The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting
Fourteenth Sermon on the Apostles’ Creed
Transfiguration of the Lord; February 26, 2006
John 11:17-27
As I grow older I get more interested in questions of life beyond death. I used to be rather flippant about it. One evening about fifteen years ago, shortly after we had moved to Ohio, the phone rang and it was a recording from a local church, urging us to attend. The recording asked, “If you died tonight, where would you go?” I said, “Vorhis Funeral Home.”
I might still be snide enough to give a similar answer, but I have grown more interested in the matter of life beyond death. There seem to be four different answers to the question, “What happens to you after you die?”
1. The immortality of the soul. There is a part of you that will shed the body and go on to a new realm of blessedness. This piece of you is called “the soul” and is naturally immortal.
2. Reincarnation, or the transmigration of souls. Your soul is something deeper than your particular personality; when you die, that soul will plan the experiences it needs to continue its maturity and, when ready, will enter a new life.
3. The resurrection of the body. This is what the Bible and our Creed teach and what the rest of this sermon is about.
4. Nothing. That is, death is the end; all after that is decay.
All four of these points of view are present among Christians. In fact, a lot of traditional orthodoxy combines immortality of the soul with resurrection of the body, even though the Bible and the Creed do not teach that. Yet, without giving a discourse on the doctrine of resurrection, I will highlight the important concepts in the Christian teaching about the resurrection of the body.
A first concept is that resurrection is a renewal of this life. We do not teach that only a part of you lives on beyond death, but rather that you live on, all of you; everything that makes you an individual is renewed in your resurrection. “Resurrection of the body” means resurrection of the whole self: appearance, personality, everything that makes you a recognizable and unique individual. Although I might think I want to look like George Clooney in the resurrection, I would really rather look like me, so that people would recognize me. So “resurrection of the body” means that a piece of you called “soul” is not dissolved into Universal Mind, but rather that you will be renewed into new life.
Another basic concept is that resurrection is the gift of God. We truly die; ask anyone who has lost a loved one: death is real loss. It is not merely “passage to another realm,” but death is real, frightening and dark. But by the gift of God the people of God are raised to new life, given by God’s good will. That’s part of what Jesus means when he says that he is “the resurrection and the life” in our text; the renewal of life does not come naturally, but comes by the gift of God. The assurance of that gift is in Jesus Christ.
But don’t ask too specifically what the resurrection is like. Those who claim to know the details are fooling you and themselves. The Bible gives us little to go on, and most of that is in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is, all we can “know” about the resurrection is the little the Scriptures tell us about the Resurrection of Jesus. He was raised; he could be touched; he could come and go as he pleased; he could eat and drink. The Apostle Paul adds a few images: he says it is like putting on new clothes (II Corinthians 5:2-5); it is like planting a seed, which “dies” and then comes to life as a shoot pushing up (I Corinthians 15:36-38); resurrection is in the decay of what is present now, preparing us for “an eternal weight of glory” (II Corinthians 4:16-5:1).
And that’s about it; not much to go on, is it? Perhaps resurrection is so entirely indescribable that to say too much would be misleading. The Bible is far more concerned with this-worldly matters, anyway, and mostly just tells us enough about life everlasting to give us hope to keep going.
So the relevant question at this point is, “So what?” What difference does it make to believe in “the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting”?
I said the main thing just now: hope. Death has been cheated of its terror. It is still dark and unknown and thus frightening, but we know Who waits on the other side, Who has blazed the trail before us by His own death and resurrection. I have been reading Justin’s argument to the Roman Emperor for why Christians should not be convicted of a crime simply for being Christian1 and he makes the point that putting the Christians to death really hurts the executioners more than it hurts the Christians. After all, the Christians are being ushered into the Resurrection, but the executioners are committing a terrible sin against God.
You and I don’t often have to think about the possibility of being killed for being Christians, but this underlying hope makes it possible for us to be faithful and do our duty when some lesser risk is involved. We usually think that death is the worst thing that can happen to us, and the resurrection has robbed death of its terror and has given us hope. That hope can sustain us through the fear of losing a job, of risking a friendship, of facing embarrassment. In Christ is resurrection, not only to get us through death, but to get us through difficulty, hardship and boredom. If you know the power of Christ’s resurrection in your life, then you are a person of hope.
A second answer is that belief in resurrection means that for Christians there is never a final farewell. We always look forward to reunion with our loved ones. As painful a loss as death is, it is not a final “good-bye.” We have the life of resurrection to look forward to. God is gracious and giving, and among his gifts is resurrection.
One other difference this belief makes: the resurrection of the body means that this life matters, that the body matters. Your body is part of who you are, not just a machine to be cast aside, so you should take care of it. Concern yourself with the treatment you give your body and the use to which you put it, but please don’t obsess on it. If you eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep and enough exercise and follow your doctor’s advice, then you don’t need to fret over every newspaper story that begins, “Recent health studies suggest…”
Look at Christian mission centers, particularly Presbyterian mission centers. What do you find? Pretty much anywhere in the world, from Korea to Kenya to New Mexico, anywhere Presbyterians have done mission, you will find three buildings together: a school, a church, and a clinic. Christians care about the whole person, and in mission serve the spirit, the mind and the body.
Resurrection means this life will be renewed, so pay attention to this life. This life is not a dress rehearsal; it is the real thing. Some folks are so heavenly-minded that they are of no earthly use, as the saying goes. Resurrection means that in the Kingdom of God you will be renewed in what you have made of yourself, so that attention to the stewardship of your life is important to you if you say, with the Apostles’ Creed, that you believe in the resurrection of the body.
With the Academy Awards coming soon, there has been a lot of talk about the film Brokeback Mountain. Of course, much of the talk is about the aspect of the film that makes it sensational. In light of this last point, it strikes me that the real problem for the character of Ennis Del Mar is not strictly his sexual relationship with Jack, but that Ennis feels trapped in his life and tends to blame others for his life. This is neither Gospel truth nor a scholarly film review, but one man’s opinion. My opinion is that Ennis does not take responsibility for his choices in his life, and so feels trapped.
I wish someone had been able to present to Ennis the gospel of resurrection in a way that he could learn to claim responsibility for his own life and not feel trapped by it. Perhaps he learns that responsibility somehow. Does he ever claim stewardship of his own life? That’s part of the wonderful ambiguity of the ending of the movie.
Our ancestors, in their wisdom, concluded the Apostles’ Creed with this affirmation, “[I believe in] the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” The Creed begins with creation, and continues with the life and work of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit, concluding finally with this word of hope. When we say the Creed and when Christ says that he is the resurrection and the life, we know that we are making an affirmation of hope not just for a last day, but for today.
Let us pray. Thank you for the gift of resurrection, for its hope and its possibilities. Make us wise in the stewardship of our lives, that our hope in Christ may shine through. In Christ’s name we pray, amen.
Robert A. Keefer
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Clarinda, Iowa
[1] The First Apology of Justin.