Worth a Read: COVID-19 & The Resurrection

Pictured: Christ Appearing to the Apostles after the Resurrection, 1795-1805, by Blake, William (1757-1827)

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a historical reality that gives us boundless reasons for joy, even amid the present COVID-19 lockdown, with a promise of something even greater to come. That was the nub of the proposition put forward by Tim Carpenter, Director of Religious Education for the Diocese of Lansing, pictured, in a memo issued to parishes this week.

“St. Paul says that without the resurrection, our faith is worthless,” writes Tim, 16 April, “It is an actual historical event. It shows to the world who Jesus really is, that the Incarnation is real. It provides an answer to the ugliness that we find ourselves living in. God has dealt with sin in the world and provided an antidote. But this antidote doesn’t just wipe away sin, it offers something much greater.”

The something greater is revealed in the resurrected, glorified body of Jesus Christ which is physical, which is the same Christ, but is also different such that “everyone who encounters the resurrected Jesus doesn’t recognize him upon seeing him for the first time”. The reality of Christ’s resurrected body gives a glimpse as to what awaits humanity, including ourselves, in the fullness of time.

“Human nature, your human nature, awaits this transformation. What will it be like for us? We don’t know. But we have a glimpse of it in Jesus, in the Gospel record of the forty days he spent with the nascent Church,” concludes Tim.

“This is our forty days to celebrate this great new reality which awaits us, this great promise that God has shown us. Let it fill you with joy even amidst this strange new life we find ourselves living.” Tim’s memo reproduced in full below:

* Memo from Tim Carpenter, Director of Religious Education, Diocese of Lansing, Thursday, 16 April, 2020:

It’s Easter. We are on day five of the octave. We should be still be celebrating. I know, it doesn’t seem like there is much to celebrate right now, does it? But there is. There always is for the Christian, especially now in this season when we focus more intently on the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection is an essential element in the Paschal Mystery which reshapes reality. It is the beacon of light which shines forth from the darkness of Calvary. It is the triumph over death and is, therefore, our great source of hope. It makes the Paschal Mystery the greatest event in all of human history.

We cannot speak strongly enough about this fact. St. Paul says that without the resurrection, our faith is worthless (1 Corinthians 15:14). He resolves in his letters to preach the resurrection of Jesus as the basis for everything he believes and does. It is an actual historical event. It shows to the world who Jesus really is, that the Incarnation is real. It provides an answer to the ugliness that we find ourselves living in. God has dealt with sin in the world and provided an antidote. But this antidote doesn’t just wipe away sin, it offers something much greater.

Pope Benedict XVI in his book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week, points out that Jesus’ glorified presence recorded in the Gospels is a unique experience. So much so that the Apostles don’t recognize Him. We are mostly familiar with how this plays out on the road to Emmaus. Those few disciples aren’t the only ones. In fact, everyone who encounters the resurrected Jesus doesn’t recognize him upon seeing him for the first time. John tells us (21:12) that when they are eating with him on the beach that, “None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.”

Implicit in this encounter is the fact that Jesus’ physical appearance is changed. He is still human, he is physical. He proves it by eating, yet he is different. So much so that he doesn’t look like the same person. But somehow, they can tell he is the same person. His Divine Nature shines forth in his physical being like it hadn’t before. It has transformed the physical human nature he possesses. It is not subject to time and space anymore. Jesus moves about without heeding physical barriers. This is something totally new, something unprecedented. Jesus has revealed “a new dimension of reality.” (Benedict, pg. 247)

Humanity has been reconciled with God the Father. Sin has been dealt with, it is washed away. But this is not just restoring mankind back to the state that Adam and Eve experienced. It is something much more. Jesus has made human nature the true temple of God. Humanity will no longer be the same. It will be transformed into a new human experience. Human nature, your human nature, awaits this transformation. What will it be like for us? We don’t know. But we have a glimpse of it in Jesus, in the Gospel record of the forty days he spent with the nascent Church. This is our forty days to celebrate this great new reality which awaits us, this great promise that God has shown us. Let it fill you with joy even amidst this strange new life we find ourselves living.

In Christ,

Tim Carpenter