Reflection on January 27, 1982

https://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/jp2tb69.htm

We have been looking at Christ words about the Resurrection. We now turn to St. Paul’s words on the same matter. Christ spoke of the Resurrection as a reality, something to believe in when there was a debate about whether it was to happen or not. St. Paul speaks of it as fundamental to belief, “If you do not believe in the Resurrection, your faith is in vain”. The footnotes talk about the groups that Paul was preaching against, those that did not believe in the Resurrection. I thought about what people would think today. I would say that the idea of Resurrection is not one that is strongly believed in. The world culture pushes for the earthly life, this life on earth is all that matters, and there is nothing for us after we die. This body is all that we have. When you look at plastic surgery, extreme diets or athletics, they point to a belief that earthly life is the end to shot for. I don’t believe that means we need to be a slob if you believe in the Resurrection. Health is something that is vitally important to maintain. You are needed to get from point a to b, to raise children and have healthy children. But when the way your body looks becomes more than just maintaining your health and becomes the focus of your life, your focus has shifted from other worldly to earthly, your gaze has lowered and you have forgotten there is more to come after this earthly life.

When I was reading about Paul’s teaching on eschatological man and how it joins with Christ I had 2 thoughts. The first is that he had no Gospels. He had heard the stories of Christ and been taught be some of the Apostles, but he didn’t have them in front of him to read over. And that led me to the second thought in that the revelations given to him were incredible. The Pope is speaking through these talks and faith says that this revelation is to be relied on, and it is complete union with Paul’s writings from 2000 years ago. I was thinking that St. Paul could have given the discourses on Theology of the Body and been pretty close to what SJPII would have said. St. Paul was given an insight into the knowledge of God and then spread it to the world. I wonder sometimes about St. Paul’s writing and how they seem jumbled and confusing. We say the same thing about Revelation because St. John is trying to describe the vision of Heaven in earthly words, an impossible task. I wonder if that is why St. Paul can sometimes be hard to understand. He is trying to describe heavenly revelations with earthly words.

SJPII has talked about the inner innocence we all have still from before the fall. St. Paul seems to describe a similar idea with the “goan” we inwardly have, the piece of us that longs for the Resurrection. Scripture, regardless of who is writing or speaking, once again follows a the same pattern. Innocence, fall, Fallen have a piece of innocence, Redemption, Resurrection brings you back to that innocence in a perfect way.