I Believe In The Resurrection Of The Body

Sunday 32nd Week in Ordinary Time
Homily: Luke 20:27-28
By Fr David Michael Engo

As Christians, we hold to a mystery and a truth.-- a mystery that we cannot fully comprehend which is also a truth in which we hope. This mystery and this truth are revealed today in the Scripture; the resurrection of the body.
Each week, when we gather at Holy Mass we profess the Creed. In it we state that we believe in the “resurrection of the body," a truth that St. Paul tells us is essential to our faith in Christ:

"How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised;
If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is
In vain…But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits
Of those who have fallen asleep." (1Cor.15:12-24)

St. Paul is continually reminding the early Christians of the resurrection from the dead. It is one of his favorite topics of discussion. (See Rom. 8:11, 1 Thes. 4:14, 1 Cor. 6:14, 2 Cor. 4:14 and Phil. 3:10-11) Resurrection from the dead is an essential truth because, although it was taught by St. Paul and believed by the ancient Jews, it was more perfectly revealed by Jesus Christ. In addition to today’s Gospel, there are so many other passages where Christ makes abundantly clear the resurrection from the dead. It is only in the mystery of the incarnation, redemption and the sacraments that the ancient promise of the resurrection could possibly be fulfilled.

It is a defined truth of our faith that on the “Last Day”, when the “trumpet sounds” all the dead shall be raised. The souls in Hell will receive an immortal body and will be raised up from hell to stand before God in Final Judgment. The Souls in Purgatory will have completed their purgation and they, along with the souls who are enjoying the Glory of Heaven will also be raised to receive their Judgment. Those who are still alive at the time of Christ’s return will experience the transformation to an immortal body. “For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Cor. 15:52)

On that great, awesome and terrible day the whole of humanity shall be assigned their final and eternal “resting” place. Jesus Himself assured us: “When the Son of Man comes in all His glory, and the angels with Him, He will sit upon His glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before Him. And He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats…The king will say to those on His right…inherit the kingdom…to those on His left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire’.” (Mt. 25:31-46)

Those who were transformed alive at the time of judgment and who bear the stain of mortal sin on their souls, and the souls from Hell who will receive their bodies, will return to the recesses of Hell. There, not only in soul, but also in body, they shall receive the just punishment for their sins. The reality is that we are body and soul. When we sin, both body and soul are at work. Both will receive just punishment. If we sin with the body, it too will suffer the eternal fires of damnation where “the worm dies not”.

The souls that will go off to the kingdom and receive their eternal reward will receive the glory of the kingdom of Heaven. The soul and the body together will enjoy the eternal bliss of the face of God or the “Beatific Vision.” We are told that our bodies will be transformed like Christ’s own resurrected body. “We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 Jn.) For those who enter into eternal glory there will be no more suffering, aging or death. The soul will have complete control of the body, and the body’s appetites will be in perfect conformity to the will of the soul. It is a state similar to that of our first parents, but much more glorious. The state of the soul and body in heaven is a state that even our first parents could not have imagined. For unlike them in their original state on earth, those in the kingdom of heaven will be enjoying perfect glorification. Saints and mystics tell us that the body in heaven will radiate the light of God. Each person will be perfect, without blemish or deformity and will reflect an amount of the light of God depending on each person’s degree of holiness that he or she reached while on earth. In heaven we will not be angels, but as the Lord said in the Gospel today, “like the angels”. Ours is a greater share.

This greater share then the angels has to do with the truth that God came to share in our human nature in order that we might come to share in His divine nature. Although God glorifies the angelic nature, He did not enter an angelic nature. But, He did in fact, enter a human nature. By entering our human nature He made it holy and worthy of all glory. He sanctified it and therefore raised it up to a level above the angels. He gave our lowly nature a divine dignity. This is why St. Paul reminds us:

“The body is meant for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?…you are not your own;…so glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor. 16:13-15, 19-20)

Naturally speaking, the soul is not a prisoner of the body awaiting its freedom. The body and the soul are a composite of the natural and the supernatural. They are one and, although the soul can exist without the body, separate they are incomplete. The body cannot survive without the soul, and the soul longs to have the body returned to it. Only when they are united are they complete, content and truly human.

