Resurrecting Jesus: Embodying the Spirit of a Revolutionary Mystic

Product Information

Do you need renewed hope today? Maybe things have not been easy. Life, health, work, or relationships have been challenging for some time now. Some of our church family and friends have experienced loss, even in this past month. Hearing of a medical diagnosis and surgery needed for a friend has caused hope to shrink. It feels like the weight of the past two years and the Covid nightmare is so heavy. The future looks bleak. The fighting over in Ukraine and all the lives lost, people being displaced from their homes, buildings, even entire cities destroyed. At times you may wonder where is God is in all this? Everything seems hopeless. No hope for the future. Yet scriptures tell us that, in the middle of the darkest hour, there is hope. Cynthia Bourgeault is currently one of the core faculty members at The Living School for Action and Contemplation.

People around the world need to hear and know that the message of Easter is all about the resurrection hope that anyone can experience in Jesus. Easter is not about cute bunnies. Easter is not about chocolate. Easter is about experiencing resurrection hope. Easter is prophecy fulfilled. Easter is the power of God’s love revealed. Scholars differ on the historicity of the empty tomb story and the relation between the burial stories and the postmortem appearances. Scholars also differ on whether Jesus received a decent burial. Points of contention are (1) whether Jesus's body was taken off the cross before sunset or left on the cross to decay, (2) whether his body was taken off the cross and buried specifically by Joseph of Arimathea, or by the Sanhedrin or a group of Jews in general, and (3) whether he was entombed (and if so, what kind of tomb) or buried in a common grave. A number of Christian authors have rejected the criticisms, taking the Gospel accounts to be historically reliable. [note 11] John A.T. Robinson states that "the burial of Jesus in the tomb is one of the earliest and best-attested facts about Jesus." [108] Dale Allison, reviewing the arguments of Crossan and Ehrman, finds their assertions strong, but "find[s] it likely that a man named Joseph, probably a Sanhedrist, from the obscure Arimathea, sought and obtained permission from the Roman authorities to make arrangements for Jesus’s hurried burial." [109] James Dunn states that "the tradition is firm that Jesus was given a proper burial (Mark 15.42-47 pars.), and there are good reasons why its testimony should be respected." [110] Cynthia is a member of the GPIW (Global Peace Initiative for Women) Contemplative Council and recipient of the 2014 Contemplative Voices award from Shalem Institute. She is a founding Director of both The Contemplative Society and the Aspen Wisdom School. She continues to contribute to The Contemplative Society in her role as Principal Teacher and advisor. Have you missed any of the subtle ways God inspires hope? It may come in the form of a song, a text message, an everyday conversation at the grocery store, a note card, a word of encouragement of someone praying for you. Or God may use a dream, a memory, a sign on the side of the freeway. Jesus loves you. You are not alone. And your hope is renewed.The absence of any reference to the story of Jesus's empty tomb in the Pauline epistles and the Easter kerygma (preaching or proclamation) of the earliest church has led some scholars to suggest that Mark invented it. [note 12] Allison, however, finds this argument from silence unconvincing. [120] Most scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John contain two independent attestations of an empty tomb, which in turn suggests that both used already-existing sources [121] and appealed to a commonly held tradition, though Mark may have added to and adapted that tradition to fit his narrative. [122] Empty tomb and resurrection appearances [ edit ] One of the letters sent by Paul the Apostle to one of the early Greek churches, the First Epistle to the Corinthians, contains one of the earliest Christian creeds referring to post-mortem appearances of Jesus, and expressing the belief that he was raised from the dead, namely 1 Corinthians 15:3–8. [21] [22] [23] It is widely accepted that this creed predates Paul and the writing of First Corinthians. [16] Scholars have contended that in his presentation of the resurrection, Paul refers to this as an earlier authoritative tradition, transmitted in a rabbinic style, that he received and has passed on to the church at Corinth. [note 5] Geza Vermes writes that the creed is "a tradition he [Paul] has inherited from his seniors in the faith concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus". [25] The creed's ultimate origins are probably within the Jerusalem apostolic community, having been formalised and passed on within a few years of the resurrection. [note 6] Hans Grass argues for an origin in Damascus, [26] and according to Paul Barnett, this creedal formula, and others, were variants of the "one basic early tradition that Paul "received" in Damascus from Ananias in about 34 [AD]" after his conversion. [27] For orthodox Christians, including some scholars, the resurrection is taken to have been a concrete, material resurrection of a transformed body. [154] [web 3] [note 13] Craig L. Blomberg argues there are sufficient arguments for the historicity of the resurrection. [156] There are at least 12 different appearances of Christ in the resurrection accounts, beginning with Mary and ending with the apostle Paul. They were physical, tangible experiences with Christ eating, speaking and allowing himself to be touched.

Oscar Cullmann, The Early Church: Studies in Early Christian History and Theology, ed. A. J. B. Higgins (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966) p. 64

Limitation of Liability

Hope for eternal life in glory, all because of the resurrection of Jesus. Resurrection hope because the tomb is empty. The 5th-century theology of Theodore of Mopsuestia provides an insight into the development of the Christian understanding of the redemptive nature of resurrection. The crucial role of the sacraments in the mediation of salvation was well accepted at the time. In Theodore's representation of the Eucharist, the sacrificial and salvific elements are combined in the "One who saved us and delivered us by the sacrifice of Himself". Theodore's interpretation of the Eucharistic rite is directed towards the triumph over the power of death brought about by the resurrection. [258]