FOUR BIG WORDS

RESURRECTION

Many of you know that a month ago, on 14 September, my mother died. This focuses the mind on what we mean by resurrection. When she died I prayed that she might rest in peace and rise in glory. And before she died I blessed her, "May the love of God and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost be with you always."

So what did I mean by God's love and blessing being with her always? And what did I mean by her rising in glory?

This evening I want to look at:

•  what happens when we die,
•  at the other end of life, what happens at baptism,
•  and if that's not confusing enough, what happens in "the now but not yet" of Christ's recreation

Firstly, death. In the Apostles' Creed we declare our belief that on the third day Christ "rose again from the dead", and our belief in "the Resurrection of the body and the life everlasting".

The first of these, that Christ rose from the dead, comes directly from the Gospel accounts. We read them each Easter, and I'd like to read from St Matthew's gospel, chapters 27 and 28. [Matt 27:62 - 28:20]

[Litlyngton Missal Westminster Abbey , England , 1383-1384 AD]

So right from the start the gospel narrative emphasises that Jesus was dead and that his body wasn't removed by his disciples, or anybody else, or even just spirited away. And so we're building on the Incarnation and Atonement themes that Margaret and Mark talked about - Christ was truly human in order to die, and he truly died, otherwise the Atonement doesn't really work (whichever Atonement interpretation you prefer).

Doubting Thomas illustrates this neatly:

[Benedictional of St Aethelwold, Winchester 971-984 AD]

The wound indicates the true death; the lively body indicates the true resurrection. And the artist here was at pains to hammer home the point:

The cross held by Christ, along with his prominent halo and the mandorla that surrounds him, all of which are gilded, are each motifs that traditionally refer in Christian art to the divine and magisterial nature of the risen Christ. Generally, only one or two of these attributes is depicted together and it is certainly not usual to have all three included in images of Doubting Thomas. Their amalgamation was intended to signify a complex series of themes: the halo and the mandorla are traditional symbols of Christ's divinity; the halo, with its cross-shape, refers to the idea that Christ saved humanity through his Crucifixion; the mandorla and the staff-cross (normally included in images of the Ascension and Second Coming) refer to the notion that Christ had risen from death and would soon ascend into heaven from where he would return as Judge at the time of the Second Coming. The cloud that forms the background to the image, however, refers to the human nature of Christ. This is a motif that occurs in images of Christ's human Incarnation, such as the Annunciation and the Nativity, and its use in this image was intended to symbolise that although through his divinity Christ rose from the dead, it was as a human being that he did so. It is Christ the man who stands before his apostles, displaying the wounds of his victory over death and thus proves the possibility of bodily resurrection at the end of time.

[Images of Salvation, Christianity & Culture, St John's College, Nottingham ]

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St Paul hammers the same points home to the Corinthians in chapter 15 of his first epistle, vv1-8.

Herein is perhaps the earliest Christian creed, dating from maybe less than twenty years after Christ's death. That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the first day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Paul explains why this is important: vv 12-19

Paul is saying that for Christ's death to bring us out of sin, for the Atonement (however we interpret it) to work, Christ died and rose again - and God did it. Again we see that we need both Incarnation and Atonement for Resurrection to work.

We could say, that's all very well for Christ - indeed we might expect it of him. For Christ is different, he is the Son of God whereas I'm just made in God's image. But think of Incarnation - Jesus was truly human, just as I am. If Jesus can rise from the dead then I can too. And Atonement tackles questions such as, if it's only Jesus who rises from the dead, then what's the point, where's the saving grace in that, what's in it for me, let alone the rest of creation?

Paul outlines what we can expect: vv 20-26

Pairing Christ with Adam, Paul finds in Christ the start of a new humanity, in which the failures of the present (encapsulated in death) are replaced by the possibilities of the future (resurrection and life).

This pairing contrast continues as Paul gets down to the practicalities of how the dead are raised, and what body I'll have: vv 35 - 49.

There's again a sense of Incarnation blending with Atonement. The emphasis on Adam and humanity is physical, it's Incarnation. God had to become incarnate, to get physical, to mix with that a new spiritual emphasis, which is what Christ did in the Atonement.

And Paul ends this passage increasingly positive, triumphal and mysterious: vv 50-58.

Let's think a bit more about the practicality of resurrection. Here I follow the line of Revd Dr David Peel's book Reforming Theology and its chapter The Gift of Eternal Life. David suggests three ways in which we can "live" after we die.

