Lesson 35 - Jesus is the Ressurection and the Life

(Lesson 35)

Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life!

” if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised” 1 Cor 15:12

Discussion Guide:

“The mystery of Christ's resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically verified” (CCC 639). This is a fact that can never be over emphasized in today’s skeptical environment. Throughout history, there have been many individuals, both inside and outside of the Church, who have attempted to cast doubt on the physical resurrection of Jesus. I have heard it said that only the faith of the disciples made it possible for them to see the Risen Lord. Others have proposed that Jesus did not really die on the cross or that the body was stolen from the tomb. These blasphemous theories not only contradict the teachings of the Catholic Church, they contradict common sense.

The apostles were severely persecuted because of their belief in the resurrection. They were all, with the exception of John, put to death for their claim that Jesus rose from the dead. Keeping in mind that they were all eyewitnesses, common sense dictates that they would not sacrifice their own lives for a lie that they themselves concocted. Also, they gained no money, power, or prestige from their new faith. As a matter of fact, they were put out of their synagogues, flogged, stoned and killed. Who would make up a story that would lead to these earthly consequences? The truth is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He lives with us today and reigns with his father in heaven.

The Catholic Church teaches us that we too will have a physical resurrection at the second coming of Christ (CCC 989). The righteous will receive a glorified body that will dwell in the house of the Lord for all eternity. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). Not only will the spirit live on, the body will also live on! This should in no way be confused with reincarnation. In a mysterious way, it will be our own body that rises on the last day!

Discussion Points:

· The resurrection of Jesus Christ was a real and historical event

· Belief in a spiritual resurrection only is not an option for a faithful Catholic

· Many apostles and believers died for their eyewitness testimony of the resurrection of Christ

· The risen Christ lives with us today and also reigns in heaven

· He has conquered death; by his resurrection he gives us hope for eternal life

· The righteous will be given glorified bodies at the second coming of Christ

· Not only is there a spiritual existence after death, there is also a physical one

· Belief in reincarnation is not compatible with the Catholic faith (CCC 1013)

Christ's Resurrection was a Concrete Event

by Pope John Paul II

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1. In the liturgical season running from Easter to Pentecost, the Church is recollected in contemplation of the risen Christ. Thus she relives the primordial experience that lies at the basis of her existence. She feels imbued with the same wonder as Mary Magdalene and the other women who went to Christ's tomb on Easter morning and found it empty. That tomb became the womb of life.
Whoever had condemned Jesus, deceived himself that he had buried His cause under an ice-cold tombstone. The disciples themselves gave in to the feeling of irreparable failure. We understand their surprise, then, and even their distrust in the news of the empty tomb. But the Risen One did not delay in making himself seen and they yielded to reality. They saw and believed! Two thousand years later, we still sense the unspeakable emotion that overcame them when they heard the Master's greeting: "Peace be with you'".

2. The Church is based on their extraordinary experience. The first proclamation of the Gospel was nothing other than the testimony of this event: "This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses!" (Acts 2:32). The Christian faith is so linked with this truth that Paul did not hesitate to declare: "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain" (1 Cor 15:14). Along these lines the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: "The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ, a faith believed and lived as the central truth by the first Christian community, handed on as fundamental by Tradition; established by the documents of the New Testament; and preached as an essential part of the Paschal mystery along with the cross" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 638).

Christ's Resurrection is the strength, the secret of Christianity. It is not a question of mythology or of mere symbolism, but of a concrete event. It is confirmed by sure and convincing proofs. The acceptance of this truth, although the fruit of the Holy Spirit's grace, rests at the same time on a solid historical base. On the threshold of the third millennium, the new effort of evangelization can begin only from a renewed experience of this Mystery, accepted in faith and witnessed to in life.

3. Regina caeli, laetare! Rejoice, Holy Virgin, because He whom you bore in your womb is risen! Dear brothers and sisters, let us try to relive the joy of the Resurrection with Mary's heart. Even in the darkness of Good Friday she prepared herself to receive the light of Easter morning. Let us ask her to obtain for us a deep faith in this extraordinary event, which is salvation and hope for the world.
From an address given by Pope John Paul II before reciting the Regina caeli on Sunday, April 21, 1996.

Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life!

” if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised” 1 Cor 15:12

Opening Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help us to have faith in the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Give us the grace that will enable us to rise to eternal life. Send us the Holy Spirit who is able to quell any doubts we may have with a firm and unwavering faith. Amen

Theme:

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ was a real and historical event. We will also rise from the dead on the last day with a physical and glorified body.

Bible Readings:

John 20:1-18 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rab-boni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

1 Corinthians 15:3-6, 12-19 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, 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 brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.

Explanation of the Bible readings: The first reading tells us about the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene was the first to see the risen Lord. She saw an empty tomb and did not know what happened. Later, in the midst of her grief, she saw Jesus but did not immediately recognize him. Only when Jesus called her by name did she finally recognize him. Sometimes we all find it difficult to recognize Jesus until he calls us by name! Once we accept his grace, we are able to recognize him in others as well as in the Eucharist. Then, like Mary Magdalene, we can go and tell others the good news. St. Paul is responding to questions about the physical resurrection of the dead. He compares the resurrection of the Lord to our own resurrection at the end of time. He links the two closely together. If we do not accept the physical resurrection of Christ, we have no hope for our own resurrection and our faith is in vain. If this faith of ours is only for a better life in this world, we are wasting our time and should be pitied among men! Our salvation in heaven is the ultimate goal of our Catholic faith!

