Sermon 242A

Sermon 242/A

On the Paschal Days, concerning the Resurrection of the Bodies

Christ's resurrection anticipated our resurrection.

The holy Gospels testify that our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day, and the whole world now confesses this in the holy Creed. The prophets, who did not see such things, spoke of what was to come; for they did not see, but foresaw in the spirit. And I think that now the rest ought to be ashamed of themselves, who, while they do not dare to deny Christ's resurrection, deny our future resurrection. For they say: He rose, as if he alone to whom it was allowed to rise again with the very flesh, which he deigned to take up. Does it follow then, that our flesh also will rise again, because his did? Surely his power and virtue are far beyond us. To which it is answered: The divinity of Christ is far from you, but the weakness of Christ has drawn near to you. God in himself, for your sake a man; he made you of his own, he suffered of yours for you. If therefore he made you of his own, he rose again in yours. The Word indeed did not have flesh: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: this was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. And man was made through him: but afterwards he was made man, through whom man was made; and, lest man should perish, Christ died. But Christ rose again. What rose in him? The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. The Word took what it was not, but never lost what it was. Therefore, the Word remained. What rose? The Word. Why did it fall? So that it might rise again. Why did the Word die? So that it might revive. But we say it died in the flesh which it assumed, not in the divinity in which it remained. Therefore, in that matter in which Christ rose again, he did harm to himself, he provided an example to you; for it was humiliation for him to rise again, an injury. Return to the Word, return to it: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and see what it means for him to rise; for he who raised his own flesh, will also raise yours; therefore, he willed to raise his own, lest you should not believe that yours would rise again.

God, the creator of the body, promises that we will rise again.

But men who argue against it say: The flesh of Christ resurrected because it was three days in the sepulcher and did not see corruption; it neither decayed nor decomposed nor was dissolved into dust; but our flesh, when by chance the graves are opened, scarcely are bones found there, dust is found; whatever was flesh, all is reduced to rot, all is resolved into dust; therefore, can that which could not preserve its integrity rise again? Consider, O man who disputes these things, consider, I say, that there are bones in the sepulcher; if nothing else, at least there are bones. There is also dust of the body in the sepulcher, in the place where the bosom of the earth has received it. Return to your origin and inquire, when you were sown, what were you. In the womb, our beginnings were poured out; remember: compare a buried man and a sown man. Surely we all know that we are mortal. Just as we consider the bowels of the earth, in which the body lies sown so that it may rise again, so we should consider those sown in the maternal bowels, whence this composition of members has risen. Where were these five senses of the body hidden? Where were the eyes, tongue, ears, and hands in that moisture? Whence did these distributed offices of the members proceed? Who created these? Who formed these? Was it not God? Therefore, the same God who could bring forth what was formed from the womb, He wishes you to consider things made from things done, and to believe that He can bring you, alive, from the grave. That men are sown in this way, that men, I say, are formed in the bowels of mothers, are daily miracles; but for too much frequency they have lost their admiration, and for the custom itself they have become cheap. The thing that will happen once, that is, the future resurrection happening once, witnesses to everyday events. Nature cries out, Scripture rebukes, let the future thing be believed; let it be believed, brothers, that our body will rise again, for the good to glory, for the wicked to punishment.

Let our mind be full of the faith of resurrection.

What, I ask you, who do not wish to believe in the future resurrection of the flesh, what moves you? What displeases you in the body? Who ever hated his own flesh? says the Apostle. What displeases you in the body? If every aspect of the body is described, does not the one who hears grow dull, and does not the one who describes become exhausted? What displeases you in the body? I say, corruption, mortality. But what pleases you will exist, what displeases you will not exist. Listen to the Apostle: It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. Listen more fully: This perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. What pleases you will revive, what displeases you will perish. Therefore, do not be ungrateful to your Redeemer by not believing what He promised; but do what He commands, so that you may receive what He promised. For your Redeemer can do all things, because He is God. If it displeases you that the body should be raised, it should also displease you now. Why do you care for what displeases you? Why do you protect what displeases you? Why do you nourish what displeases you? Why do you wish for it to be unharmed? Does it please you? Then give thanks, and believe in the resurrection. Bodies will rise, because Christ has risen; but they will have no need, because even Christ, when He rose, ate by His power, not by necessity. There will be no hunger there; we will not stand there with trembling and say: Give us this day our daily bread; we will always have the eternal bread. But it will always be present; we will not wish for rain because of it, we will not fear a dry sky; for our bread will be the one who made the sky. And there will be no fear, no labor, no pain, no corruption, no poverty, no weakness, no fatigue, no delay. None of these will be, but the body will be. For all these evils that we feel in the body happened because of sin, not arising from creation. From the beginning, through the man who sinned, we received an evil inheritance from our sinful father; but another inheritance came to us from Him who took on ours and promised His own inheritance. We had death through guilt, He took on death without guilt; He who was not a debtor was killed, and He washed away the record of our debts. Therefore, let your mind be full of faith in the resurrection. Not only what has already been proclaimed about Christ, but also what is to come about Him is promised to Christians.