Originally published at National Catholic Register
(Matthew 28:1-15; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-49; John 20:1-12)
Jesus’ Resurrection is our salvation.
St. Paul is blunt about this fact: Unless Jesus is risen from the dead, “your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Unless Jesus is raised from the dead, he is just an ordinary dead human who changed nothing and we are still immersed in our sins (vv. 17-19).
The Judeo-Christian message is clear: Man’s fundamental problem is sin. Sin damaged his human nature and broke his relationships, with God, his fellow human beings, the rest of creation and even himself. When God threatens man with “death” if he sins, it’s not that God is being particularly severe or brutal. God is our “highest Good.” He is Love. The only point of intersection we can have with a God who is Good and is Love is goodness and love. And if sin is a turning from goodness and a rejection of love, then the only thing that can possibly result is death. We cannot amputate ourselves from the source of life and hope to go on living. We are not self-sufficient. The devil’s temptation notwithstanding, we are not gods.
So, if Jesus did not rise from the
