If You Have Died With Him, So You Will Rise With Him : Death and the Resurrection of the Body Dr. James Kang Hoon Lee Assistant Professor of the History of Early Christianity Perkins School of Theology Southern Methodist University
Death and Eternal Life Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381): I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. 1) What is the meaning of the resurrection of the dead? 2) What is the nature of the life of the world to come? 3) What is the significance of this doctrine for Korean American Catholicism?
Korean Catholic Martyrs
Korean Catholicism Μαρτυρία (martyria)= witness Korean Catholic Martyrs offered a witness of hope in eternal life Korean American Catholicism must carry forward this witness in a new context, while appropriating centuries of Christian reflection on the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead and eternal life This presentation explores the meaning of resurrection and eternal life in the history of the Christian tradition, while considering the significance of this teaching for the development of Korean American Catholic identity
Resurrection and Eternal Life On the last day, Jesus will raise up those who have died with him to eternal life This will be a transfiguration of our mortal bodies (Rom. 8:11) to be like Christ s glorious body, for this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality (Rom. 6:5; 1 Cor. 15:35-53; CCC 989) The resurrection of all the dead, of both the just and the unjust, will precede the Last Judgment. (CCC 1038)
The Last Judgment
Bodily Resurrection God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus s Resurrection. (CCC 997) New heaven, new earth (Rev. 21; CCC 1042) What is the nature of bodily resurrection?
The Risen Christ
The Body of the Risen Lord
Origen of Alexandria (185-254)
Origen of Alexandria (185-254) Greek Father of the Church, died from wounds inflicted during persecution Apokatastasis= final restoration of creation Speculates that all creatures will return to God as a consequence of God s love (divine philanthropia) God s love is remedial and seeks to accommodate the diversity of creatures Resurrected body is a luminous body Origenism condemned by II Constantinople (553)
St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
St Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Latin Father of the Church, most influential Western theologian Following Paul in 1 Cor. 15, at the general resurrection, body and soul will be transformed and reconstituted in harmony and grace Men and women will retain sex (gender) in their resurrected bodies Speculates that resurrected bodies will be at the peak of youth, perhaps age 33 (City of God 22.15-16) The martyrs will bear the wounds of their suffering as glorified wounds (City of God 22.19) All the saints will bear in their bodies the glorified wounds of love, in conformation to Christ
The Last Judgment
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1275)
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1275) The Angelic Doctor At the general resurrection, body and soul are united, in a relationship of overflowing. The faculties of the soul are in perfect harmony, and the resurrected body is spiritual, yet remains corporeal. Eternal life is the life of perfection in which all striving and desiring comes to rest. Only after the resurrection, with the reunion of body and soul, can one speak of the human person as glorified. This is not an escape from this world, but a transformation of the world in the hope of future glory.
Korean Catholic Martyrs
Korean Martyrs The Korean martyrs offer a witness to the love of God that conquers death, and accommodates the diversity of creatures The Korean martyrs suffered out of love, and bore wounds of love that will be glorified in their own resurrected bodies By their sacrifices, the martyrs offer a witness of hope for future glory The martyrs expand our imagination of the doctrine of resurrection and eternal life
Korean American Catholicism The Church s hope in the resurrection must be renewed in every generation Korean American Catholicism carries forward the witness of the Korean martyrs as a living embodiment of the Church s teaching on the hope of resurrection and eternal life The Korean American Catholic Church has the opportunity to provide a witness of hope as bearers of history and tradition
A Witness of Hope Even today, the Church, if she wants to speak effectively to the world, if she wants to continue to proclaim the Gospel faithfully and make its presence felt must be able to offer concrete evidence and prophetic signs [of] the love of Christ, and the love of one s neighbor... We may not be called to martyrdom, but not one of us is excluded from the divine call to holiness, to attain the high standard of Christian living this entails taking up our daily cross. All of us, especially in our time when selfishness and individualism seem to prevail, must take on as a first and fundamental commitment the duty to grow every day in greater love for God and for our brothers and sisters, to transform our own lives and thereby transform the life of our world too. --Pope Benedict XVI