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Firstly, we live on in what we leave behind. My mother lives in me. She lives in the memories that many people carry. If she'd built a hospital or a school or an art gallery, she'd live on in that. In the newspaper announcement of my aunt's death earlier this year I put that she was "loved by family and honoured by the achievements of countless pupils". As she was a maths teacher, and a very well ordered lady, she might not have been impressed by my loose term "countless pupils" but I think we know what I meant.

Secondly, we live on in God. My mother and aunt live in God's love for them which is eternal. God remembers them. But life everlasting is perhaps a bit more than living in another's memory, as I hope we know from a living relationship with Christ - who is dead but alive for us. If I died I'd "live on" in Judith's memory. But she'd want me to live in my own way as well. So this way of living in God's memory may not be all there is to eternal life. As her minister said at my mother's funeral, "I am in no doubt that she has already been welcomed with the words: 'Well done, my good and faithful servant; come and be with me, my beloved daughter.'" There's more to life with God than a memory, a reference in the divine filing cabinet. God's love gave us life; gave us renewed life in Christ; and doesn't take those gifts away.

So thirdly, we have life after death. Theologians divide on when this comes and whether this need involve the body (and if so what sort of body). Many argue we wait for the second coming - Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham, writes about resurrection as "life after 'life after death' ". It's not until Christ comes again that the resurrection gets physical.

And if there is life after death, is the spirit separate from the body? Plato's philosophy has conditioned many responses. Plato was distinctly "anti matter" - the unseen, unfeeling soul is the real thing, the unchanging reality behind the changing appearance.

It was in this context that Paul wrote to the Corinthians. As a Pharisee he believed in resurrection and was suspicious of fancy Greek philosophy. So he argues forcefully in favour of bodily resurrection. As in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul's not precise about what sort of body, but a desire for precision leads to the question that confronted Jesus - Luke 20:27-40.

Now my brother converted to Judaism over twenty years ago, so reversing the roles from Luke's account, I asked him about resurrection.

Well as per usual my dear brother this is a biggy!  
All the various shades of modern Jewish orthodoxy are absolute in adhering to the line that there will be a resurrection of the dead. Some even tend to go into detailed pictures that bring the work of Brueghel to mind.

Such is their enthusiasm that very regrettably many of those falling somewhere between traditional & ultra orthodox Jews are very reluctant to donate organs - either their own or those of their loved ones. Indeed there was one case not so very long ago of an old woman who required amputation of her leg & for a long time refused claiming she would need it in the afterlife. Rabbi after Rabbi came to try to persuade her & I think in the end she had the operation but it didn't help much - perhaps too late. Anyway you get the idea - oh & for this reason cremation is absolutely forbidden. Should you ask how come a limb can be amputated or an organ donated because many of the Orthodox Rabbis allow indeed encourage this yet cremation is a big NO NO the cunning answer is that at the resurrection of the dead all will come forth - grow again? - from one of those small links in the spinal cord - whose name escapes me - I think it's supposed to come from near the neck. Very convenient answer as they can't yet be replaced & donating them is also an impossibility - I think that's why they stipulate it should be from or near the neck - without it one would die!  

Ayelet [my brother's wife] insists I inform you it is from the small inner brain that the nervous system flows from & is carried via the spine - but anything of the actual brain & nervous system would decompose even if its shell might remain. I still think this is a bit of what is often referred to as a wriggle by the Rabbis.

Oh & should you be worried when it comes to holocaust victims who were cremated the Rabbis say they will be resurrected as it wasn't their fault.  

Now to quickly go to the other end of the scale. An academic appraisal of the history of things might tell you that Jews or indeed Judaism did not always believe in the resurrection. It is referred to very little in the bible but there is the famous case of Shmuel - that's Samuel - coming up from the dead at Shaul's - that's Saul's - request & with a little help from a medium or what ever they are called - the witch of Ein Dor. Anyway it is very worth noting that Sheol (She'ol) is referred to a fair amount. It is - or rather it is thought that is was considered a sort of underworld but not one where anything much went on rather a sort of slumber chamber & in time this led to the idea that at "the end of days" resurrection will come forth from there.

