Resurrection Fibonacci (I)
Christ?
Yes!
Risen?
Disbelieve!
Disbelieve for joy!
Incredulity learns to laugh,
unembarrassed by the scandal of resurrection.
"And on the third day." His promise no exaggeration. Empty graveclothes, empty tomb.
Galilee. Peter. Upper Room. Thomas. Garden. Magdalene. Emmaus. Cleopas. Places transfigured, people transformed. Risen indeed!
Luke 24.41 should always be read in the RSV or AV. "The disciples disbelieved for joy". When that which is singular, unprecedented, inconceivable, incredible, unimaginable, occurs, the normal response is disbelief. When that occurence forces the realisation, even the minute possibility, that our worst fears and worst nightmare can no longer happen, then that disbelief is energised by joy. To disbelieve for joy isn't scepticism, it is wonder giving birth to possibility, because the impossible has just been contradicted.
To disbelieve for joy is to struggle with mixed emotions, at one and the same time to dare to hope and hope to God we are not wrong, deluded, mistaken, duped by our own desire that it be so. Joseph Fitzmyer is my first resort on Lukan exegesis; his translation of the key phrase in 24.41 is 'because they were still incredulous, overjoyed yet wondering…". Resurrection does that . It doesn't take much imagination, (though maybe even the little it takes is too much for some of us) to think our way into the minds and hearts of disoriented disciples, traumatised, grieving and scared. Yes incredulous. And yes overjoyed, overcome with that hilarity that is somewhere between joy and hysteria. Later they would begin to understand, incredulity would give way to faith, joy would become something akin to assurance, worship would become urgent in a world now changed forever, and their witness to that world an affirmation of Christ crucified and risen. And the news so good that countless others who encounter Jesus will disbelieve for joy, that God is like this Jesus, reaching out in love and mercy, meeting them where they, and we, are.
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
The statue is by Frederick Hart, and is called "Christ Rising". The image expresses the anguish of Christ's sacrifice and the power of resurrection. One of Hart's descriptions of his own art shows why this statue is such a powerful statement: "Art must touch our lives, our fears and cares – evoke our dreams and give hope to the darkness."
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
……………………………….
And because I can't print it the way George Herbert intended, here is a scanned image of Easter Wings, a poem I think is hauntingly beautiful – the words and the form. I've included the words below for easier reading – but the typesetting on the scan was Herbert's original intention.
Easter-wings
Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,
Though foolishly he lost the same,
Decaying more and more,
Till he became
Most poore:
With thee
O let me rise
As larks, harmoniously,
And sing this day thy victories:
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.
My tender age in sorrow did beginne:
And still with sicknesses and shame
Thou didst so punish sinne,
That I became
Most thinne.
With thee
Let me combine
And feel this day thy victorie:
For, if I imp my wing on thine,
Affliction shall advance the flight in me.
Leave a Reply to Mike Coumans Cancel reply