He poured out all He had, down to the last drop. The sacrifice of His entire life, poured out at the foot of the cross — this was the Son’s answer to the problem of sin.
Three days later came the Father’s answer to the problem of death. It was equally extravagant. For Jesus was not simply brought back to life like Lazarus. That would be resuscitation, the return to normal, human life, with all its limitations, including death. Yes, Lazarus ultimately had to go through it all again: the dying, the grieving family, the burial. Jesus did not “come back.” He passed over, passed through. His resurrection meant that He would no longer be subject to death. Death, as St. Paul said, would have no more power over Him.
You may say that physical death was not the worst consequence of sin, and you’d be right. Separation from God, spiritual death, is much more fearsome. But enough with the talk that physical death is beautiful and natural. It is not. Our bodies are not motor vehicles driven around by our souls. We do not junk them when they wear out and buy another one; rather, our bodies are an essential dimension of who we are. (That’s one problem with the reincarnation idea). Our bodies and immortal souls are intimately intertwined in a manner that makes us very different from both angels and animals. Death separates what God has joined, so it is natural that we rebel against it and shudder before it. Even the God-man trembled in the Garden.
Trembled and still confronted death head on, for our sake. The Roman Easter sequence, a traditional poem/song stretching back into the first millennium, highlights the drama: Mors et vitae duello, conflixere mirando. Dux vitae mortuus regnat vivus. (“Death and life dueled in a marvelous conflict; the Dead Ruler of Life reigns Alive!”) Tolkein heard this sung for many Easters before he wrote The Lord of the Rings and had Gandalf the Grey sacrifice himself to battle the demonic Balrog — only to return as Gandalf the White.
“He descended into Hell” says the Apostle’s Creed, meaning that Jesus endured the wrenching of body and soul for our sakes and came out the other side endowed with a new, different, glorified humanity. How does the Bible describe it? Well, Mary Magdalen did not recognize the Risen Christ at first, until He called her by name. The disciples on the road to Emmaus didn’t recognize Him either. But doubting Thomas shows us that His wounds were still evident. And though He could pass through locked doors, He proved He was not a ghost by asking for something to eat. Paul describes it as a “spiritual body” in I Cor 15, which sounds like an oxymoron to me. But we have to take off our shoes here, realize that we are on holy ground, and that we do not have words adequate to describe the awesome reality of the new humanity He has won for us.
For the resurrection is not something that He intends to keep for Himself. All that He has He shares with us: His Father, His mother, His Spirit, His body, blood, soul, and divinity, and even His risen life. And we can begin to share in this life now, experiencing its regenerating power in our souls and even in our bodies. We have access to it in many wonderful ways, but especially in the Eucharist. For the body of Christ that we receive is His Risen, glorified body, given to us so that we will too live forever (read Jn 6:40-65).
Each of us will have to pass through physical death, but not alone. He will be with us, just as the Father was with Him as He made His perilous passage. And while we will experience indescribable joy when our souls “see” Him face to face, this is not the end of the story. He will return. Then will the resurrection have its final and ultimate impact. Joy will be increased still further when He makes our bodies like His own in glory: “We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen!”
Dr. D'Ambrosio studied under Avery Cardinal Dulles for his Ph.D. in historical theology and taught for many years at the University of Dallas. He appears weekly on radio and TV reaching six continents and his books, tapes, and CDs are internationally distributed. He will be leading a Catholic Heritage Cruise/Pilgrimage to Rome in July 2004. Information on his resources, talks, and cruise is available on his website, www.dritaly.com.
For Dr. D’Ambrosio’s Lenten resources, visit www.dritaly.com.
(This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor and is used by permission of the author.)
