While debate may surround the historical details of the Resurrection, there is agreement within Christianity on its central meaning. (NZ Herald article, 2002)
As Christians go to church this weekend they are celebrating one of the major events of the religious calendar. But it is an event which has caused heated debate in the church and led to one of the most sensational news events in New Zealand church history.
Just before Easter 1966, Gregor Smith, had written : “we may freely say the bones of Jesus lie somewhere in Palestine”. His remarks were picked up by Lloyd Geering, at the time principal of Knox College in Dunedin, in an essay entitled “What does the Resurrection Mean?” Published in Presbyterian circles, the essay produced a fiery response which led to Geering being tried for heresy, and acquitted.
The embers of that debate still stir easily into flame. At the core lie differences as to what constitutes evidence of the resurrection. One school of thought holds the view that the basis for Resurrection faith depends on the certainty that Jesus’ body was raised physically into heaven where it took on a transformed nature. To suggest that his bones may rest in Palestine clearly strikes at the roots of this belief.
The four Gospel accounts are in agreement that the tomb in which Jesus’ body was laid was found empty two days later, but give no clue as to what happened to the body. Other theologians hold the view that Resurrection faith does not depend on knowing what happened to Jesus’ body, but on the various post-death appearances Jesus made to his followers.
The four Gospel records vary somewhat as to the exact nature of these appearances. In some (for example, to Mary at the tomb, or the disciples on the road to Emmaus), Jesus is not at first recognised; in others, recognition is immediate. In one encounter he comes to the disciples through locked doors, suggesting a non-bodily form. In another he has body enough to ask for food.
Given that the first Gospel account (St Mark) was written some 30 years after Jesus’ death (c65AD), and that the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John appeared over the following 30 years, such variance in detail is unsurprising. But the Gospel writers speak with one voice of the transformation that took place in his followers as Jesus appeared to them successively over several days.
Over the three years of Jesus’ public ministry, those disciples had come to perceive him as son of God. Peter attributed this title to Jesus as a result of finding in his words and actions a revelation of what is ultimately true about human existence – that at the heart of life there is a spiritual source, known as God, whose nature is seen in such qualities as truth, compassion, self-giving, community, justice and peace.
Jesus’ death on the cross at the hands of self-serving social and political establishments crushed his followers, leaving them dejected and empty of hope. But the resurrection appearances, however explained, and independent of any view about what happened to the body, brought them to the recognition that Jesus’ death was not the end. The life and love of God is possessed of a resilience that overcomes the forces of hypocrisy and evil. New life was resurrected out of the bleakness of death.
While, then, differences remain over where one looks for resurrection evidence, most agree that resurrection speaks of a love that survives even in the face of death, and of the enduring power of truth and justice in the face of evil and oppression.
Significantly, Lloyd Geering’s controversial essay focussed not on the historical facts surrounding the Resurrection, but on the all-important question of its meaning. If resurrection was no more than a one-off event that happened centuries ago, or was the subject of theological debate with no abiding meaning, it could well be consigned to the ivory towers of academia.
But the core message of a power that overcomes death and evil has contemporary implications. On this question also there are different perspectives.
For many Christians the central meaning of resurrection lies in the assurance of life after death. Life after death was not a long-standing belief of the Jewish community into which Jesus was born. The Jewish religious tradition had generally held the view that those who were faithful to God would be blessed with home, family and all the marks of a peaceful community.
History, however, had shown that simple connection to be untrue. The Jewish people had often been vanquished in battle, taken into captivity, or otherwise oppressed. Faithfulness and blessing did not always go hand in hand.
In the period leading up to Jesus’ birth the belief had emerged that the reward for faithful living must belong to an after-life. One Jewish sect in Jesus’ time, the Pharisees, were of this view. Another, the Sadducees, held to the traditional view. In Christian circles Jesus’ resurrection was the new foundation on which belief in an after-life was built.
Such belief is clearly a perception of faith rather than knowledge. What lies outside the boundaries of life on earth lies also beyond human knowledge. Thus there are those Christians who take a more agnostic stance on this issue, adopting instead the approach of an American theologian, Henry Nelson Wieman, who writes of a “hope without prediction”.
Such hope has about it a vibrancy that is more than just a pious wish. It arises not from detailed predictions about a life after death, but rather from the discernment of a permanent quality of life with God which is not interrupted by death.
If the ultimate reality of existence is characterised by the life and compassion which was seen in Jesus, then faith is the conviction that that reality may be trusted also in death, and in whatever may lie beyond. Resurrection faith points to the reality of a spiritual dimension to life that transcends death, the details of which life are not available to human knowledge, but in the face of which there may be trust and freedom from fear.
Other Christians have a concern that preoccupation with the after-life may lead to a privatised and other-worldly understanding of resurrection that ignores its significant societal dimensions. Jesus’ life was one that sided with the poor and the marginalised against oppressive institutional powers. He instructed his followers to show their faith by visiting those in prison, clothing the naked and feeding the hungry. He taught that to heal the sick and give sight to the blind was more important than religious legalities that prohibited such “work” on the sabbath.
The rich were instructed that if they wanted to know the true meaning of life they should give away the wealth that stood between them and God, and make reparations to those they had fraudulently exploited. He pointed out to those who assumed moral superiority that the sinners they so easily condemned knew more of the generosity and love of God than did those who stood as self-appointed judges over them.
Such teachings are fraught with risk. American theologian Walter Brueggemann writes : “Hope is the refusal to accept the reading of reality which is the majority opinion, and one does that only at great political and existential risk. Hope is subversive, for it limits the grandiose pretension of the present, daring to announce that the present to which we have all made commitments is now called into question”.
The seeds of Jesus’ destruction lay in his stance for justice, truth and compassion. It was a threat to the established social order, and to the religious and political authorities. It had strong popular appeal. The enthusiastic crowds who gathered to hear him speak had the potential to create subversion that might dislodge the wealthy and powerful. The need to suppress such a dangerous radical led ultimately to his crucifixion.
But history has shown repeatedly that efforts to suppress prophetic voices fail to meet their objectives. The death of the martyrs is followed inevitably by the resurrection of a new spirit of determination to see right prevail. The death and resurrection of Jesus is an icon for a reality that belongs in every age and place. The voice of truth may be temporarily silenced, but never extinguished. Evil may have its day but will eventually be overthrown.
This universal dynamic is seen in the life and death of Martin Luther King, whose mission to end racism in America was quickly picked up by new leaders who have caused many barriers to crumble. In South Africa racial oppression seemed an impregnable bastion only a few short years ago. Yet the resurrection dynamic exhibited in the lives of Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and countless others who suffered imprisonment, torture and death, has seen the overthrow of apartheid. Resurrection faith is not an exercise in believing the unbelievable, or giving intellectual assent to something that lies beyond verifiable evidence. It is rather a perception that in life the forces of justice and love eventually defeat their opposites. It is true not just because of something that happened in the life of one man and his followers 2000 years ago, but because that same truth is evident in the lives of individuals and communities today.
