Over at Anglican Compass a group of writers has been essaying its way through the Nicene Creed in honor of the 1700 anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, with each author commenting on a single line or clause. Fr. Peter Johnston, the editor and a friend of mine, graciously asked me to participate in the project, giving me “on the Third Day rose again in accordance with the Scriptures.”
Thus, this past week I was writing the article on Christ’s Resurrection from the Dead even while I was drafting my sermon notes for Sunday’s Baptism service. This mixture of projects proved for me incredibly enriching and fruitful: While I reflected on Jesus’ Resurrection I was praying towards the baptism of Charlotte and Hazel into the life of Jesus.
One thing that struck me particularly deeply is the way in which, when dealing with the resurrection of Christ, the Scriptures always carry consequence and application for the Church. The Resurrection has social consequences —it is not just about the Resurrection of a new human, it is about the birth of a new humanity: the Church.
In that social body, in that polis of the people of God, the same Spirit of God —the Holy Spirit of Jesus— is at work mightily (cf. Rom 8:11). The same power of God that worked in the cadaver of Jesus of Nazareth, raising him to glory, is at work, right now in you, in me, is us.
Here’s how I say it in the article (which is available here):
When we confess the Creed, therefore, we do something more than confess ourselves to be those who ride in the wake of Jesus’ victory. We are confessing something communal and living, what happened to Jesus is happening in and among us, right now. “Here, right now” we are saying “we are bearing witness to the fact of Christ’s Resurrection.”
The mysterious life of the Church is the life of the Body of Jesus which God raised from the dead. We have died with Christ, we have been raised with Christ, we are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Rom. 6:8-11; Eph. 2:6). Even as we await the fulfilment of all things, the being clothed-upon with spiritual bodies and the everlasting life of the world to come (Rom. 8:23; 2 Cor 5:1-10; Rev 21:1-4), we must be careful not to pretend that Christian life now is some kind of delay in the waiting room of the Resurrection. No, brothers and sisters, for you have died and your life is now hidden with the Christ who rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (Col. 3:3; Gal. 2:19-20)
When we say the Creed we are giving eye-witness testimony: I believe in the Resurrection of Jesus from the Dead because I see that same Life at work in me and in us.