There is a person, personally unknown to me, who periodically emails me with different versions of the same question: Does the New Testament teach the doctrine of bodily resurrection? He is troubled by the concept. (He is not the only one.) It makes no rational sense. After death, we return to dust. How can we resurrect physically? Isn’t it more a spiritual resurrection? Or perhaps simply that the spirit of the deceased remains in the memory of loved ones who cherished him or her? Or maybe it only concerns the individual’s ideals that remain?
The story of the race to the empty tomb between Peter and the Beloved Disciple on Easter morning illustrates this dilemma. Only the latter immediately perceived the truth; initially only he “saw and believed.” Today is not the day to get mired in the details of how Jesus’ resurrection took place, or what it means for the resurrection of the dead that he promised his followers. Hundreds of books have tried to explain this mystery, to no full avail.
What is clear, though—and the appearance stories we hear throughout the Easter season show this—is that it was the same Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified and was raised from the dead! Transformed, yes, but more than just a memory, more than just a sum of his teachings. For us, as for the first disciples, it comes back to faith—seeing and believing.
The word that most characterizes the Easter season is alleluia. A Hebrew poetic word that means “Yahweh (God) be praised!” it rolls off the tongue almost as a song. Make it a personal mantra throughout the day, quietly reflecting on how God has blessed us through the message of the resurrection.