The Creed: The Resurrection of the Dead

“I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen!”

By Robert Wiesner

St. Paul states in First Corinthians (15:17) “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” The resurrection of Jesus is the single most astounding and important miracle He ever performed: the dead can come to life again!

Lazarus, the widow’s son in Naim and the daughter of Jairus were precursors of this momentous event, but they did eventually die again, presumably after living good and full Christian lives. Jesus’ resurrection was of an entirely different order, though. He had no outside help in rising from the dead. He Himself voluntarily laid down His life and He Himself took up His life again, and what a life it was!

Jewish theology did have some idea of the resurrection of human bodies, as Martha indicated at the tomb of Lazarus; it was a hazy notion at best.

But the Body of Jesus Christ after His resurrection clearly showed what we can expect in our own individual cases.

There are some interesting abilities, such as suddenly appearing in locked rooms, but that is almost a parlor trick compared to certain other characteristics. The wounds Jesus suffered in the crucifixion were still visible, as St. Thomas attested, but there was no pain when he probed the wounds! The nail marks and the gash in His side were a badge of honor; one might speculate if St. Lawrence might still bear the imprint of the grill on his body, or St. Stephen might yet proudly display his battered state.

We are told that there is no hunger in heaven, but we see Jesus eating a piece of broiled fish and preparing a picnic for the apostles. Food, it seems, might still be eaten, apparently for the sheer joy involved. We are told that Jesus will enjoy wine once again with His apostles in the Kingdom.

The Gospels do not mention whether Jesus had anything to do with animals after His rising, but if humanity is restored to the original state of innocence one might reasonably expect to have a Bengal tiger for a pet or even a black mamba if you appreciate reptiles. After all, lions are going to lie down with lambs; presumably elephants will no longer be frightened of mice and wolves will not slaughter sheep. There will be no more hunger or weariness, pain or disease. Our relationship with the world will be fully restored to Adam’s original state in the Garden of Eden, which did, incidentally, involve eating! (Spiritually, we will no longer have to worry about that deadly fruit.)

A major feature of the life to come is the amazing fact that we are actually incorporated into His family circle (see the icon above).

We are children of the heavenly Royal Family by adoption through our baptism. We are not divine by nature, of course, but the grace of God allows us entrance to the family estate. But even further than that, we are actually able to claim a certain blood relationship to the family of God, for the Eucharistic Blood of Jesus our King runs in our veins as well!