God’s People Will Be Raised to Life
12 If we preach that Christ was raised from death, how can some of you say the dead will not be raised to life? 13 If they won’t be raised to life, Christ himself wasn’t raised to life. 14 And if Christ wasn’t raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. 15 If the dead won’t be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying he raised Christ to life, when he really did not.
16 So if the dead won’t be raised to life, Christ wasn’t raised to life. 17 Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins. 18 And those people who died after putting their faith in him are completely lost. 19 If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else.
20 But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life.
Reflection
Literally, I’ve had to read this scripture about 10 times, out loud, and slowly with different inflections to make sure I’m getting it. All I can think of is Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove (which is an absolute Disney gem if you’re not already aware).
The world’s most wholesome henchman, Kronk, in conversation with Yzma, the villain of the story…
- Yzma: So, is everything ready for tonight?
- Kronk: Oh, yeah. I thought we’d start off with soup and a light salad, and then see how we feel after that.
- Yzma: Not the dinner. You know…
- Kronk: Oh, riiiiiight. The poison. The poison for Kuzco, the poison chosen especially to kill Kuzco, Kuzco’s poison. That poison?
- Yzma: Yes! That poison.
- Kronk: Got you covered.
- Yzma: Excellent. A few drops in his drink, and then I’ll propose a toast, and he will be dead before dessert.
- Kronk: Which is a real shame, because it’s gonna be delicious.
It’s just an instant verbal stimulus for most Millennials like myself. Anything repetitive, redundant, cyclical, and overly clarified… It’s Kuzco’s Poison.
Or maybe Paul was struggling to meet the assignment’s required word count.
In all seriousness, more often than I would like, I find myself talking through logic in a repetitive cycle just like this to make completely sure I understand and my logic is sound… sometimes it’s a narrative cycle, sometimes it demands visual aids.
When we get wrapped up in something, it’s easy to end up tangled in the strings of words that come firing out. It’s not the most concise language, but when we are emotional, the words tend to come spilling out. Word choice is not a top priority.
Paul is flustered and frustrated because he’s struggling to drill into everyone’s brains that, of course, you have to believe that Christ came back because that is the top, ultra, pinnacle, keystone, MIRACLE. It’s literally the whole point! Jesus’ death and resurrection gave us the proof that there is life after death, and that life is spent alongside the Son of God himself.
We have faith despite the unbelievable. We believe in the resurrection because it was a miracle of love and compassion. Jesus’ whole point of living, teaching, healing, forgiving, dying, and returning was to spread the message of God’s unending love. God loves us so much that life ever after is waiting for His children. If we can’t understand that, we can’t say we are Christians. We are not preaching the love and life (earthly and eternal) of Jesus.
AND how comforting this school of thought is for those of us left behind on this earthly plan when those we love die. I cling to this concept whenever my mind wanders and my eyes water for my grandmother, who never got to see my wedding, and never got to meet my daughters… I couldn’t see her, but she’s tuning in for those important moments. I miss her, but the truth is, she’s FINE. She’s joyful, she’s comfortable, she’s singing in the choir. She continues to live and love. She’s living her best life, watching her soaps, feeding her family, and absolutely kicking Jesus’ butt in cards. She’s reading and crocheting without glasses or arthritis.
Of course, Jesus lives! Of course, the faithful live! They live eternally in the love they’ve shared and inspired in our hearts.
by Ashley Bowler-Polhemus
For Pondering and Prayer
How would you explain this concept to a child?
How can your explanation be true to our faith and comforting when it’s time to say goodbye?
When you start to doubt the miracles of the resurrection, what brings you back to faith?
Prayer: Son of God, Everlasting Teacher, as we ponder the miracles of your birth, life, death, and resurrection, embrace us in Your Grace. Guide our rambling thoughts toward clarity, love, and belief. As we wrestle with logic and fact, remind us that love and miracles are not dictated by logic. You demonstrated life beyond death. It is up to us now to continue that demonstration in every opportunity to live and love as You taught us. Amen.
