According to Saint John’s account of the resurrection, Mary Magdalene initially interpreted the empty tomb as the result of someone having taken the body; however, in Saint Mark’s account she is simply amazed. Now although amazement doesn’t necessarily indicate incredulity, there is an element of not quite believing one’s eyes. Amazement is thus linked to encountering the unexpected, and then trying to make sense of it all. It might be important to ask why the young man in a white robe exhorted them to not be amazed. Was he actually not exhorting them, but admonishing them for being amazed in beholding the empty tomb?
From our vantage point it is difficult to enter into the experience of the women on that amazing Easter morning. For years and years, we have listened to these resurrection accounts and thus know the joyous significance of the empty tomb. Or do we? Perhaps like the apostles fearfully gathered behind closed doors, and not believing the women’s claim that they had seen the risen Christ, we can find faith in Christ’s resurrection a real challenge—especially in a society that is steadily divesting itself of such beliefs and relegating faith to an earlier unenlightened age.
Unfortunately, the varying gospel accounts of the resurrection appearances of Jesus don’t always help. For they are ambiguous and even confusing in describing the nature of his resurrected body. At times, his body seems little different to our present bodies as Jesus asks for something to eat and is given a piece of fish. And yet it a body that is not constrained by locked doors as Jesus suddenly appears in the midst of his startled disciples. Then we have Mark recounting how Jesus appeared in what he describes as another form to two disciples walking in the country. Mary Magdalene initially thinks the risen Christ is the gardener, while in the Emmaus account the two disciples only recognize the Risen Jesus at the breaking of the bread.
This lack of clarity and consistency concerning the nature and form of the resurrected body can thus be a contributing factor in the struggle to believe in the resurrection and eternal life. However, seeking greater clarity and precision as a condition for believing is fraught with risks and plain frustration—much like our trying to understand eternity while still enmeshed in time. And so perhaps Saint Paul’s admonition is worth recalling when he labels those Corinthians “foolish” who ask how are the dead raised and with what kind of body will they come back? I presume that their foolishness is not so much in being curious about this issue, but rather foolish in thinking they might actually understand what this great mystery involves.
Therefore, instead of expending fruitless efforts at trying to understand precisely what our resurrected bodies will be like, we are invited to exercise faith and trust in God’s promises. For, pointless speculation about things we cannot possibly grasp can potentially undermine our faith and thereby quench our hope. Instead, let us imitate the noble martyrs who remained faithful even as their bodies were tortured, disfigured, and destroyed. They may not have grasped the exact nature of their resurrected bodies, but were unshakeable in their belief that they would receive their bodies back in an incorruptible and glorified form—bodies so transformed that they would finally be able to gaze on the face of God and not die.
And, if we imitate these great witnesses in their unwavering faith, we too are promised that our lowly bodies presently doomed to death and decay will rise in glory and in the fullness of Eternal Life. Then, as we behold our glorious transformation we will be joyously amazed! But then, our amazement will no longer be admonished but redound to the glory and honor of our crucified, risen, glorified, and ascended Lord whose amazing love and mercy made it all possible.