Up and at 'em

Friday of the Twenty fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Readings for Friday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 Cor 15:12-20

Responsorial Psalm Ps 17:1bcd, 6-7, 8b and 15
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.

Gospel Lk 8:1-3

Reflection:

We have an interesting combination of messages today. First, we are back to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and we cannot help but think that that place must have been really messed up given the basic level of instruction he needs to give them. Today, apparently, he is addressing the fact that some of the new Christians in Corinth are of a school of thought that does not believe in the resurrection of the body. I was going to just kind of gloss over this reading, pointing out the very basic nature of Paul’s logic on the subject. But, when I went to the link to the resurrection provided earlier, I discovered; “"No doctrine of the Christian Faith", says St. Augustine, "is so vehemently and so obstinately opposed as the doctrine of the resurrection of the flesh" (In Ps. Ixxxviii, sermo ii, n. 5).

From a logical and scientific perspective we can understand his statement. In retrospect I may have been too harsh in my criticism of the Christians in Corinth. When we examine our faith closely, looking especially at the Creed, we find that there is a statement of belief; “And we look for (I look for) the resurrection of the dead” What gets us into trouble is when we start to think, as people do, about the mechanism of that resurrection.

Let’s face it, when the resurrection comes, if I am going to be put back into my body, this body, for eternity, I’m not so sure that’s a good thing. When I come back I want the one I had when I was 20, not one that is worn out. And what about people who have been born handicapped, disfigured or have lost limbs? Will they be forced to live their lives in a state if infirmity? See what I mean about getting into the mechanism of resurrection. As a doctrine of faith, we must accept that, while we believe in the resurrection of the dead (by the way, that’s all of the dead, not just those receiving salvation.)

Let’s get first to the logic of our dogmatic belief:

§ As the soul has a natural propensity to the body, its perpetual
separation from the body would seem unnatural.

§ As the body is the partner of the soul's crimes, and the companion of her
virtues, the justice of God seems to demand that the body be the sharer in the
soul's punishment and reward.

§ As the soul separated from the body is
naturally imperfect, the consummation of its happiness, replete with every good,
seems to demand the resurrection of the body.[1]

Got that? Now where does that take us in our belief? We believe that Jesus, the first fruits of the dead (as Paul says) was the pattern for what may come. Yet, while he was taken bodily to heaven, he was transformed. While the stigmata were present, they did not cause him pain. When he entered the locked room, his resurrected body was not stopped by the door and we did not hear about him “climbing through a window”.

(I really hate saying what comes next.) What that resurrection of the dead means physically or even paranormally is a mystery. It must be taken on faith. But what is sure, what we believe is that, at the return of the Lord, the dead will rise from their graves and stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Those found worthy will find eternal life in Heaven. We need to work hard to make sure we make the cut.

Pax
[1] General Resurrection, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII, Copyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton Company, Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight