Reflections on the High Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord, Isaiah 25:8: “He Will Swallow Up Death Forever!” Sunday, April 8th, 2012

Dear Christian Friends,

 

Isaiah 25:8 proclaims, “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.” This is why St. Ambrose says that for Christians death is no longer bitter, but sweet. Eusebius of Caesarea wrote, “[Christ] pursued [death] from behind and drove him [death] on, trodden under his feet and fleeing, and he burst the eternal gates of his dark realms and made a road of return back again to life for the dead [referring to us, dead in our trespasses and sins, Eph. 2:1].” (ACC, X, 167)

I am so thankful that faith in the resurrected Christ has both tremendous practical impact on the way we live, and provides for us solid evidence for a reliable foundation for believing.

Two former parishioners come to mind in particular in terms of how the resurrection impacts practical living, both of whom are in heavenly glory today: Dr. Mitch Matthis and Mary Ann Cota, R.N.

When Mitch found out about his advanced stage with cancer, he wanted to be right with God. The Lord granted him some amazing personal experiences that essentially got his attention. He then wanted something solid to sink his teeth into going beyond his spiritual experiences. He had me over and we started catechesis in the faith which he was extremely excited for. Mitch was a brilliant scientiest and he appreciated the historical nature of the Christian faith. For example, the accounts of our Resurrected Lord are related to the “two E’s” which Dr. Gary Habermas is noted for teaching about.

The resurrection accounts are based both on EARLY testimony (in relation to the actual resurrection event), putting that proclamation only a few years after the actual event so that even the enemies of Christ were living during this proclamation. There was no room for fabrication in the face of contemporary hostile witnesses. Which leads to the second “E”: EYE-WITNESSES. And eye-witnesses of the resurrected Lord who gave their very lives for the testimony of the truth that Jesus defeated death. This is the quality of reliable history; it is the kind of history that we rely on every day of our lives. Christ’s resurrection is not the stuff of mythology.

Given this foundation of faith, Mitch was transformed. He faced his impending physical death with the confidence that he would not ultimately die, but ultimately live. This completely impacted the way he lived on a day-to-day basis. Even while dealing the physical pain, he knew a joy that came from God. On the day he died, I held his hand and sang, “How Great Thou Art.” He was full of confidence in how to face death…as that which Christ conquered. When his wife and mother held him in their arms, he died with faith in the resurrected Savior!

Mary Ann Cota wanted to get married. For some people receiving the news of terminal cancer, marriage plans would have been called off. Not so for Mary Ann! She knew that her Resurrected Lord gave her life to live each and every day and a life that is lasting even beyond the grave. Such life strives to make the most of life every, single day. She got married, she and her husband celebrated life, and towards the end when I came over to her house to give her Holy Communion, she held onto her crucifix and stared into the face of death defiantly. She knew Job’s words that she would not die, but live. This is the way she lived and this is way she faced death, not as bitter, but as sweet.

These practical accounts on how to live lead me to consider the rock solid foundation of this faith:

 

1. Jesus truly died. The evidence is overwhelming from the Roman flogging, to the crucifixion, to the spear in his side. Why is this important? Because it elliminates ideas about Christ passing out, fainting, or “swooning.” There is no room for such ludicrous hypothesis. He died, this we know.

 

2. Jesus was buried. Why is this significant? When I travel up north to my hometown Delano, CA, I like to visit the grave markers of my deceased relatives. I can go up to my grandfather’s place of burial and see my name, “Alfonso Espinosa,” I can go to my uncle’s grave and see my name again, “Alfonso Espinosa,” I can go to see the marker of my big brother I never met who died long before I was born as an infant, “Robert Steven Espinosa.” And I know exactly where my dear father is — of blessed and holy memory — and his marker that says, “Robert C. Espinosa.”

The point is that people knew where Jesus was buried and everyone had a vested interest in ensuring that this information was accurate. The Jews wanted to know and did know so as to resist any monkey business that would lead his disciples to claim a resurrection that didn’t occur. Indeed, if Christ’s enemies had stolen his body, they would have produced it to put an end to their hated claim that Christ arose! The followers of Christ did not steal his body either. They had nothing to gain, but the loss of everything in their lives…in fact most of them were martyred for this faith. A fabrication or lie does not explain furthermore how these frightened disciples and especially the terribly skeptical ones like James and Paul became fierce warriors for the Gospel proclamation unafraid of putting their lives on the line for what they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt was true and that which would lead to their death.

The Romans had every motivation to curtail controversy and potential riot. No one had reason to steal Christ’s body…but this we know: we know that He was buried, and we know where He was buried, and we know — historically — that His body was no longer in that tomb. This is fact.

 

3. Going back to the second “E” above is important at this juncture. What happened next? Did you know that the Gospels record not just one or two instances of the resurrected Christ appearing, but twelve (12) and these over a period of forty (40) days! To simply see His image was insufficient for these disciples. Thomas in John 20 did more than see Christ, but He touched his body where the nails were. My favorite account is when Christ had breakfast with some of his disciples on the sea shore and in that account Christ Himself at the fish the disciples had brought in. And — as John Warwick Montgomery says — “ghosts don’t eat fish!”

 

The evidence goes on. The Christian Church grew to become the largest world religion for a reason; and major cultural institutions were transformed for a reason. The quality of what is true has these effects, the quality of the One who has swallowed death itself has these effects!

 

With all these things considered, we are called to live according to the impact of His risen life. We can face uncertain days with absolute certainty: our Risen Lord lives to hold us through life, to bless us, and to make everything in our lives blessed through the sweetness of His swallowing up death!

Bless you dear Christians!

 

Dr. Espinosa

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