Resurrection
"Resurrection (Noli Me Tangere)" by Giotto di Bondone from his series "Scenes from the Life of Christ.
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Easter is not just a story about transformation.
It is a story that transforms.
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After his crucifixion, the sacred myth of the gospel tells us that Jesus was in the tomb for three days, corresponding to the three trimesters of human gestation. And then he resurrected. Jesus’ body went into it, and the eternal and ever-present Christ, who is God, who is Love, came out. The pain and terror and horror of crucifixion went in, and hope and promise came out. Anger and fear went in, and forgiveness and peace came out.
Jesus’ body went into the tomb, and the Christian church came out, three days later.
As St. Paul wrote much later, “It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body . . .” (1 Corinthians 15:44) Jesus’ body was a seed sown in the earth, and from him sprouted a beloved community that lives and bears fruit to this day.
The story of the resurrection is itself a seed. We receive it into the soil of our souls, and there in the darkness of our unconscious it sinks roots and grows. The myth changes the narrative of our lives from being victims of abuse and suffering into being agents of reconciliation and renewal. This potent story becomes the scaffold upon which we take the rough, raw material of our lives to construct a new and beautiful edifice.
At Easter, Christians celebrate this transformation by coming together in the “spiritual body” that is the church. We are the compassionate community that rolled away the stone and emerged from the tomb. The Christ lives through us! That’s what we mean when we repeat the ancient Greek chant: “Christos anesti! Alithos anesti!”—“Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”