Philippians 3:21 We will receive a glorified body
1 Thessalonians 4:1-17 We will be raised on the last day
Acts 17:3 It was necessary for Christ to rise

Catechism of the Catholic Church:

638 "We bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this day he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus." The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ, a faith believed and lived as the central truth by the first Christian community; handed on as fundamental by Tradition; established by the documents of the New Testament; and preached as an essential part of the Paschal mystery along with the cross….

The Historical and Transcendent Event

639 The mystery of Christ's resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically verified, as the New Testament bears witness. In about A.D. 56 St. Paul could already write to the Corinthians: "I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. . ." The Apostle speaks here of the living tradition of the Resurrection which he had learned after his conversion at the gates of Damascus.

641 Mary Magdalene and the holy women who came to finish anointing the body of Jesus, which had been buried in haste because the Sabbath began on the evening of Good Friday, were the first to encounter the Risen One. Thus the women were the first messengers of Christ's Resurrection for the apostles themselves. They were the next to whom Jesus appears: first Peter, then the Twelve. Peter had been called to strengthen the faith of his brothers, and so sees the Risen One before them; it is on the basis of his testimony that the community exclaims: "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"

642 Everything that happened during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles - and Peter in particular - in the building of the new era begun on Easter morning. As witnesses of the Risen One, they remain the foundation stones of his Church…

643 Given all these testimonies, Christ's Resurrection cannot be interpreted as something outside the physical order, and it is impossible not to acknowledge it as an historical fact....

The condition of Christ's risen humanity

645 By means of touch and the sharing of a meal, the risen Jesus establishes direct contact with his disciples. He invites them in this way to recognize that he is not a ghost and above all to verify that the risen body in which he appears to them is the same body that had been tortured and crucified, for it still bears the traces of his Passion. Yet at the same time this authentic, real body possesses the new properties of a glorious body: not limited by space and time but able to be present how and when he wills; for Christ's humanity can no longer be confined to earth, and belongs henceforth only to the Father's divine realm. For this reason too the risen Jesus enjoys the sovereign freedom of appearing as he wishes: in the guise of a gardener or in other forms familiar to his disciples, precisely to awaken their faith.

646 Christ's Resurrection was not a return to earthly life, as was the case with the raisings from the dead that he had performed before Easter: Jairus' daughter, the young man of Naim, Lazarus. These actions were miraculous events, but the persons miraculously raised returned by Jesus' power to ordinary earthly life. At some particular moment they would die again. Christ's Resurrection is essentially different. In his risen body he passes from the state of death to another life beyond time and space. At Jesus' Resurrection his body is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit: he shares the divine life in his glorious state, so that St. Paul can say that Christ is "the man of heaven".

647 …..Although the Resurrection was an historical event that could be verified by the sign of the empty tomb and by the reality of the apostles' encounters with the risen Christ, still it remains at the very heart of the mystery of faith as something that transcends and surpasses history. This is why the risen Christ does not reveal himself to the world, but to his disciples, "to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people."

THE MEANING AND SAVING SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESURRECTION

651 "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain." The Resurrection above all constitutes the confirmation of all Christ's works and teachings. All truths, even those most inaccessible to human reason, find their justification if Christ by his Resurrection has given the definitive proof of his divine authority, which he had promised.

652 Christ's Resurrection is the fulfillment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life. The phrase "in accordance with the Scriptures" indicates that Christ's Resurrection fulfilled these predictions.

653 The truth of Jesus' divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection. He had said: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he."524 The Resurrection of the crucified one shows that he was truly "I AM", the Son of God and God himself….

655 Finally, Christ's Resurrection - and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future resurrection: "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. . . For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive…..

"I BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY"

989 We firmly believe, and hence we hope that, just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and lives for ever, so after death the righteous will live for ever with the risen Christ and he will raise them up on the last day. Our resurrection, like his own, will be the work of the Most Holy Trinity….

991 Belief in the resurrection of the dead has been an essential element of the Christian faith from its beginnings. "The confidence of Christians is the resurrection of the dead; believing this we live."

How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. . . . But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

CHRIST'S RESURRECTION AND OURS

994 ….Jesus links faith in the resurrection to his own person: "I am the Resurrection and the life." It is Jesus himself who on the last day will raise up those who have believed in him, who have eaten his body and drunk his blood…..

996 From the beginning, Christian faith in the resurrection has met with incomprehension and opposition. "On no point does the Christian faith encounter more opposition than on the resurrection of the body." It is very commonly accepted that the life of the human person continues in a spiritual fashion after death. But how can we believe that this body, so clearly mortal, could rise to everlasting life?
How do the dead rise?

997 What is "rising"? In death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus' Resurrection.

998 Who will rise? All the dead will rise, "those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment."

999 How? Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself"; but he did not return to an earthly life. So, in him, "all of them will rise again with their own bodies which they now bear," but Christ "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body," into a "spiritual body":
But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel. . . . What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. . . . The dead will be raised imperishable. . . . For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality.

1001 When? Definitively "at the last day," "at the end of the world." Indeed, the resurrection of the dead is closely associated with Christ's Parousia:
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

1013 Death is the end of man's earthly pilgrimage, of the time of grace and mercy which God offers him so as to work out his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan, and to decide his ultimate destiny. When "the single course of our earthly life" is completed, we shall not return to other earthly lives: "It is appointed for men to die once." There is no "reincarnation" after death.

Faith words:

Historical: Having once lived or existed or taken place in the real world as distinct from being legendary.

Reincarnation: The process of individual souls experiencing an orderly sequence of multiple lives. (This is completely incompatible with the Catholic faith)

Resurrection: The rising of Christ on the third day after the Crucifixion.


Reflection Questions:


In what ways can you improve your ability to recognize Christ in other people?









What would your reaction be if you saw a deceased loved one come back to life?









Why do you think it took Mary Magdalene some time to recognize the risen Lord?