Implications of the Resurrection

 Again, reading and reflecting from Pope Benedict XVI's book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection:

In the last blog, I mentioned three things Jesus did during the 40 days between the Resurrection and the Ascension.  He appeared to them; He spoke with them; He sat at table with them --- and they came to recognize Him through fellowship with His Spirit.

The Greek word used by Luke (synalizomenos) translated in modern editions as "sitting at table with them" is very significant.  Literally translated, it means "eating salt with them."  During the time of the Roman occupation of Jerusalem, salt was such a precious commodity that often Roman soldiers were often paid with salt rations -- the origin of our word "salary."  Salt was a guarantee of durability, a remedy against putrefaction, against the corruption that pertains to the nature of death,  Eating means holding death at bay -- a way of preserving life.  Salt preserved food, especially meat and fish, and to share salt with someone was a sign of friendship.

In the Old Testament, the shared meal of bread and salt, or of salt alone, served to establish lasting covenants (cf. Num.18:19; 2 Chron. 13:5).  The "eating of salt" by Jesus after the Resurrection is a covenant event, a sign of new and everlasting life and friendship with God established by Jesus in the New Covenant of the Last Supper.  What we call Heaven is nothing less than communion with God and with one another through our participation in the Body of Christ.  Jesus had said, "Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another."  Jesus is drawing the disciples into a new covenant-fellowship with him, and with God, and with one another.  Today, that table fellowship with the risen Lord and with one another continues through the Eucharist.

Through the Resurrection, a new dimension of life emerges, a new dimension of human existence.  Jesus, complete with His Body, now belongs totally to the sphere of the divine and eternal.  Christ's transformed body is the place where men enter into communion with God and with one another, creating for all of us a new space of being.

The Resurrection is not simply another historical event such as the birth or the crucifixion of Jesus.  It is something new -- the self-revelation and verbal communication of the risen Christ.  At the Last Supper, Jude asked, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?"  (Why do you reveal yourself only to a small flock of disciples instead of to everyone?)

The implication of the Resurrection is that we now also have friendship with God and communion with one another through Christ.  It is daily, ongoing, and accessible.  God is present to us; we are present to one another.  We have already begun to live eternal life.  This fellowship is available to all, without exception, if they will only receive it.  The world depends on our testimony that God is with us in the Risen Jesus!

An Inner Recognition

 I have been reading and re-reading Pope Benedict XVI's book on Jesus of Nazareth (Part 2: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection).  And I have to say that his observations take my breath away in parts.  In the following pages, I would like to share some of his thoughts, along with my own commentary.

In writing about the appearances of Jesus after His resurrection, Pope Benedict observes a pattern of recognition and non-recognition.  In all of his appearances, the disciples do not recognize Him at first.  He is not simply a man who has come back from death in the same condition as before --- as did, for example, Lazarus.

In His appearance to Mary Magdalen, she has a conversation with him, thinking him to be the gardener.  It is not until He speaks her name that she recognizes Jesus, "Rabbi!"  The recognition is not based on physical appearance, but on an inner reality and relationship --- You are the One I seek!  

At the Lake of Gennesaret, "Just as the day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know it was Jesus."   It is only after He has instructed them to set out again, and they did so, that John suddenly recognized Jesus and said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"  Even after Jesus invites them to eat the fish He has cooked, still none of the disciples dared to ask Him, "Who are you?  They knew it was the Lord" (John 21:12).  

They don't know Him any longer by physical appearance, but rather by the relationship and His action in their lives.   They know from within.  There is a different manner of existence here, after the Resurrection.  God is present in our lives, and we recognize/ don't recognize Him at the same time.  The Holy Spirit manifests His Presence to us, and yet, we dare not ask, "Who are You?" even though we have an inner recognition.  

After the Resurrection, we have a new form of encounter with the Risen Jesus. He now lives anew in the dimension of the living God, who is Present to us in a new way.  He is not a ghost; He comes from the realm of pure life, from God.  He sits at table with with his disciples as before, with thanks and praise and breaking of bread (as in the story of Emmaus).  As as their inner vision is opened, they recognize Him.  And then He vanishes.

During the 40 days following his resurrection, Jesus appears to His disciples; He speaks to them: and He sits at table with them.  Appearing, speaking, sharing meals; these were His ways of proving to them that He was still alive.

Because of the resurrection, Jesus is present to us in a new way.  We no longer recognize Him by appearance, but rather by fellowship with Him, based on an inner recognition.  He is with us; He attends to us; He still speaks to us and shares a meal with us during the Mass.  If we do not recognize Him in our presence, it's probably time to seek more wisdom from the Holy Spirit, whose job it is to  make Jesus recognizable to us in our daily lives.

Don't Just Read It......

 There are certain events, small in themselves, that make such a difference in our lives that they can be said to alter everything afterwards.  One of those "small" events happened to me shortly after I had begun to read the Bible for the first time ever.  I happened to read an article wherein the writer mentioned that she drew a small flower in the margin of her Bible whenever a verse especially moved her, or next to something she wanted to remember.  

At the time, I was reading the Living Bible, a very readable translation, and her idea appealed to me.  I still remember (since 1977) the verse I selected for my very first drawing:  Isaiah 12:3 -- With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation.  I just loved that verse; to me it held a promise and a hope.  I knew it was true from that moment!   Imagine my delight as I worked my way through the entire Bible finding correlative statements relating to the images of water and blessing.  Later, when I began to study the Bible (as opposed to simple reading it), I discovered that the Hebrew words for "spring of water" and for "blessing" sounded alike. [berakah/ berekah].

And then....and then....when I got to the encounter of Jesus with the woman at the well (John 4), and read the words, The water I will give you will be a spring of living water.....all the previous references to water and blessing rushed into my understanding as well.

We cannot just "read" the Bible as a textbook; one way or another, it has to become our own book.  It has to become a living and powerful word for us.  My flower images went away quickly, as I realized what my pages would look like with all those drawings in the margins.  However, I did start underlining verses that I wanted to remember --- and eventually, I made marginal notes about people I was praying for and for whom I was applying those promises.  Those dates and notes are now precious to me.

In the past, we talked about family bibles handed down from one generation to the next.  I think a real family bible is one where names are entered and prayers are recorded, so to speak.  "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."  If the Word does not take on our flesh, and if our flesh does not take on the Word of God, all our reading is in vain!