#411 The Resurrection of the Body According to Christ's Words; "He Is the God of the Living!"

And St Athanasius , an early church father and the doctor of the church , said the son of God became man so that we might become God . You know , I beg a while to guess at this , but I bet you , most of us , are a bit disconnected from this divine life that these saints are pointing us to .

Yet St John Paul II said there's an echo of this story , of this divine life that we're created for , inscribed in each human heart , in your human heart , and if you put on a proper lens , if I put on a proper lens , we can get in touch with this echo within us in such a way that we have that aha moment .

See , that's the genus of St John Paul II in the body . It connects our lived experience of life to the gospel in such a way that our life takes on a whole new meaning and helps us answer those big questions that our whole culture is so confused about today . Who am I ? What's my purpose ? Why were we created , male and female ?

How do I find happiness here on earth ? How do I find love that satisfies forever ? Hey , glad you're with me . I'll be right back for today's episode and I am with Linda Piper . Good to see you , linda . We're on audience number 66 , presented on December 2 , 1981 . And John Paul II starts this out when he just comes right in and he goes .

When they rise from the dead , they take neither wife nor husband . And so Christ speaks these words which have a key meaning , john Paul said for the theology of the body so this is God , the study of God in our bodies .

And having affirmed in this dialogue with the Sadducees that the resurrection conforms to the power of the living God and I'll just step back with one phrase from the previous session you do not know the scriptures , jesus said to the Sadducees , nor the power of God .

And remember , we have to remember he's speaking to the Sadducees that only believe in the first five books of the Old Testament , the Pentateuch . And so Jesus goes back to Moses , which is in that , in the burning bush , and he quotes from there . And so this is the God , not of the dead but of the living . Linda , good to see you .

And so the title of audience 66 is the new meaning of the body . Whoa , the new meaning of the body . We hope that at this point we've understood , at least in a basic way , the meaning of our bodies , the spousal meaning of the body that we've talked about so far , that ability to love as God loves , and also our bodies being a temple of the Holy Spirit .

So if we have that in mind , as we're talking about historical man , we need to . I think we need to kind of keep that tucked away , because now we're venturing into a new meaning of the body in the resurrection .

When sin entered , before Jesus came in , our default position body and soul . Art default position was sin and death . That's who we were and you know these . You know St Paul would talk about the children of the wrath . It may .

This is , as , in essence , what happens when you do not receive this grace , when your body and soul is not infused with grace as it was in the beginning . We see this today , linda , don't we ? You know we're . And just to remind everybody again , we're not gonna get everywhere today because the next six sessions after this even continue this Story .

So we're just peeling it back . But you could see already what happens when grace is not in people's lives . You , you , you know . In Chicago , here again , you have these mobs Just rampaging to Through stores and stealing everything we have . I just see these .

Even an elderly woman that was just Blindsided by a punch of a young man , strong young man takes an 87 year old woman or whatever she was at 87 88 and just knocks her off a train and Just plummet and just pummeled her and then steals something from her but even afterwards kicks her again when she's down . You know , you just go .

What type of people do this kind of thing ? You know , and we're seeing this over and over again .

Just a little side note we're so it we're so Twisted and corrupted in the belly of the beast here in Illinois that we we just instituted Monday , I believe was the first day , was his cashless bail , and , and , and , and , so people aren't even gonna be held anymore in jails or anything .

So so we've unleashed this , these children of the wrath kind of you know , with no grace , no power of the gospel in their lives , obviously , to to really overcome this , the sin which leads to death .

seeing my body doing this to her body , a person . We aren't be thinking that it matters in the deepest sense , that you know it , because it wouldn't be possible to do if one had at their core that understanding that what we do with our bodies matter and it's significant .

I think too , in our audience , as we're talking about meanings of the bodies that we understand At a very basic level , that all throughout what we do with our bodies matters for the resurrection as well .

And Meditating on that , he , he dismissed that and so , as as Catholic teaching , moved to Aristotle and Aristotle Would say no , this is a body , soul , unity , that that we have form and matter .

So matter again is our physicality , the clay that God takes and he blows into that Roa in Genesis 2 , verse 7 , and he blows His spirit , his divine life , this soul , this soul infuse with God's life and love Into us . This gives us our reason and our free will and you can see that Again in in these , in this violence .

This is important because this is an expression of their inner hearts , their soul , this is an expression of who they are . When I , when a man can do that to an elderly woman , this is an expression . Your body is expressing the inner meaning , your inner heart .

There's no way that , until that person comes into conformity with God right that that he can be accepted . How does a ? How does that so that body and soul unite with Perfection of God himself , who is love ? This is the opposite of that right .

