Friday - 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Do you believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead? It may seem to be an odd question to ask someone who is a committed Christian, yet, it is striking to hear the kinds of answers a person will give when they are asked this question. There was, in modern biblical scholarship, schools of thought that denied and spiritualize the Jesus raising form the dead into someone more of a personal experience of having ones heart resurrected to God. Though some practicing Christians have embraced these types of theologies, authentic Christianity is crystal clear on this matter: Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and his rising from the dead is the hope of our bodily resurrection. The resurrection begs another fundamental question: What comes after death? Once again, when you ask people this question, the answers are all over the board with an even more expansive range of opinions than the question of what happened to Jesus after his death. The Christian belief, however, is quite clear: All will be resurrected - some to judgement and others to eternal life; this resurrection is not a resuscitation, but a raising and transformation of the dead, receiving a new, glorified body. What this will ultimately be like on an experiential level, nobody knows. Nevertheless, our faith in very clear - we will rise again. Spiritual reflection: Do you believe in the resurrection? What do you think will happen when our time on this earth ends? Wrestle with these questions this week and hope in the resurrection, live your life so as to taste the resurrection to new life, and pray to rejoice in the Kingdom of Heaven. Attached to this reflection is a 50 minute program by Anglican Bishop and Biblical Scholar NT Wright on the Biblical foundations of the resurrection. Make some time and enjoy Bishop Wrights exploration of the resurrection.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 01:40:02 +0000