On a supernatural level, we who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have received a dignity higher than what man has ever known before. Not just a dignity to our souls, but incredible dignity to our bodies. The sacraments that we receive are not only meant for the soul but are also meant for the body. The body, too, shares in the glory and grace that flows in the sacraments. At baptism, the water is poured over the head of the child for the sake of the body as well as the soul. The same with confirmation when the bishop lays his hands on the candidate’s head and anoints it with sacred chrism. The very right of initiation into the Church confirms the new and extraordinary dignity of the body and the soul of the human person.

Where is the dignity of the human body more exemplified then in the reception of Holy Communion? How are we to understand the mystery of our dignity in the reception of this most august Sacrament? In what way are we to express the unification of our present mortal, weak and natural bodies to Christ’s own immortal, glorious and Sacred Humanity? How is it that we find ourselves worthy enough to be united to the fullness of His Divinity through the reception of His Sacred Humanity hidden under the form of bread? In baptism our bodies became the “temples of the Holy Spirit”. At Confirmation our bodies were given the strength to submit to the will of God. But, in Holy Communion, our bodies become the living tabernacles of the King of Kings and Lords of Lords!

When we are in the state of grace and we receive the Most Holy Eucharist, our souls and our bodies are united to Christ Jesus. The Precious Body and Blood of Our lord enters the physical nature of our body and the grace is communicated via the body. There, in our bodies, God forges a union between us and Himself. Soul to soul, Flesh to flesh. Our very bodies mingle with the Sacred Humanity and Divinity of Jesus Christ. In Holy Communion there is a “consummation” of His love for us. A true marriage between God and the receiver of His presence. A marriage where God declares that “the two become one flesh.” (Gn.3) Is it possible that if this human person dies in the state of grace that God would allow the human person’s body to undergo corruption forever? To allow it to do so would go against the very nature of God!

Is it any wonder that the Lord would respect the dignity of the person that He made, both body and soul? Is it not just that the Lord would render justice to those who have, by their own free will and choice, betrayed their dignity and the gifts of grace that He offers? Is it not right that those who have shared in His glory here on earth in their body should not share the glory in their body in heaven? It only makes sense to me that God would raise our mortal bodies from the ground and reward us accordingly. Why wouldn’t the Lord give out punishment to those who sinned against their own bodies and other’s? Why wouldn’t the Lord, who is Love, complete the sanctification in us that was begun on earth?

These awesome mysteries call us to a life that far transcends that of the world. Our dignity as Christians calls us to live in such a way that we have the utmost respect and care for our own bodies and that of others. It calls us to truly refrain the body's appetites from what would lessen its dignity, degrade it or make bring us away from sharing a resurrection of glory as opposed to one of suffering. Because of the effects of original sin at work in us, the body's base appetites need to be carefully monitored and disciplined. St. Francis used to call his body “brother ass.” It was like a stubborn donkey that needed a good push. The push he gave it was a life of penance, discipline and self-control. He did this because he, like all of us, needed to put the body back under subjection to His soul. In so doing, he would avoid sin, conquer natural appetites and win for himself, including his body, everlasting glory.

As Christians we live in the hope of that day when Christ will appear in all His Glory and raise us to Himself. We live a holy life of virtue in order to anticipate what we shall receive. We guard against anything that would deprive us of that glory. Everything we do in this life must be ordered to the end of eternal life in God. We must orient ourselves toward the truth of the resurrection from the dead. We shall all be raised up. But what is at stake is whether that raising will be to glory or to eternal damnation. Let us, again, set our eyes on the kingdom and fight tirelessly for the day of Christ Jesus. And with St. Paul may we “look forward to the redemption of our bodies.”

May God bless you and Mary keep you!



 

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