with Rev Dr Chris Walker
Resurrection and Hope
The resurrection of Jesus is the most remarkable event of all history. It confirmed Jesus as God’s Son. It was God’s vindication of all he stood for, namely the reign of God, God’s rule of love, justice and peace, he was inaugurating. It provides his followers with assurance and hope. German theologian Pannenberg says that Jesus’ unity with God was established by his resurrection from the dead. Moltmann says that because God has raised Jesus from the dead, therefore the fulfilment of God’s promises is certain. The resurrection of Jesus is fundamental to our assurance that Jesus really was God’s Son and that we can be confident God’s promises will be fulfilled, God’s kingdom will come, despite all that might thwart them. It gives us assured hope.
The resurrection was a surprising, mysterious, eschatological event in the midst of history. Let me explain. It was a total surprise. The disciples of Jesus, men and women, were devastated by Jesus’ death. It came as a joyful shock to see him alive again. It was mysterious for the risen Jesus was visible as the person they knew so well. Yet he could appear and disappear at will. The appearances were only for a limited period of time. They were granted by God to reassure the disciples and to get the movement going again following the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. It was eschatological (sorry about the big word) in the sense that it was final, something that was expected at the end of history not in the midst of history. Jesus being raised was the first instance of the hope that all God’s people would be raised at the end to share in the fulfilled reign of God.
So we have the reality of death and we have the possibility of resurrection to new life with God. God is stronger than the forces of evil and death. They can inflict suffering and death. We see this all too often in the world. Only God can bring about resurrection and new life.
Jesus’ resurrection was not only for a limited period, namely the period of the resurrection appearances. He then ascended to be with God the Father. He lives on as risen lord at the right hand of God, which is a symbolic way of indicating the status of Jesus. He is God’s Son, the one who with God rules over all creation. He is the name above all names as Paul puts it (Philippians 2:9-11).
The cross and resurrection were not experiences that Jesus alone went through. Jesus was willing to go through them for us, for our benefit, for our salvation. So Paul speaks of Jesus as dying for our sins and rising for our justification (Romans 4:25). Forgiveness, reconciliation with God, new life, a right relationship with God all derive from what Jesus did for us. He is the mediator, the one who enables us to have what he won for us.
A primary Christian paradigm then is death and resurrection. Christian hope is not that things will gradually get better despite some setbacks along the way. We are realistic about the reality and strength of sin and death. But thanks to the resurrection we are confident that God can change even the worst, most hopeless situations. God’s desire is for life and health, for justice and peace. While respecting human freedom even to go against God’s will, God intends to establish his kingdom. God wants us to have fullness of life, meaningful life, mature life, in a context in which love, justice and peace are experienced.
God calls us to live that way now, to follow the way of Jesus. That way involves living by the values of the reign of God. It means putting God and God’s righteousness before self-interest. When we fail, it asks us to acknowledge our sin and seek God’s forgiveness and try again with the help of the Holy Spirit. It may even require enduring suffering and death. It does promise that we will not be alone, our lives will have purpose, and we will be given a place in God’s fulfilled kingdom.
We hear a great deal about terrorism these days, especially in relation to Islamic nations. A few decades ago it was Irish terrorism that captured the headlines with acts of violence between the opposing forces. We heard news reports about the IRA, the Irish Republican Army, and the Ulster Volunteer Force. Both sides were intractable enemies. The cycle of violence meant that one act of violence was responded to by retaliatory violence. We see this in the Middle East area constantly.
The Christian gospel says this does not have to be the case. Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again that we might be reconciled with God and one another. Jesus’ primary commandment was to love, to love like he did, which included even enemies. This is not a naive perspective that does not work in the real world of power and violence. It can lead to reconciliation and peace.
On Easter Sunday morning let us affirm: ‘Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!’ This is not just an affirmation for our worship. It calls us to be people of confident hope that whatever happens in our personal, family, communal or national lives, God is there and can bring new life out of despair. So let us trust in Jesus Christ who died and was raised by God that we might know forgiveness and new possibilities.
I appreciate this affirmation from Desmond Tutu who lived to see the end of apartheid in South Africa and a new South Africa commence. He wrote: Goodness is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate; light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death; victory is ours through him who loved us.
May that be our faith and experience also.
Chris Walker
(National Consultant Christian Unity, Doctrine & Worship)