I BELIEVE...IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.  Hebrews 13:12-14 (ESV)

What does it mean to believe in the resurrection of the body? The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that this earthly city is not our home. Jesus went outside Jerusalem, the City of David and the place of the temple, that He might make atonement for us. Now we are called to live outside the city of this world, for we have been sanctified, made holy by the atoning sacrifice of His blood. Like Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, we are to bear the cross while we look to the joy which is set before us (Heb 12:1-2) Our faith is not in the passing things of this world, but in the Son of God who defeated death and the grave.

What does this mean for day to day life as a Christian? On a very basic level it means that Christians always fix their eyes on the victory which is theirs in Christ Jesus. Early Christians rejoiced in the forgiveness of sins because it was the way to the resurrection of the body as we see in Jesus’ healing the paralytic in Matthew 9. They did not put their trust in physicians for they knew only the Great Physician could bring true healing as they were taught in the account of the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years (Luke 8:43-48). They faced hardship and persecution from both the Jews and the Greeks, but they took comfort in gathering together to partake in the breaking of bread in the Lord’s Supper and the prayers or liturgy of the Church. As the writer to the Hebrews points out, “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Heb 10:25)

What does this mean for you today? Well, the author has spoken about baptism (Heb 10:22) and the Lord’s Supper (Heb 10:20) as the way to hold fast to the confession of hope. The Spirit of God here teaches us that it is a deliberate sin to avoid such gathering together and that to forsake the Lord’s Supper is to trample underfoot the Son of God, profane the blood of the new covenant (the Lord’s Supper), and insult the Spirit Himself. (Heb 10:26-31). When you believe in the resurrection of the body, you confess your hope in the face of the world of death by gathering together around the gift Christ has given you in the Supper of His Body and Blood. (1 Cor. 11:26) Are you afraid of death? Then, come, eat, and drink that your Lord who overcame death and the grave might strengthen you in the true faith so that you do not lose hope.

Yet, what has happened to us in these last years? Even before the pandemic, fewer and fewer have come, for they have not confessed that the Day is drawing near. The gods of sports, riches, personal pleasure, and self-indulgence have all been elevated over the Living God. Many have trampled the blood of God under their feet.

So, when the time of disease came upon us churches willingly shut down with no services. Some people hid in their homes, trusting in themselves as they sought to protect themselves rather than trusting in the blood of Jesus which has defeated death and the grave. Others found themselves forcefully locked away and threatened with punishment if they did not stay put, preventing their reception of Jesus' life-giving body and blood even with a pastoral visit heavy with health protocols. Some had immunity issues that required the separation of social distancing. This forced separation from the most intimate contact with their loving and forgiving Savior is tragic.

These are the days that are a clear indication that the Day is drawing near. As the writer to the Hebrews reminds us, we need to be gathered together all the more to receive the Sacrament more frequently lest we perish without confessing to the world that Christ is risen. Yet, the outward confession by many has been that Christ is not risen. While they felt it crucial to go out among others to purchase food that perishes, they avoided meeting even in limited numbers to receive the Bread of Life that does not perish (John 6).  In so doing they bear witness to the world that Christ is not risen.

Now is the time for us to repent of trusting the world for security and to boldly confess to the world that death has no power over us. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57) Now is the time for us to renew our confession of the Risen Lord to a world of death around us by gathering at His altar and receiving His gifts.