“Jesus Lives?” How do you understand the resurrection in the post-modern world?

If the body of Jesus, the body that was killed on the cross, didn't come back to life then what does it mean to say “Jesus lives?”  Jesus lives! We proclaim but how?  Is he a zombie, reanimated corpse, ghost, or what?  How can we make sense of the reality that Jesus lives?  For centuries it has been assumed that to say “Jesus lives” means that he came back to life; that his body that was nailed to the cross and put in the tomb was brought back to life, reanimated in some way.  That the laws of nature and science were suspended or whatever and Jesus was returned to life.  This doesn’t make sense to the thoughtful thinking post-modern person nor does it fit with our understanding of how life and creation work.  So how can we make sense of it?

I have a confession to make.  I don’t believe in the resurrection.  Now that I have your attention let me explain.  I don’t believe that something happened outside the natural laws of our universe.  I cannot suspend these laws and I cannot believe in something that causes me to do that.  What I don’t believe in is the resurrection as a literal, factual event in time and space.  I do believe in the resurrection however.

OK, I hear you screaming at me so let me try and tell you what I think, feel and believe about the resurrection.  I have said before that I don’t know exactly what happened that first Easter but a bunch of people who were fearing for the lives and sure that the Imperial and religious authorities would be dragging them off for the next execution all of a sudden started to speak, heal and serve in Jesus’ name.  They openly professed Jesus as Savior, Lord and Son of God – all titles reserved for the emperor.  I do know that whatever happened to them they had an encounter with the holy that they could only comprehend by speaking of it as an experience of the risen Christ.

If you have ever had such an experience you know what it is like to try and grasp what you've seen, heard, felt and know.  You know that words and images just don’t do enough to give a full and complete testimony to what has arisen.  I am not willing to believe that somehow Jesus’ corpse was reanimated, that his dead body was somehow jump-started so that he returned to living as you and I live.  But I can still believe in the resurrection as a reality.

Now I know some will say that with God all things are possible, even the suspending of natural laws and the reanimation of a dead body.  I just don’t believe that this is the way it works.  I don’t think God created a universe that runs by natural laws only to capriciously suspend them when it works to further God’s agenda.  If this were the case wouldn't it happen more often?  I mean when really bad things are happening, things that obviously go against everything we know of God’s desire for humankind and creation, why it is that God doesn't step in then.  The result would be the same as with the resurrection; people would notice, believers would be empowered, God’s mastery of the universe would be displayed, and the love and grace of God would be made known.  Look to the Biblical story of Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness to find some insight into how Jesus – an God because we know God by knowing Jesus – feels about the effectiveness of suspending natural laws in order to bring about the transformation of creation.  Spoiler alert: Jesus knows that suspending natural laws will not work to bring about the transformation God seeks in us and in creation.

You see, I believe that God wants partners, men and women who have accepted their adoption into the family God and covenanted with God to work to transform the world using justice and peace, non-violence and love.  Therefore, the gift of free will is critical in this discussion.  Free will does not negate miracle.  I believe in miracles, those events and moments when the expected and normal are transcended and the holy breaks in or breaks out or is noticed.  One example, I don’t belief in faith healing but I do believe faith can heal.  So if we have free will how can we believe that God will step into our lives in such a way as the reanimation of Jesus’ corpse to violate this fundamental gift?  So what are we left with then?  We’re left with mystery.

If you want one thing that unsets and confuses the modern mind it is mystery.  It is all around us and it has been with us since we climbed out of the seas.  Why is it that natural laws don’t seem to rule in the smallest and largest ends of the spectrum of our universe?  Why is it that seemingly random things can add up to something special (e.g. love)?  How can two people watch the same thing and come away from it with very different observations and interpretations?  How is it that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts when it comes to humans working together?  And how is it that Jesus who died is also alive?  Mysteries all and yet they are part of the fabric of our lives.

The resurrection of Jesus is a mystery.  It is not meant to be explained in scientific terms.  It isn’t to be seen as a magical divine intervention that suspends the natural order.  It’s not some test of faith where to be a true believer you have to just have faith that it is true.  The resurrection is true because I know it is in my heart and soul.  It is true because I have experienced the in-breaking of the holy in my life like a candle in the pitch black darkness, a campfire’s warmth on a cool beach night.  It’s true because those I love, respect, learn from and who are people of authenticity have shared how it is true for them.  The resurrection is a mystery that is not meant to be explained.  It is a mystery that just is and we are to learn to live with these mysteries.  When we can, life takes on a much deeper, broader and more spiritual tone and Christ lives.

The church is the embodiment of Jesus and in a mystical and spiritual way Jesus is alive in we who claim to live for him.  We are the candle, the campfire.  You, I, we are the body of Christ – Jesus lives because we bring his essence to life in our lives.  People will know the risen Christ by knowing us, the people who have known him.  Jesus lives whenever love is shares.  Jesus Lives whenever justice is done.  Jesus lives whenever the poor and powerless are cared for.  Jesus lives whenever people of faith proclaim him alive in their lives and service.  Jesus lives when we are the light that dispels the darkness of the world.  Jesus lives!  When you love and work for Justice Jesus lives!  When this happens we can loudly and honestly proclaim with deep sincerity “CHRIST IS RISEN!”