Death and Resurrection
1 Cor. 15:12-20 (esp. v 19)
To be honest, this is a very difficult passage for me. I'm not of the Corinthian faith that the dead are "raised" (at least in the sense that I have of the traditional notion of rising dead). Paul is calling me out on this - if I do not believe the dead have been raised (or are being raised), then I do not believe Jesus was raised; and if I do not believe Jesus was raised from the dead, then my faith is futile, he says. And I am almost convinced of the futility of my faith.
If we read a little further, however, in the following verses Paul expands on what he means - since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being (v 21). Now, we who have accepted a generally scientific worldview (as opposed to a "literal" interpretation of the Genesis story) are rarely convicted that "death" was a result of Adam's (and Eve's) actions. Death is just a fact of living in this universe. So if the physical death of the body isn't what we're talking about in interpreting the Adam story in our lives, then is the "resurrection" of physically dead bodies necessarily what we must talk about in interpreting the story of Jesus in our lives?
I don't want to dance around the issue - and it seems Paul is pretty clear what he believes here. I don't want to play semantic games to squirm my way out from under Paul's condemnation. But at the same time, I want to be faithful to the best that I know, all the best that I know. And confidence in dead people's bodies rising to life again doesn't speak to me that way. By invoking the Adam story as the beginning of the journey of which Jesus signals the start of the end, Paul opens up (for post-modern readers) an entirely different read of the point he is trying to make.
Verse 19 says: "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." This verse jumps out at me. In the traditional reading, Paul is talking about this life as this first living-and-dying, as opposed to the next living-again ushered in by Jesus. But read the verse again - "this life" being our short-term ideas, our narrow focus on our own priorities and experiences. If we have hoped in the transformative power of Christ merely for our own individual sakes, we are indeed pitiable. If, however, we have hoped in that transformation for the greater transformation of the world - not necessarily within our lifetime, or within our limited scope of knowledge or experience - then we are closer to deserving that transformation. If Christ means to us merely the reinforcement of our own ideas or preconceived notions, then we are indeed pitiable. If, however, Christ means to us a new life, bold and loving, then we see Christ in our selves and world. If we have hoped in Christ only within the context of our-lives-as-they-are, or sought Christ to be a soothing balm to heal our own wounds exclusively, then we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact, Christ is not for us alone, for only our sins or only our redemption.
If the preservation of this right here, right now, is the only reason we hope in Christ, we are in for a big shock and disappointment. The life, death and continuing resurrection of Jesus is a challenge to the status quo, and changes those in whom Jesus would be resurrected.
For me, however much I enjoy this embodied existence, there is something more important than just this-my-life. If my hope in Christ has only been for this-my-life, then I've gone down the wrong road. But if my hope in Christ is for the greater good, the greater transformation, the greater redemption of the world, for the Kingdom of God, for Zion, for the peaceable Kingdom, then at least I'm pointed in the right direction, and can feel Christ urging me on.
To be honest, this is a very difficult passage for me. I'm not of the Corinthian faith that the dead are "raised" (at least in the sense that I have of the traditional notion of rising dead). Paul is calling me out on this - if I do not believe the dead have been raised (or are being raised), then I do not believe Jesus was raised; and if I do not believe Jesus was raised from the dead, then my faith is futile, he says. And I am almost convinced of the futility of my faith.
If we read a little further, however, in the following verses Paul expands on what he means - since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being (v 21). Now, we who have accepted a generally scientific worldview (as opposed to a "literal" interpretation of the Genesis story) are rarely convicted that "death" was a result of Adam's (and Eve's) actions. Death is just a fact of living in this universe. So if the physical death of the body isn't what we're talking about in interpreting the Adam story in our lives, then is the "resurrection" of physically dead bodies necessarily what we must talk about in interpreting the story of Jesus in our lives?
I don't want to dance around the issue - and it seems Paul is pretty clear what he believes here. I don't want to play semantic games to squirm my way out from under Paul's condemnation. But at the same time, I want to be faithful to the best that I know, all the best that I know. And confidence in dead people's bodies rising to life again doesn't speak to me that way. By invoking the Adam story as the beginning of the journey of which Jesus signals the start of the end, Paul opens up (for post-modern readers) an entirely different read of the point he is trying to make.
Verse 19 says: "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." This verse jumps out at me. In the traditional reading, Paul is talking about this life as this first living-and-dying, as opposed to the next living-again ushered in by Jesus. But read the verse again - "this life" being our short-term ideas, our narrow focus on our own priorities and experiences. If we have hoped in the transformative power of Christ merely for our own individual sakes, we are indeed pitiable. If, however, we have hoped in that transformation for the greater transformation of the world - not necessarily within our lifetime, or within our limited scope of knowledge or experience - then we are closer to deserving that transformation. If Christ means to us merely the reinforcement of our own ideas or preconceived notions, then we are indeed pitiable. If, however, Christ means to us a new life, bold and loving, then we see Christ in our selves and world. If we have hoped in Christ only within the context of our-lives-as-they-are, or sought Christ to be a soothing balm to heal our own wounds exclusively, then we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact, Christ is not for us alone, for only our sins or only our redemption.
If the preservation of this right here, right now, is the only reason we hope in Christ, we are in for a big shock and disappointment. The life, death and continuing resurrection of Jesus is a challenge to the status quo, and changes those in whom Jesus would be resurrected.
For me, however much I enjoy this embodied existence, there is something more important than just this-my-life. If my hope in Christ has only been for this-my-life, then I've gone down the wrong road. But if my hope in Christ is for the greater good, the greater transformation, the greater redemption of the world, for the Kingdom of God, for Zion, for the peaceable Kingdom, then at least I'm pointed in the right direction, and can feel Christ urging me on.
Labels: 1 Corinthians, Doctrine
posted by Christian at 2:12 PM
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