Dear Editor,

Contrary to Michael Dingwall’s letter of April 5, 2012, Christ’s resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically verified, as the New Testament bears witness. In about AD 56 St Paul could already write to the Corinthians: “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve…” 1 Cor 15: 3-4. The Apostle speaks here of the living tradition of the Resurrection which he had learned after his conversion at the gates of Damascus Cf. Acts 9: 3-18.

The resurrection was a historical event that could be verified by the sign of the empty tomb and by the reality of the apostles’ encounters with the risen Christ. The disciple “whom Jesus loved” affirmed that when he entered the empty tomb and discovered “the linen cloths lying there”, “he saw and believed”. This suggests that he realised from the empty tomb’s condition that the absence of Jesus’ body could not have been of human doing and that Jesus had not simply returned to earthly life as had been the case with Lazarus.

Mary Magdalene and the holy women were the first to encounter the Risen One. Thus the women were the first messengers of Christ’s resurrection for the apostles themselves. They were the next to whom Jesus appears: first Peter, then the Twelve. Peter had been called to strengthen the faith of his brothers, and so sees the Risen One before them; it is on the basis of his testimony that the community exclaims: “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”

Peter and the Twelve are the primary “witnesses to his resurrection”, but they are not the only ones – Paul speaks clearly of more than 500 people to whom Jesus appeared on a single occasion and also of James and of all the apostles (1 Cor 15:4-8; cf Acts 1:22) .

Given all these testimonies, Christ’s resurrection cannot be interpreted as something outside the physical order, and it is impossible not to acknowledge it as a historical fact.

Although the resurrection was a historical event that could be verified by the sign of the empty tomb and by the reality of the apostles’ encounters with the risen Christ, still it remains at the very heart of the mystery of faith as something that transcends and surpasses history. This is why the risen Christ does not reveal himself to the world, but to his disciples, “to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people”.

“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain”1 Cor 15:14. The Resurrection above all constitutes the confirmation of all Christ’s works and teachings. All truths, even those most inaccessible to human reason, find their justification if Christ by his resurrection has given the definitive proof of his divine authority, which he had promised.

Christ’s resurrection is the fulfilment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life. The phrase “in accordance with the Scriptures” indicates that Christ’s Resurrection fulfilled these predictions.

Finally, Christ’s Resurrection – and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future resurrection: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep… For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive”1 Cor 15:20-22.

Paul Kokoski

Ontario, Canada

pkokoski@shaw.ca