One of the conversations that I remember having with my grandfather when I was a teenager was on the resurrection of the Lord. My grandpa was a Free Methodist minister who modeled Christ’s love to me beautifully. Undoubtedly his reflections came out of a devout prayer life along with a deep love for life in general.Though I do not recall his precise words, I remember him marveling at Jesus’ resurrection.
In some moments, Jesus was there and then would disappear. At other events he simply appeared or became recognizable. There are passages where he seems to walk through walls, and we have to question in the Gospel passage today whether or not Jesus might have eaten with the disciples. He could be identified, but not always. Mary of Magdala thought he was the gardener before he heard Jesus call her name. The disciples on the road to Emmaus only recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread though he had journeyed with them throughout the day.
I wonder what resurrection was like for the early disciples? Could they have really understood the fullness of resurrection even as witnesses to the event? And how did they recognize Jesus? Every story seems unique to the person or persons seeing the risen Lord. Not only did they see the Lord risen, but it changed their lives, their understanding, their way of seeing the world.
What if a time machine existed to take us back to that first Easter morning? Would we be astounded as many of the disciples seem to have been, or would we simply apply science and worldly knowledge to the event in order to classify it differently? I wonder if the same story would have reached our hearing if it had happened in 2015 AD instead of in first century Palestine.
This is not to say that scientific knowledge is not essential, but as with all human knowledge, it is limited to our understanding. And ultimately Jesus’ resurrection is beyond what can be dissected, quantified, or perfectly analyzed.
First century Palestine was not privy to reality as we now have come to understand life. When Jesus rose from the dead most people professed that the Earth was flat and believed it to be the center of the universe. The Eastern world had yet to perceive the West (North and South America and probably Antarctica). And I suppose heaven was a place up in the atmosphere just beyond our reach.
Human constructs of God have certainly changed over the years. The question I often think upon is what do we lose when our construct of God shifts? If it is lost, then perchance it was never God at the onset, but merely our limited perception of who we name God to be.
In a few thousand years, many will look at and wonder perchance at our unknowing. Science tells us that human knowledge is accelerating faster than it ever has. And yet, around every corner there is something we do not yet know or have not perceived fully as yet.
Thus, I continue to wonder and pray into the mystery of that first Easter morning. Though Mary of Magdala, Peter, John, James, Thomas, Didymus, Nathanael, the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and many others might have witnessed Jesus’ resurrection, I cannot say they knew exactly what was happening to them.
Maybe had the event taken place in 2015 we would have analyzed it all differently, but I suspect the results would be similar. Some would be sceptical and others would believe--and no one would fully understand. So today as we rejoice in the miracle of Easter, I am thankful for both what I have yet to perceive and for the gift of faith that says: Jesus is Risen. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Christy Hicks is a Campus Minister in Griesedieck Complex.
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