The Resurrection & Ascension Powerpoint 10B

1. The Resurrection & AscensionPowerpoint 10B

2. “Noli me tangere”Francesco Albani The Resurrection (John 20:11-18)

3. Shroud of Turin Debate over its origin; ambiguous carbon results; powerful witness in any case (as original relic or as artistic rendering).

4. Notes on the Resurrection • The resurrection is central to Christian faith - “Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” (1 Cor. 15: 12-14) • There are no eyewitness accounts of the event itself. - passages that prophesy it and accounts of appearances (Luke 24; John 20, e.g.), but one witnessed the resurrection itself • Resurrection remains a point of faith and a “mystery” - Some theologians stress the “empty tomb” as faith in the unseen; some discount importance of resurrection and stress only the cross - these approaches seem insufficient in light of 1 Cor. above.

5. Resurrection is not… According to Christian teaching, resurrection is different from (1) resuscitation (2) reanimation (3) reincarnation. Resurrection is not… • Resuscitation - restoration of person from unconsciousness or apparent death to the same earthly life/body. (in OT: 1 Kings 17, 2 Kings 4, 2 Kings 13 – Elijah, Elisha, man touches Elisha’s bones) • Reanimation - rejoining of an earthly body with the same soul (or a new soul?) after a temporary separation. (same as above?) • Reincarnation - the rebirth or migration of a soul into a new & different but still physical & mortal body (common idea in some Eastern religions).

6. Mount of Olives - graves

7. Resurrection is… How can we try to express an understanding of resurrection? Resurrection is… • About the physical body (for Christ and for us) • More than “spiritual” or return to mortality, or “life as we have known it” • A transition from mortal life, through physical death, to a new, different, spiritual form of bodily life.

8. Points on the Ascension: ACTS 1:6-11(see also Luke 24:50-52) • What does Jesus direct the disciples to do during His “forty days” of appearances? He directs them to wait in Jerusalem for the “promise of the Father” – baptism in the Holy Spirit • How do we know when to celebrate the Ascension? Jesus was with them for 40 days from Easter, we are told, so Ascension is celebrated 40 days after Easter). • What does Jesus say will happen after his departure? Jesus speaks of a baptism with the Holy Spirit that will happen, and the “promise of the Father”

9. The Ascension List some “ascensions” in religious history. • Jesus: • Described in Luke 24 and Acts 1, as precursor to the sending of the Holy Spirit. (see Mk 16:19: “taken up into heaven”) • Traditionally thought to have occurred on the Mount of Olives, just east of Jerusalem. • Other ascensions: • Enoch (Genesis 5:24): the seventh Patriarch does not die, but is "taken" by God; • Elijah (2 Kings 2:1-14) the story of the "assumption" of the prophet Elijah, taken to heaven on a fiery chariot; • Mohammed: for Muslims, he ascended from Jerusalem (returned and dies naturally).

10. Mount of Olives / Dome of the Rock

11. What the Ascension is not… How can we understand the Ascension? Some thoughts. Not as… • Jesus’ body floating in space: “heaven” is not “outer space” (too physical) • Jesus’ spirit leaving His body (too spiritual) • Jesus living up above the clouds (too literal) • Not a “myth”: based in “fact” (too figurative)

12. What the Ascension is … How can we understand the Ascension? Perhaps as… (it is a “mystery”) • The necessary consequence of resurrection. • The heavenly transformation of his existence • A life beyond the mortal and sinful limits we experience. • Makes possible a deeper faith and the work of the Holy Spirit within us. (like growing up?)

13. The Resurrection & Ascension:Powerpoint 10B