Word to the Wise
Friday, September 16, 2016 - Friday in the 24th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 15:12-20 and Luke 8:1-3]If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is not resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. [1 Corinthians]
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 STS. CORNELIUS AND CYPRIAN, martyrs
When one reads through both of Paul's letters to the Corinthians, one can sense a great deal of frustration along with affection. He spent a year and a half getting that community on its feet and he is worried that it will all come unraveled by all kinds of factionalism, life-style issues and, in today's excerpt, theological issues. The issue in question is a central one - resurrection. I recommend going back to the beginning of the chapter in order to get the whole context. There, Paul speaks about the resurrection of Jesus and the witness of the apostles to it as well as his own encounter. He reminds the Corinthians that this is what they accepted and believed. However, he has received reports that some of them were questioning whether THEY would rise again.
Paul's logic is simple. Christ's resurrection is not just for Christ alone. If the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised. If Christ was not raised from the dead, then our own hope of salvation is false. It is uncertain why the Corinthians began to waver in this matter, but Paul's letter is addressed to us as well. Each Sunday we profess our belief in not only Christ's resurrection but in our own at the end of time. Christianity is not simply a kind of ethical humanism that has no concern for eternity. We rely on the witness of the apostles and others as the foundation of our faith. As Paul says: "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all." (v. 19)
A visit to a cemetery is a good way to renew one's faith in these matters. For us, a cemetery is not the end of a life, as if it is a museum. We see it as the door to eternity and salute those who have gone before us and await the final resurrection. AMEN
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