“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.
“So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’” (Matthew 28:5-10)
The rising of Jesus Christ from the dead is not a myth, not a legend, Bishop Robert Barron emphatically said in his Easter Sunday homily on April 24, 2019. It is not just a story of “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” (as in the fictional Star Wars intro goes) but a real event, physically experienced by Jesus’ 11 apostles (without the 12th, Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him to the High Priests to be crucified). “We have seen the Lord!” they testified (John 20:25). They “ate and drank with Him” (Acts 10:41) and were instructed to preach the gospels as He had taught them (Matthew 28:16-20).
St. Paul (I Cor., xv, 3-8) enumerates apparitions of Jesus after His resurrection; he was seen by Cephas, by the Eleven, by more than 500 brethren, many of whom were still alive at the time of the Apostle’s writing, by James, by all the Apostles, and, lastly, by Paul himself (catholic.com). But see, that’s the problem, non-Christians say. The first-person accounts of the resurrection of Christ by gospel writers Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul are all recorded only in the New Testament, the second division of the Christian Bible, believed by scholars to have been written some 40 to 60 years after the death of Jesus.
But then the resurrected Christ told Thomas, the doubting apostle, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The Death and Resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone dogma of Christian faith. “Man fallen but redeemed” finds Hope in the supreme sacrifice that the God-Man offered, to restore paradisiacal innocence and the eternal reward of Heaven. And with this is the corollary belief in general resurrection, meaning that all will rise from the dead at the eschatological end of time, bodies reunited with their spirits (souls) for all to live in harmony and peace.
The belief and hope in resurrection is not exclusive to the Christian religions. It is interesting to note that in Greek mythology and epics of ancient heroes, rising from the dead was the victorious ending for exceptional mortals who were elevated to gods as a reward for valor and integrity. In The Iliad, Achilles, after being killed, was taken from his funeral pyre by his divine mother Thetis and resurrected and made immortal. In the Trojan War, Menelaus, king of Sparta, brother of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, died and was resurrected as a god. Resurrection is the ultimate power, as of a god, over death.
That there can be life after death and continued power and strength in the afterlife, is the instinctive reason why most religions nurture Hope in a general resurrection — not necessarily led by an enactment by a god or master.
In Hinduism, there are folklore, stories, and extractions from certain holy texts that refer to resurrections. The Ramayana tells of a great battle between good and evil, with the victor Rama ascending to the level of a demigod — and into immortality. Even in Buddhism, with its focus on the present rather than on the future, the legend of the Bodhidharma emphasizes kindness and fairness to fellowmen so that upon death, the body can be reincarnated into a higher-level spirit.
In Islam, the dominant message of the holy book of Islam, the Quran, is “the promise and threat” of “Judgment Day” when “all bodies will be resurrected” from the dead, and “all persons” are “called to account” for their deeds and their faith during their life on earth. Resurrection and Judgement, the two themes “central to the understanding of Islamic eschatology” are fundamental tenets of faith of all Muslims, and one of the six articles of Islamic faith (excerpts from the Quran).
Islamic and Christian eschatology both have a “Day of Resurrection” of the dead (yawm al-qiyāmah), followed by a “Day of Judgment” (yawm ad-din) where all human beings who have ever lived will be held accountable for their deeds by being judged by God. Depending on the verdict of the judgement, they will be sent for eternity to either the reward of paradise, Jannah or the punishment of hell, Jahannam (Ahmed, Jafor. “Similarities and Dissimilarities between Islam and Christianity.” Academia. Retrieved April 19, 2022).
Ah, there’s the cost to Eternity! On the day of reckoning, tithes of goodness done minus penalties for sins and omissions must be measured. Mortal life borrowed must be returned completely as received, otherwise the fusion with the spirit cannot yet be, not until after a restoration, as in Dante Alighieri’s Purgatorio. And that is where every mortal’s fear of death comes from — the accounting and final tally for that hard-earned entrance ticket to Paradiso.
The universal desire for immortality, juxtaposed with the natural fear of death, is “what keeps a man honest,” as it is said that even the most hardened hearts know when they have committed wrong, and usually repent before dying. Somehow the fear of death urges the desire to live on, perchance in the superior life in eternity. Thus, the collective conscience develops and nurtures its working principles and values in mortal life to instinctively align with the measures for the “accounting” at the “Day of Judgment” and onto the “Day of Resurrection.” On Easter, we are assured that Good will always triumph over Evil, as we can make it happen, with faith and hope in the promise of resurrection and personal salvation.
How successful has Mankind been in fighting for right against wrong? History has no dearth of heroes and villains who fight out the struggle. Activists and protestors pummel for principles, and artists, writers, and scientists will not be gagged and tied to show and tell the truth — at the risk of being jailed. But why is there so much turmoil in the world, so much violence, such deep anxiety?
The COVID pandemic still plagues the world — for three years since March 2020, contagion is still worrisome. The war in Ukraine has been raging for a year now since February 2022. The world is in economic recession and inflation has decimated the quality of life, even threatening survival. Alleged corruption in government steals from the people at this very critical time of the economic crunch.
But Easter 2023 is a more exuberantly happy season than last year’s Easter. This time we celebrated Easter in joyful pomp and ceremony at face-to-face Masses in the warm closeness of community. “He is risen,” the priest announced at the sacrificial altar. “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen,” the people said, towards the end of the Nicene Creed. Hope and Faith.
Things will be better in 2023.
Amelia H. C. Ylagan is a doctor of Business Administration from the University of the Philippines.