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What Are They Saying About the Resurrection?
Book by O'Collins, Gerald
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Gerald O'Collins
92 books19 followersBorn in Australia, Gerald O’Collins received his PhD at Cambridge University in 1968. From 1973 to 2006 he taught at the Gregorian University (Rome), where he was also dean of the theology faculty (1985–91). He is now a research professor in theology at St Mary’s University College in Twickenham.
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September 24, 2024
A JESUIT THEOLOGIAN SUMMARIZES CURRENT BIBLICAL/THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE RESURRECTION
Gerald Glynn O'Collins, SJ is an Australian Jesuit priest, author, academic, and educator, who is currently at the Jesuit Theological College in Parkville, Victoria, and a research professor in theology at St Mary's University College in Twickenham. He was also professor of systematic and fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome) for many years. He has written many other books, such as 'The Resurrection of Jesus Christ,' 'Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus,' 'Believing in the Resurrection: The Meaning and Promise of the Risen Jesus,' 'The Second Vatican Council on Other Religions,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface of this 1978 book, "We have become used to the idea that---as regards the divine nature, the Church, the Eucharist and the Trinity----some given interpretation may contain a good deal of truth but will never exhaust the truth. It is high time to apply this insight to Christ's resurrection."
He cites a summation of current biblical scholarship of the Resurrection made by Reginald Fuller, which states, "the starting point for any investigation of the Easter traditions lies not in the narratives at the ends of the Gospels, but in 1 Corinthians 15. This establishes the earliest tradition of the appearances. These appearances are to be interpreted not as encounters with a resuscitated Jesus prior to an ascension, but as eschatological disclosures 'from heaven' of an already exalted One. The empty tomb was not part of the kerygma cited by Paul, nor does the Easter faith rest upon it, yet the empty tomb pericopes rest upon an ancient historical nucleus. Mary Magdalene, at least, found an empty grave. The resurrection itself... was an eschatological event between God and Jesus... not merely something that happened to the disciples. Jesus was translated at his resurrection into an entirely new mode of existence, to be sharply distinguished from the kind of resuscitations alleged of Jairus' daughter, the widow of Naim's son, or Lazarus." (Pg. 11)
He deplores "what I call 'overbelief,' the mistaken decision to interpret as strictly 'accurate' all the details of the Easter narratives. This means more than simply insisting that the risen Christ actually uttered every one of the words attributed to him by Matthew, Luke, John, and the appendix to Mark (16:9-20). Such overbelief also entails that he quite literally took and ate a piece of broiled fish (Lk 24:42f), and that more or less gaping holes remained in the hands and side of his risen body (Jn 20:20,, 25, 27). It is easy to spot the weak and even comic side of such overinterpretations. If a resurrected man took a snack, what kind of digestive system did his body have? Can ordinary food be transformed... or does it pass through without genuinely interacting with such a body? And how could five wounds ... remain in this body?" (Pg. 46-47)
He suggests, "Paul's reflections in 1 Corinthians 15 convey no suggestion that the risen Christ has returned to any kind of 'earthly' existence and activities. Raised and exalted to heaven, Christ emerges from his invisible state to encounter some privileged witnesses. His body is 'spiritual,' not 'physical.' ... Paul's notion... challenges and criticizes the picture of physical reanimation that the third and fourth gospels seem to offer... By insisting on the strict accuracy of the physical details in the Easter narratives of Luke and John, we will flatly contradict the understanding of resurrection proposed by Jesus and Paul." (Pg. 49)
He admits, "An obvious historical problem arises from the fact that Matthew, Luke, and John represent the risen Lord as explicitly setting in motion a universal mission. However, if he had given such a clear command to evangelize the world, how can we explain the evidence from Chapters 10 and 15 of Acts---not to mention the letters of Paul? There decisions are taken to engage in such a mission, but NOT on the basis of recalling the obeying the risen Lord's explicit instructions." (Pg. 53)
He points out about Mark's Gospel, "Male disciples fail to grasp and enter into the paschal mystery, but female disciples share more and more in the story until they emerge as the first to learn the good news of Easter...What it amounts to is this: If you think and act feminine, you will seize the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection. Feminine presence and intuition function where masculine talk and logic have failed... In short, Mark's text suggests a feminine approach to the death and resurrection of Jesus... both Gospel texts [John and Mark] confront us with a strong feminine dimension to Christ's dying and rising. Any adequate theological reflection on Good Friday and Easter Sunday should take note of this." (Pg. 100-102)
This is an excellent, very thought-provoking series of exegetical and theological reflections on the Resurrection, that will be of great interest not just to Catholics, but to all Christians of a more "progressive" sort.
