giver of life.
A priest was called to give the sacrament of holy anointing to a terminal cancer patient. After hearing her confessions and after anointing her with holy oil, the woman said to the priest, “Father, for the first time in my life I feel God’s loving embrace.”
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