So as we're walking into this story , linda , today , we have to start to step back and open ourselves up to the awe and wonder of really where God , the way he designed us .

We could see what happens in the fall , we could see what happens with when sin comes into our lives and we can see again , on the other hand , what happens when , when we allow Christ that , that the paschal mystery , when we allow that grace that he actually was in the on the cross to , to pour this out to us , to take upon sin , to overcome death , and

then he pours this out to us . You could see , when you don't accept this , what happens , don't you ?

And so the Pope in this audience gives us some Hope and something really think about , as he tells us in the first paragraph that in the future resurrection , human beings , having regained their bodies in the fullness of the perfection Proper to the image and likeness of God , having regained them in their masculinity and Femininity and his point here , as he's talking

with the Sadducees , will take neither wife nor husband . So the first couple of points , that fullness of perfection , your example is probably , you know , a good one for showing how far to the other end of the spectrum it's possible for us to go . And yet In the resurrection we will see , as as from the beginning , what that fullness of perfection is .

Because the proper image of God , as you said . You know , how can we even be in God's presence if our image is so distorted , as it would be in this case ?

That's a sign like if I go to Denver to see our latest grandchild , which I plan to do soon , and there's a sign that says Denver , 200 miles away , but I don't stop at the sign and say , okay , well , I made it , and that's marriage . And it's a little difficult for us to get our hands around , so our minds around .

So we have to just meditate on that for a while . And I would say all our listeners as we're moving through the next few weeks here , you just have to meditate on that , that your marriage and hopefully it's a beautiful one .

But even that call of that beauty of union and communion and the children that come out of that and the life that comes out of that , is just a tiny sign , a tiny taste of what God has in store for us . This is a ready .

A good marriage and a family should be and usually is , because that's what makes a good marriage so often is this love between them , and this love is united directly . It's the branch united to the vine of God's love himself . So this is an expression of Trinitarian love in the world . But but it's just the sign , and the sign will go away .

And this is what Jesus is getting to here . He says in here , and when they argue back , jesus demonstrates that mere literal knowledge of the scriptures is not enough . He says if we know the scriptures inside out but not have not encountered the mystery of the living God within them , we've missed the whole point .

In other words , jesus is talking to Sadducees that are the so-called experts on scripture .

They can read scripture literally , but until they allow scripture into their heart and that's what we're talking about here for all of us to step back , allow these scriptures into our heart and allow it to really permeate us with God himself , the living God himself , who is the only one that's going to kind of take us through these next few weeks .

Allow him into your heart and show you this intimacy begins today . We don't have to wait till tomorrow . God wants this to begin to affect our lives and to change our and to transform us today , because this dash that we're living out , linda , is really , is really our pre-course cursor to where we're going in eternity .

Do we mirror it hell , or do we mirror it heaven ? And and so we have to be filled with light , with the light of Christ , be temples of the Holy Spirit and then express this to our neighbor in love .

And so the sacraments , while they help us , really what they all do is they exist to prepare us for experiencing the full mystery of God in heaven , right as bride of Christ . And so we've learned from theology , the body and from the church that that marriage is an icon of Christ's love for his church .

But think about it even when we're in the eschaton , in heaven , we're in full union with God . Even the concept of church would be different , right , jack ?

Theologically it's different , so we shouldn't be that upset to think that , well , marriage will be different as well , because we're going to be , he tells us , have new meanings of our body , while on earth one of the meanings of the body was marriage and procreation as a part of the gift that he gave us of life and to be co creators with him of life .

That's not necessary in heaven anymore . And when I meditate on that and I think , okay , what St Paul has said , I has not seen an ear , has not heard what God has ready for us .

We need to understand that most of us are pretty limited in grasping what exactly heaven will be and what our bodies will be , but we do have those hints , like Christ resurrected body , I believe , gives us , you know , the biggest hint that will be ourselves , will be masculine or feminine , but we will be different as well , it'll be glorious .

And essential to all of the synoptics is the observation that in the future resurrection , human beings have regained their bodies in the fullness of the perfection proper to the image and likeness of God , having regained them , as you just said , in our masculinity and femininity . Yet we will take neither wife nor husband .

And in Luke 20 , verses 34 , 35 , expresses the same idea in with the following words the sons of this age take wife and take husband , but those who are considered worthy of the other world and the resurrection from the dead take neither wife nor husband .

So again it's clear that marriage from Genesis , chapter 2 , a union from the beginning , again this primordial sacrament that we're talking about belongs exclusively to this world . Marriage and procreation do not constitute man's eschatological future . That other world about which Luke speaks means the definitive fulfillment of the human race .

