Newspaper Columns by Bishop Paul V. Marshall
If Christ Has Not Been Raised...
Bishop Paul V. Marshall
May 2000A Buddhist master was asked to give a retreat for some Christians. He accepted the challenge, and spent time with the New Testament. He began his remarks by confessing how surprised he was to find out what was in those short documents. "Christianity," he said, "makes sense only if Christ is resurrected. And if he is, your every breath, your posture and your attitude should show that."
Argument about whether the crucified Jesus was in any sense brought to life is not new, of course, and many people find it difficult or impossible to accept, even if they would like to believe. There are historical arguments that can be mounted to indicate the probability that resurrection took place or not, but those are not conclusive.
Nonetheless, St. Paul threw the gauntlet down in no uncertain way: "If Christ has not be raised," he wrote, "your faith is useless. And of all humans, we believers are the most pitiful." Like our Buddhist master, Paul expressed powerfully the centrality - and the power - of the resurrection.
Paul had a vision of the risen Christ, and knew people who reported their stories of physical encounter with him in ordinary history. I do not know anyone who has had a vision like St. Paul's, and nobody suggests that Jesus walks our earth in the ordinary sense of those words.
How or why does one believe in the continuing presence and power of a living Jesus Christ? The thing I find least helpful is intellectual debate about historical and theological issues: They are more about belief than faith and relationship. They are pointless if there is no living reality behind them.
There are many paths that have led people to Christ. My own mind prefers the simple and direct, and I suggest here three practical things one can do to discover whether Christ is alive.
The first is to set aside a period, perhaps 30 days, in which one will behave as though Christ is there, and that behavior begins with prayer. Prayer is conversation. One speaks and one listens. Sharing life, listening for guidance, thoughtfully offering concerns for the world's needs.
Prayer is, as the saying goes, the practice of the presence of God, living all of one's life in "public," so to speak, and listening, listening for what guidance may come, what perceptions of people and relationships change.
The second is to alter one's life to include a few hours of service a week, service to the poor or needy. This needs to be done as quietly and directly as possible, a hands-on experience of serving Christ by serving others, looking for his face in theirs. Volunteering at a hospital or soup kitchen, working in a literacy program or after-school tutoring projects are readily available ways to meet Christ in the face of those in need. Loss of self for others, especially in the middle of a "busy" life, is a way to meet the one who was crucified.
A third ingredient in a period of inquiry is to be where faith already is. The weekly gathering of modern-day disciples for praise, prayer, scripture and sacrament is supplemented by fellowship and the chance to talk with those who are already on the journey. Like its cousins, Christianity is in both the short and long run about being part of a people, a people with identity and mission.
None of this comes as easy answer or quick fix. To find Christ is to go where he went and be where he is. Those places are not always attractive, but they are full of meaning and often bring joy.
For the overwhelming majority of the world's Christians, Easter is a fifty-day celebration, and we are in the middle of it. There is probably no better time to investigate or renew acquaintance with what and whom it celebrates.
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