BELIEVING IN A "RESURRECTED" BODY

 

Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have." While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.

Luke 24:35-48

Well, I am going to dive into some deep water today for sure! I will do my best and I hope it makes sense to some of you. I am pretty sure I will be in over my head, but that has never stopped me before, so here I go - again!

We say in the Apostles Creed that we "believe in the resurrection of the body." (In the Nicene Creed, "the resurrection of the dead.") Do we really believe that? If so, what does that mean? What will we look like when we are resurrected? Will we look like we do now, look different from before or look about the same? (I, for one, hope that I have lost some weight and have been though some kind of heavenly plastic surgery - either that are people won't notice details things like "old, fat and ugly" when they get to heaven!)

We get a glimpse of what our resurrection bodies will be like when we read several of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances in the weeks following Easter, especially in today's meeting in the upper room. Risen from the dead, we are told that Jesus still had visible wounds and His disciples could physically touch him, yet he was able to travel effortlessly and appear and disappear at will. He could go through walls and doors and yet he could also eat and drink, sit and talk. Scripture informs us in the Letter to the Philippians (3:21) that our “lowly bodies” will be "just like his glorious body." Indeed, the physical limitations that hinder our ability to fully serve him on earth will be gone forever, freeing us up to praise, serve and glorify him for all eternity.

Our current bodies are characterized by weakness and debility. They are undeniably fragile and susceptible to the plethora of diseases that ravage humankind. However, one day our bodies will be raised in power and glory and we will no longer be subject to the flaws and fragility that pervade our bodies today.

Our "resurrected body" will be a spiritual body with recognizable natural features. Our natural bodies are suited for living in this physical world. After the resurrection we will have a “spiritual body,” perfectly suited for living in heaven. This does not mean that we will only be spirits—spirits do not have bodies—but that our resurrected bodies will not need physical sustenance or depend on natural means of supporting life here on earth.

Knowing "how" this will be is our problem. The "how" this will be exceeds our imaginations and understanding. It is accessible only through faith which makes it so hard to believe in our "scientific" and "material" world! This teaching implies that, after death, we will be in an "in-between" state - somewhere in between a physical body and a spiritual body. I can't prove that, but I am open to it in faith. As I was trying to imagine this reality, what came to mind in that inscription found on the cellar wall in Germany during the Holocaust. "I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I cannot feel it. I believe in God even when he is silent." That quote reminds me of a serious basic truth. We believe a lot of things we cannot prove, see or touch! We only believe them because we trust the one who told us that they are true! I realize that I am going to have to trust Jesus on this one!

If you can’t believe in any of what I have tried to say, you will have to dismiss the Doctrine of the Assumption that tells us that Mary was assumed into heaven “body and soul.” If you can’t believe in any of what I have tried to say, you will have to dismiss all the apparitions of Mary who supposedly could be seen, talked to, have her clothes, hair and facial features described by those she appeared to and who was here one minute and gone the next, only to return over several days: Our Lady at Lourdes in France; Our Lady at Fatima in Portugal; Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico; on and on around the world!

Will we be able to recognize our loved ones in the next life? I can't prove it, but I can accept it because the disciples, we are told, recognized and spoke to Jesus in his resurrected body. I can't prove it, but I open to believing it because I watched my mother speak to her dead brothers and sisters at the foot of her bed as she was dying - none of her living brothers and sisters, just those who had already passed from this life! She said she recognized them, one by one, standing there and clearly seemed to have communicated with them. Had they come in their resurrected bodies to welcome her to heaven? Maybe so! Maybe so!

I am neither overly pious nor easily gullible, but I am “open” to realities that I have never experienced personally. I can’t prove they exist and I have never experienced them myself, only heard about it, but I remain open to the possibility of “glorified bodies,” somewhat spiritual and somewhat physical, that the Scriptures describe for us today!

Jesus appeared to them and said, "Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have." While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.