The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead is a vast and
underdeveloped piece of real estate for gaining direction in our lives. There is an unfortunate tendency in the
Church today to think that the resurrection of one’s body is of little
consequence for the way we ought to live.
Of course, seeing the world in a predominantly spiritual way is the
right thing to do. We think of life on earth and eternal life through the eyes
of the Spirit we might say.
Unfortunately, however, the complete elimination of the importance of
the meaning of the human body from the concept of human salvation is not an
authentic Catholic approach.
Practically, many of us make the mistake of thinking that it is enough
to let Jesus Christ bear the cross on which He battles against evil, while we
remain bystanders.
Are we to expect the salvation of our souls without living
righteously for Him while here in our mortal bodies? Jesus manifests His wounded, side, hands and feet to the Apostles thus showing
them and us that sin has a lasting effect. Doesn’t He mean that we too must bear this fight in our own bodies? On a
more positive note, when He eats fish in front of them, isn’t this action
reinforcing the fact that the human body, with its affections, is important in
the Resurrection, in Eternity? Even if Grandma is experiencing perfect
happiness in Heaven, her happiness will increase when she gets her body back. Our bodies have meaning. Everything about the human body has meaning.
And the harm done to the human person, both body and soul, is something that
must be healed by the power of the grace of Christ. The Great Physician gives us the medicine of
salvation, but in and through our bodies we must follow our Divine Doctor's orders: “You
must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” (Mt 16:24)
Here is another point to ponder. Isn’t it interesting, as the Acts of the Apostles says, that the Son
of Man’s life was exchanged for the life of a murderer? Peter said, “You denied the Holy and Righteous
One and asked that a murderer be released to you.” (Acts 3:14) What an indictment that is! What does a murderer do? He kills the body. So the one who saved the human person through
the Resurrection of the body, through restoring life to the body, is put to
death instead of one whose true crime was killing the body.
It has been quite clear since the beginning of time that sin
destroys the body. This was always
Satan’s intent. He hates the human
body. Jesus was put to death in the body
on account of sin and conquers Satan through this as He rises from the dead. Sin enters into human history as a rejection
of God at the same time as its bite injects its deadly poison into the human body. The first sin is disobedience to God born out
of distrust for His creation. He created
the human person, masculine and feminine, with all their differences and with
each of their bodies being gifted for their proper roles on earth.
Adam would have understood immediately the
meaning of the wounded side of Christ. We can surely imagine Adam gazing upon the Crucifixion as the lance opened Jesus’ side. The Old Adam would know and
understand the importance of this because it is from his side that the first
woman came. From the side of Christ, the
New Adam, flow the blood and water that give life to the bride of Christ, the
Church. He would know that this New Man does not run. He does not shrink from
the protection of His bride and He most certainly does not cause her to sin. He helps her avoid sinning, all the time. Even now, we can almost hear the sigh of
relief as Adam witnesses, first hand, the undoing of his failure.
So Adam, where are you? Man of today, where are you? Are you an old Adam or a new Adam? Where are you, Adam, when your bride, your
Eve, is subject to the threat of losing her soul through disobedience to God?
Is she going to suffer anew on your account? Her body is at risk of suffering
for all eternity because you would allow her to be used for an immoral purpose. You Christian men, today, do you respect your wives,
your beloved, your female friends and acquaintances? Are you like the old Adam
or the new Adam, Jesus? Do you distrust
her body? Do you seek to distort the
feminine beauty of her body by pressure to do things below her human and
feminine dignity? Do you distort the truth of love for the female body? Do you
women distrust your own bodies? Do you fall prey to the domination that came
from the fall so present in our culture? You see, this is the root of the current
crisis that the bishops are battling with the President. That is why there is such a moral problem
with contraception and sterilization.
They are sins against the body.
They are sins of distrust of God and his creation of the body. These acts are choices for the life of the original
murderer, the ancient serpent, over the life of the Savior whose body is given
up to nourish the Church. They are sins against the Resurrection.
The power of the Resurrected Man, Christ, the New Adam, gives
us, also, the model of the Church, the mother of those baptized into Christ. When
we approach Him at the altar, He gives us His body, consummating His love for His Bride, the Church. Members of the Church must let this Lord
lead them to a new respect for the body and human love. Let Him be the model of relations between man
and woman. Science supports us in this. There
have been many advances in the sciences in recent decades that fully support
the way human beings were made, male and female, and are consistent with Christ’s teaching in the
Church. This new knowledge will allow
you to live in accordance with God’s plan for your life. This will help you faithfully and
intelligently plan your family without offending God. Please contact me if you want to learn more.
This is your second chance, Adam. Do not let the serpent bite you again.
For more information
check this website: http://www.popepaulvi.com.