Gerald Glynn O'Collins, SJ is an Australian Jesuit priest, author, academic, and educator, who is currently at the Jesuit Theological College in Parkville, Victoria, and a research professor in theology at St Mary's University College in Twickenham. He was also professor of systematic and fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome) for many years. He has written many other books, such as 'The Resurrection of Jesus Christ,' 'Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus,' 'Believing in the Resurrection: The Meaning and Promise of the Risen Jesus,' 'The Second Vatican Council on Other Religions,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface of this 1978 book, "We have become used to the idea that---as regards the divine nature, the Church, the Eucharist and the Trinity----some given interpretation may contain a good deal of truth but will never exhaust the truth. It is high time to apply this insight to Christ's resurrection."
He cites a summation of current biblical scholarship of the Resurrection made by Reginald Fuller, which states, "the starting point for any investigation of the Easter traditions lies not in the narratives at the ends of the Gospels, but in 1 Corinthians 15. This establishes the earliest tradition of the appearances. These appearances are to be interpreted not as encounters with a resuscitated Jesus prior to an ascension, but as eschatological disclosures 'from heaven' of an already exalted One. The empty tomb was not part of the kerygma cited by Paul, nor does the Easter faith rest upon it, yet the empty tomb pericopes rest upon an ancient historical nucleus. Mary Magdalene, at least, found an empty grave. The resurrection itself... was an eschatological event between God and Jesus... not merely something that happened to the disciples. Jesus was translated at his resurrection into an entirely new mode of existence, to be sharply distinguished from the kind of resuscitations alleged of Jairus' daughter, the widow of Naim's son, or Lazarus." (Pg. 11)
He deplores "what I call 'overbelief,' the mistaken decision to interpret as strictly 'accurate' all the details of the Easter narratives. This means more than simply insisting that the risen Christ actually uttered every one of the words attributed to him by Matthew, Luke, John, and the appendix to Mark (16:9-20). Such overbelief also entails that he quite literally took and ate a piece of broiled fish (Lk 24:42f), and that more or less gaping holes remained in the hands and side of his risen body (Jn 20:20,, 25, 27). It is easy to spot the weak and even comic side of such overinterpretations. If a resurrected man took a snack, what kind of digestive system did his body have? Can ordinary food be transformed... or does it pass through without genuinely interacting with such a body? And how could five wounds ... remain in this body?" (Pg. 46-47)
He suggests, "Paul's reflections in 1 Corinthians 15 convey no suggestion that the risen Christ has returned to any kind of 'earthly' existence and activities. Raised and exalted to heaven, Christ emerges from his invisible state to encounter some privileged witnesses. His body is 'spiritual,' not 'physical.' ... Paul's notion... challenges and criticizes the picture of physical reanimation that the third and fourth gospels seem to offer... By insisting on the strict accuracy of the physical details in the Easter narratives of Luke and John, we will flatly contradict the understanding of resurrection proposed by Jesus and Paul." (Pg. 49)
He admits, "An obvious historical problem arises from the fact that Matthew, Luke, and John represent the risen Lord as explicitly setting in motion a universal mission. However, if he had given such a clear command to evangelize the world, how can we explain the evidence from Chapters 10 and 15 of Acts---not to mention the letters of Paul? There decisions are taken to engage in such a mission, but NOT on the basis of recalling the obeying the risen Lord's explicit instructions." (Pg. 53)
He points out about Mark's Gospel, "Male disciples fail to grasp and enter into the paschal mystery, but female disciples share more and more in the story until they emerge as the first to learn the good news of Easter...What it amounts to is this: If you think and act feminine, you will seize the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection. Feminine presence and intuition function where masculine talk and logic have failed... In short, Mark's text suggests a feminine approach to the death and resurrection of Jesus... both Gospel texts [John and Mark] confront us with a strong feminine dimension to Christ's dying and rising. Any adequate theological reflection on Good Friday and Easter Sunday should take note of this." (Pg. 100-102)
This is an excellent, very thought-provoking series of exegetical and theological reflections on the Resurrection, that will be of great interest not just to Catholics, but to all Christians of a more "progressive" sort.
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