 [We can add Job's statement "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another." Job 19:25-27 The Book of Job probably dates from the fourth century or earlier BCE ]  

I well remember discussing this with Mum & commenting that perhaps the reason so little emphasis is put on the after life in ancient Israeli culture might be a reaction to Egypt were the cult of the dead was such a big deal. Whether or not I will be able to further discuss this with Mum will depend on the exact form resurrection takes!  

Anyways I think it is fair to say that round 3rd & 2nd centuries BCE a more crystallised view of resurrection came about - at the risk of causing offence I think it is fair to suggest there was nothing new in the teachings of Jesus on the subject - the Dead Sea Scrolls are often cited on this. Also final books of the Bible & esp the Apocrypha are more eschatological in nature, eg Daniel.  

Of course there were streams in Judaism of the era that might have taken a different line & might be portrayed as not believing in resurrection but little exists in terms of remnants of such sects.  

It might be worth pointing out that while Judaism & Christianity are often portrayed as in a mother & daughter relationship - Judaism as we know it - Rabbinical or Pharasitical Judaism is more of an older sister to Christianity. Both stem from the religion of the Jews in 2nd Temple times - 2nd Temple Judaism as it's often referred to. Jesus was jostling with the Pharisees & not rebelling against them as is sometimes suggested.  

Having taken things in an odd chronological order let me continue by jumping to the Middle Ages! A famous Medieval Jewish Philosopher the Rambam or Maimonides, having been accused of not believing in the resurrection & of a few other heresies wrote a set of 13 articles of faith - sort of similar to the Apostles' Creed. No. 13 is the resurrection itself & he quite sensibly states he believed with complete faith in the resurrection of the dead but had no idea what form it would take!  

And on that note I shall end. Of course as is the case with things Jewish, more, much more can be said.  

PS to resurrect the subject - Liberal & Reform Judaism fall in line on resurrection but are open to cremation though perhaps not quite so much as the Protestant Church (should that be Churches?) Leading luminaries such as Freud & Einstein chose cremation but they were very secular Jews.

In case you're wondering, our mother was cremated, as were her parents before her. I think in the Church of Scotland there is a desire to move away from anything that might be considered ancestor worship or creation of a shrine. Edward's shrine in Westminster Abbey would horrify them. The Church of Scotland never shows a crucifix, only an empty cross. This earthly life is over, done with, finished, it is no more.

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Contrast this with a poem of John Donne, which suggests much more of a continuity between life and death: The Progress of the Soul

Forget this rotten world, and unto thee
Let thine own times as an old story be.
Be not concern'd; study not why, nor when;
Do not so much as not believe a man.
For though to err, be worst, to try truths forth
Is far more business than this world is worth.
I'he world is but a carcass; thou art fed
By it, but as a worm, that carcass bred;
And why shouldst thou, poor worm, consider more,
When this world will grow better than before,
Than those thy fellow-worms do think upon
That carcass's last resurrection?
Forget this world, and scarce think of it so,
As of old clothes, cast off a year ago.
To be thus stupid is alacrity;
Men thus lethargic have best memory.
Look upward; that's towards her, whose happy state
We now lament not, but congratulate.
She, to whom all this world was but a stage,
Where all sat heark'ning how her youthful age
Should be employ'd, because in all she did
Some figure of the golden times was hid.
Who could not lack, what'er this world could give,
Because she was the form, that made it live;
Nor could complain that this world was unfit
To be stay'd in, then when she was in it;
She, that first tried indifferent desires
By virtue, and virtue by religious fires;
She, to whose person paradise adher'd,
As courts to princes; she, whose eyes enspher'd
Star-light enough t' have made the South control,
(Had she been there) the star-full Northern Pole;
She, she is gone; she is gone; when thou knowest this,
What fragmentary rubbish this world is
Thou knowest, and that it is not worth a thought;
He honours it too much that thinks it nought.
Think then, my soul, that death is but a groom,
Which brings a taper to the outward room,
Whence thou spiest first a little glimmering light,
And after brings it nearer to thy sight;
For such approaches doth heaven make in death.
Think thyself labouring now with broken breath,
And think those broken and soft notes to be
Division, and thy happiest harmony.
Think thee laid on thy death-bed, loose and slack,
And think that but unbinding of a pack,
To take one precious thing, thy soul, from thence.
Think thyself parch'd with fever's violence;
Anger thine ague more, by calling it
Thy physic; chide the slackness of the fit.
Think that thou hear'st thy knell, and think no more,
But that, as bells call'd thee to church before,
So this to the Triumphant Church calls thee.
Think Satan's sergeants round about thee be,
And think that but for legacies they thrust;
Give one thy pride, to'another give thy lust;
Give them those sins which they gave thee before,
And trust th' immaculate blood to wash thy score.
Think thy friends weeping round, and think that they
Weep but because they go not yet thy way.
Think that they close thine eyes, and think in this,
That they confess much in the world amiss,
Who dare not trust a dead man's eye with that
Which they from God and angels cover not.
Think that they shroud thee up, and think from thence
They reinvest thee in white innocence.
Think that thy body rots, and (if so low,
Thy soul exalted so, thy thoughts can go)
Think thee a prince, who of themselves create
Worms , which insensibly devour their state.
Think that they bury thee, and think that rite
Lays thee to sleep but a Saint Lucy's night.

