Friday, April 9, 2021

Talk About the Resurrection- but what to say?

Easter Friday. Today is the sixth day of the Easter Octave. What to say? He is risen! He is resurrected. To say this is at one and the same time to say too much and too little. What is resurrection? It can't be merely be dying and physically coming back to life, the body of a dead person being revived. There's more going on in Christ's resurrection than just the revival of his body.

What is the connection between Christ's resurrection and his ascension? What is the connection between his ascension and the holy Spirit's powerful coming? What is the holy Spirit if not the mode of Christ's resurrection presence? Isn't this presence a "closer," more intimate, one than if Christ had remained present in his body?

Resurrection, by Matthius Grünewald, Isenheim Altarpiece


In the Gospel accounts, what's up with virtually nobody recognizing or at least having a hard time recognizing Jesus after his resurrection? Is this lack of recognition a way of denoting his new way of being present? It's too glib to say "He's present by his absence." What is the difference between "present to" and "present in," and/or "present among"? How does this relate to Eucharist and the other sacraments? Well, epiclesis certainly has something to do with it.

Just like God does not exist if by "exist" you mean as an entity in the universe, Christ's resurrection is not just an event that happened at a certain time, on a specific day, during a particular month, in a given year- no matter which clock or calendar you use. It's something more, much more, must be.

Anyway, while it's longer than the ideal, I urge you to listen to today's traditio in its entirety- all thirteen minutes. It is the final part of Mahler's Symphony No. 2, known as the Resurrection Symphony:

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