So it's closing the circle , John Paul would say it's closing this circle and it's moving us to the fullness of what our lives are to be , which is this union and communion with the Trinity itself . So in the beginning we're created with our bodies to be an image and likeness of God , to express trinitarian love . Now we actually enter into physically Somehow .

We don't know exactly how this is going to be , but Christ again , like you said , rose from the dead . He takes on a body . We know that it's changed , this glorified body , because they didn't even recognize it . They knew it was Christ , but they didn't really recognize them at first . And so something has changed , Something has been transformed in us .

But yet this incredible union and we become like angels not angels in that we don't have the bodies , but angels who neither marry or give it in marriage . And in this intimate union with God , we don't lose ourselves , we find ourselves . Christopher West would say we don't hit the delete button with marriage , we hit the complete button .

It's something that's always stuck with me , that he said years ago in a class that we had yes , yes , A couple of other important points along the same lines .

It's going to be new , Christ said I make all things new , and so we need to reflect on it . In that we'll have that perfect integrity and that perfect union of body and soul . And that's what we lost .

That's the whole fight that we're in with concupiscence , where there's the disintegration of our body and soul and we want to do , as Paul says , what we do , what we do not want to do , and we don't do what we want to do . That disintegration and how beautiful that that will be over , that will be perfectly integrated .

And I don't know our time here , but that kind of brings us to the point of spiritualization .

One point that always stuck out with me is again , we're going to get into this with marriage down the road , but wives being submissive to their husbands , and if we think of being submissive as receiving from the other , in this case , wives be submissive to your husbands in receiving his love for you as the head of the house .

This is saying again that we had flipped it over in many ways with original sin and in the eschaton in heaven , it will be that spiritualization will be that dimension where now the body is submissive to the soul .

The spirit of God , the Rua breathed into us was to be the form of the body and the direction for all the things that we do , as our body then would reflect that spirit in the physical world .

So in Luke's expression just quoted above , we are certainly dealing with human , that is psychosomatic . So that means body and soul of our nature . The comparison with heavenly beings used in this context is nothing new in the Bible . Already , in Psalm 8 , john Paul goes on .

He says when it exalts man as the work of the Creator , it says you have made him little less than the angels .

So one must suppose that in the resurrection this likeness will be greater , not through a disincarnation of man , but by another kind , one would say another degree of spiritualization of a somatic nature , of his bodily nature , that is , by another system of powers within man .

We are to unleash this just briefly and I just told Linda we wouldn't do this because John Paul didn't do this but in one Corinthians he says it's like a seed that falls . So you look outside and say a beautiful forest , and you see these trees . Well , the trees came from , say , an acorn seed that falls into the ground , it must die .

When you're looking at this acorn , it's like looking at us now , today , and say , okay , well , we die and and our body raises . What will it be like ? What's going to be different and Just like that acorn comes into this beautiful tree and , in some , some way , this is really what our bodies are going to be .

We don't know , like you quoted from st Paul , we really don't know . You know the power and the beauty of this until we get there , but we , we sense it . That don't we ? we sense that that there's something more , and that's why I think every day , as as as I get older . Here I realized that as I get older , say , my wife gets older and and ?

And yet , how can love grow ? Well , it can only grow because we're changing , we're being transformed . It's not that our bodies are getting better looking or in better shape or whatever , but there's something else that's taking over , right that the soul is starting to take over more and more .

As the body becomes , say , weaker or older , you're allowing your prayer life to , to grow within us , and God is starting to almost like , get you ready to say , hey , everything's gonna fade , but me , I'm the only one that's gonna be standing here at the end and and don't . Don't think I'm not gonna take care of you .

I'm going to give you a resurrected body In the future , but in the meantime , come close to me , be intimate with me , bring this deeper and deeper and deeper into yourself . And I think the last thing I'll say on this is is the power of , of our Latin right again , that , that being that the priests and Religious don't marry .

They don't marry , and I think it's a very important thing to keep in mind , because you think , well , how can this be ?

Well , we're already doing it here , the , these , these religious , especially the ones that are actually fired up for for God , and we look back at our mystics and our saints and the beauty of st John the cross and and Catherine of Sienna , and and many that are alive today .

I'm sure that our being , our finding fulfillment already not only finding fulfillment in like , oh my gosh , I'm trying to get through each day . No , these were people that were on fire , that allowed God to fill them so much they skip this earthly marriage .

This is a very important image for us to remember and that they're already Entering into this a marriage of what we would call marriage of the lamb right . I mean this is the book of revelations . Revelation already states this at the end this is the marriage of the lamb with us , huh .

Yes , in a long-term marriage , you know , physically we begin to fade our strength . Weekends , our hair turns gray , all these things begin to happen . And yet , if we've been living our marriage in that self-giving form , we've also become Deeper in the knowledge of our spouse and who that person really is .