John Donne was buried, dressed in his priestly robes - as was my uncle.

And it's this sense of continuity that I want to develop, starting at Baptism. Our belief in resurrection of the body is expressed in the Apostles' Creed, and also in the creed we use at Baptism here at St Peter's. Our Baptism service includes the words:

We thank you, Father, for the water of baptism.
In it we are buried with Christ in his death.
By it we share his resurrection.
Through it we are reborn in the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, in joyful obedience to your Son,
We baptise into his fellowship
Those who come to him in faith.

The resurrection life is about the life after death - or even, echoing Tom Wright, life after life after death. But it starts now. Christ's message isn't about pie in the sky when we die. It's about our life here and now.

So we can start our resurrected lives now - no need to wait and speculate about what body we need.

This sense of continuity is evident in the works of Stanley Spencer. His pictures mingle saints and living people - another world is present in our world.

And in his picture "Christ carrying the Cross" Christ is present in Spencer's Cookham. Spencer thought that Christ's decision to enter our humanity, his Incarnation, gave human life great dignity; by undertaking a mission of teaching and healing, Christ had made all human tasks worthy, even holy. This way of thinking induced Spencer to find value and beauty in the people, places and activities which he encountered. He explained, ". quite suddenly I became aware that everything was full of special meaning and this made everything holy. The instinct of Moses to take his shoes off, when he saw the burning bush was similar to my feelings. I saw many burning bushes in Cookham. I observed this sacred quality in the most unexpected quarters."

Of this picture Spencer declared that, "a sense of suffering . was not my intention." He believed that Christ's self sacrifice had led to a reconciliation between humanity and God, and he was able to view Christ's cross without sadness.

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And so we move on to Spencer's picture, The Resurrection, Cookham.

He deliberately confuses the boundaries between heaven and earth. To his mind there were two forms of Resurrection, a "particular" kind which involved a person being raised after death to a state of fulfilment in heaven, and a "general" kind which could come to anyone at any time and place on earth, and which consisted in being overwhelmed by a sense of perfect peace and love.

So for Spencer, resurrection was both now and not yet. Just as a world of peace and love is both now - there's a lot of peace and love about today - and not yet - we can't say that peace and love rule the world.

That resurrection world of peace and love will come - God has promised that. But we have promised in our baptismal vows, regularly renewed, that it should come today in us. Peace and love are ours to give, but the point of the resurrection is that they were given in the most difficult circumstances. Christ gave them unreservedly to a world which had done little or nothing to deserve them, indeed to a world which had crucified him. In a little book, Resurrection , Rowan Williams suggests that such forgiveness is the foundation of resurrection - "an invitation to recognise one's victim as one's hope". Shades of the Atonement here!

From the Ancient Greek tragedies there was a realisation that a cycle of revenge had to be broken - that victim would follow victim unless something broke through human justice. The same realisation led to Desmond Tutu's Truth & Reconciliation Commission. Earlier this year Judith & I saw a South African adaptation of Aeschylus' Oresteia . Survivors have to choose between the impulse to avenge and the impulse to forgive. Christ's resurrection gives hope to those who choose to forgive and to love - these enable us to give life to others.

When my mother died, I received many loving words from many good friends. Many echoed words from our Funeral Service, which I've copied with the Bible texts.

And so I think I want to end by replacing that big theological word, Resurrection, with a little everyday word, Hope. But what does Resurrection mean for you? Is it a debate about organ donation when we die? Or is it hope today? Is it life after death or new life today? And finally, I may add, I hope to see you all later!

© Keith Stephenson

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