When the Christians assert their faith in the Credo, they claim; “I believe in the resurrection of the flesh”, which means in the resurrrection of bodies. Therefore, at the end of times, everyone will recover their resurrected body, which is described as ‘glorious’. What is the basis for such a belief? We have asked don Pierre Gazeau, chaplain at Montligeon, to address those questions for the program Sanctuaires normands on RCF.
We shall resurrect just like Christ has risen from the dead. Whilst Christ’s résurrection is the principle for our own resurrection, we still don’t know precisely how this will take place. From a scientific perspective, we don’t know what happened during the night of the Resurrection. In other words, faith does not provide an answer to the question: « How will it happpen? »
Thanks to Christ’s resurrection, we know that we will rise with our own body, not with another, new one. Indeed, when Jesus rose, the sign for his resurrection was the empty tomb. Another, very plausible alternative could have been to find Jesus’ corpse in the tomb whilst at the same time seeing Jesus resurrected. Which would mean that Jesus would have risen with another body than his earthly body. Now, Jesus’ corpse was found nowhere. Despite its triviality and down-to-eath nature, this detail shows us that the glorified body of Jesus risen from the dead encompasses his earthly body entirely.
Why don’t the women and the apostles recognize Jesus, although they were familiar with him?
The body of the risen Jesus is both the same body and a different body, which is called ‘glorious’. This might be the reason why Mary Magdalene or the pilgrims of Emmaus, at first, didn’t recognize Jesus – it was to mark that difference for us. However, they do recognize him each time, which shows the identity and continuity of this body, and its difference.
Shall we retrieve our body as it was when we were young?
No answer is provided by faith to the question ‘How’. Still, when we consider the body of Jesus risen, there is ‘food for thought’. Indeed, after his resurrection, Jesus requests some fish to his disciples and he eats it. This clearly shows that he does have a material body, not a translucid or evanescent one. On the other hand though, this body is also glorious. It has some capacities which surpass what we know in our present time.
You mean, like the ability to pass through walls?
Indeed, the Gospels report that Jesus appeared to his disciples in the Upper Room even though the doors were locked. We can assume therefore that the risen body of Jesus has the ability of walking through the wall. Now such perspective carries a risk, because we might regard this body as a ghost. Now, we have to hold on to the fact that it is a real body.
I like the interpretation made by some theologians like Thomas of Aquinas. According to him, Jesus entered the Upper Room in that manner not because of any special capaciy of his risen body allowing him to go through solid matter, but because God allowed a miracle in order for Jesus to stand there amongst them. A miracle is some supernatural event.
We shall talk in Heaven!
Whilst at first Mary Magdalene does not recognize Jesus when she sees him, she recognizes him from his voice in the end. As a matter of fact, the risen Jesus talks to his disciples with a voice that is truly physical and material. So this capaciy that the risen Jesus has suggests that we shall indeed recover our voice in Heaven. We will be able to speak!
Jesus will accomplish the very thing God did when He created us. He will not suppress it to create something new. God does not destroy his creation to produce a new one. The new creation is a completion of the creation He initiated, as told in the tale of Genesis.
So, yes, clearly, the ability to see and hear gives us a hint of the body which we shall receive as glorified at the Resurrection.
Does it make sense to resurrect with a body that drives us to sin on earth?
When the body causes some pain, we feel like getting rid of the suffering. Yet, it is also with our body that we can enjoy a good glass of wine, have some exercise or kiss each other and have a good time together. The meaning of resurrecting with a body is because this is the way God created us. God did not create us as souls only or pure spirits, as angels can be. He created us a humans beings, that is, comprised with a body and a soul. The union of a body and a soul is such that their disjunction is not the natural condition of the human person.
For that specific reason, we may say that our condition on earth now is better that the condition of those who are in Heaven and who see God. Although this may sound a little strange, the blessed do not have their body anymore and they are longing to recover it. They experience the infinite joy to see God while still expecting to have their body and their soul made one again, which is what we are presently enjoying.
Would you like to do something for a deceased loved-one, in hope to meet again one day? Register that person with the Fraternity of Prayer at Montligeon.