So , in a way , it's very analogous to what you described , as we're Trying to become deeper in our knowledge , in our union with God . That will be the ultimate fulfillment . So , once again , marriage provides the pattern , if you will , of how we do it here on earth .

If we're really living our marriage is out With the goal of trying to get our spouse to heaven . We can only do that if we're going deeper into who that person really is and what do they need from me as their spouse , and then living that out .

So the seed analogy and the tree is Beautiful in that I I think we could take a new marriage as that little seed and a 50 year me courage like mine , as you know that the growth of this tree , which isn't in it's final form , yeah , we know that , and yet but it .

So you know , we start out at the marriage and We've got a lot of young people out here around us on the farm and we have actually four newly , fairly newlyweds who are pregnant and some of the babies are going to come very much at the same time and it's like this explosion of the family tree you know happening right before your very eyes .

And so Back to to the marriage . You know , as that tree develops and limbs grow , we learn a lot about our spouse and grow deeper to our spouse through our children and through the whole process of raising and educating children .

And now I'm in the phase you are to where we're still learning with the grandchildren , and it's just a beautiful analogy of what God has given us here on earth as a preparation for heaven yes , yes , yes .

What you do in and with your body matters , that your actions in this temporal world Express your inner life , the form which is the soul it it's . Is it any wonder that today's a man and woman is anxious ? They're nervous . There it's almost a normal state . Today , you know , you meet people that are anxious and nervous about all kinds of things .

Not only are we , are we , you know , searching for and we seek body , soul integrity as an earthly reality . But we're like cut flowers and the reason we don't do that is because we're separated from grace . We have to open ourselves up to that pastical mystery . You know , on the , the altar I was at mass this morning and on that altar is Christ Sacrificing .

We walk in that door and here's Christ making present as we enter into and make present , that one time historical sacrifice , and we receive this and and .

So this is the power , this is the awe and wonder , when we start to think about God infusing us Otherwise again , linda , we become these children of the wrath and if we see the surroundings , we feel that this world's breaking down and in many ways it is because so many have rejected this , all the way from the world economic forum , so so many in the Biden

administration , and , and and and , all the way down even into our church . You know , we , we know that that the Synod of Synodality is bringing some potentially some , some really bad things Into the church , and we'll let God be the ultimate judge .

But we need to talk about those things because when you just said about their , our children , so I have seven grandchildren , you're , you know , you're , you're . How many do you have now ?

You know , there was just a remnant of the Israelites in the beginning , and God will be there and and so people can have confidence to live this out . And so don't get down . We can't get down , we can't .

You know , we look around at a very dark World in many spots , but at the end of the day , you know , we , we have not only hope , but we look around us and we see that love and we see these young couples that have the guts and the courage to say , you know what ? No , we're gonna bring life into this world , right .

And so if , if we can put it in that light and see that those who are struggling and Rebellion in their sexual nature At the deeper level , it's , it's that spiritual rebellion against God , and so we need to pray for them , we need to look around and see where can I help people understand that it's ?

You know , the root of it really is this rebellion against God which we're all Prone to in our concupiscence .

You know we're all drawn to doing it my way rather than God's way , and so , if I can keep that uppermost in my mind and , as you say , look at those who are living not in rebellion against God , but rather Attached to that vine , and see the beauty , we can , we can see the hope and we can see what , what it is we need to do if we need to make

changes in our own life or even help counsel others who are struggling .

You know , gk Chesterton and I'm just going off the top of my head here , so I'm just paraphrasing but he would say , comparing poets to mathematicians , and he'd say , you know , a mathematician wants to get his head into the heavens and take All of heaven and squeeze it into his head and his head explodes , he said a poet and , on the other hand , will go up

and all he wants to do is get his head into the clouds and look around and Start to start to just feel and understand and experience all that's up into in the clouds . Right , so that's what we're doing now .

We just entered , we just put our head into the clouds , we're looking around a little bit and allow these , these beauties of these mysteries , to Christ and and of course , to and John Paul did such a was such a gift to us , wasn't he ? As he's bringing this down to us , and we have to . We're the remnants , aren't we , linda ?

We have to kind of just get our heads into the cloud . This is all . And wonder , you know , when we look around nature and we see so many things . You know , there's many , many things . The more you dig into it , the more on wonder there is to the world , to the cosmos , and , and we're just these little tiny Specks here on the surface of this planet .

But God loves us and causes into eternal life that that alone is enough to chew on for a while , linda .

So it's like a reminder to me begin my day with that and end my day with that , and you know , love everyone else in between . Yeah , it's a lot to meditate on , jack , you say it so well . Thank you .