RESURRECTION (AD30)

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jesus)

It is not without reason that our era begins with Jesus Christ. Two thousand years ago a drastic change took place at the lake of Galilee, a transition to a new way of life that would transcend races, languages, nations and cultures, whose consequences are still being felt in our time. On the shores of this lake sounded the words: “Gods Kingdom is near. Especially for those who feel inferior! Everyone is included.”

Who was this Jesus? Since the Enlightenment, numerous studies have been published about him. By now we know that each quest for the ‘real’ Jesus is colored by personal preferences and suppositions. For one, he is a moral reformer who taught the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men. For another he is a political revolutionary or culture critic. For yet others, a self-help guru for personality development. For many theologians a faith-healer, an end-of-time prophet or ‘man of God’ in the Judaic tradition of that time. Jesus called himself ‘Son of Men’. His disciples called him ‘Son of God’. Everything shows the tremendous impact his message has had.

Many of his listeners indeed felt inferior. They did not belong to the wealthy of cultural elite. Yet their faith played an even greater role than their social position. For many centuries man had wanted to satisfy the gods by punctually performing rituals and meeting obligations. At the time of Israel’s prophets, the gap between ideal and reality had increased significantly. With enormous dedication they tried to adhere to all religious regulations only to run aground on the harsh reality of human vices.

In that moral climate Jesus’ message came as a liberation: people do not serve the law but laws serve the people! The relation between God and man is not based on reciprocity but on personal involvement and dependence. Not due to human virtues but despite human vices. More about this in the next theme ‘reconciliation.

Jesus mainly addressed the Jewish people and wanted to keep the temple cult alive. Yet he was not concerned about the outside. Not group-culture but personal inner attitude is important. We have seen three sides of religion: controlling nature, keeping peace and choosing the morally right thing to do.

Internalization adds a fourth dimension – personal hope, consolation and a sense of meaning. Every human being is valuable to God. All differences and status are of minor relevance.

What impact did Jesus have on the first Christians? He believed that God would soon intervene to create a new society that would bring new life to all, even after death. He acted accordingly; pure human love even in the extreme of his own death. He impressed his followers to such a great extent that they interpreted the empty tomb after his funeral and his special appearances as the actual beginning of the Kingdom of God and the resurrection of the dead. Jesus lives and is Lord.

Even now, for millions of people and also for me his message is the source of inspiration for life. Status quo is not the norm. Every human being is valuable to God and all men are one for Him. Often the Church applied these core Christian principles very selectively: only to their own community or to afterlife. It would take many centuries until they were translated into core values of our time: individual freedom and universal human rights. Despite many black pages in the history of Christianity (power and coercion; crusades, slave trade, discrimination) these two greatest achievements of our culture are – indirectly – the legacy of the internalization that Jesus embodied.

Pope Benedict describes the resurrection as a kind of transition. It reminds me of earlier, unique, historical, phenomenal transitions that are still elusive and incomprehensible. The two best examples are the origin of life and the development of human language and consciousness. Could Jesus resurrection usher in a third discontinuity to a new level of life with God, man and nature?