Sunday, Mar 13, 2005: “Resurrection: Interpreting the Easter Gospel; Chapter 5”

St. Mark’s Adult Education Meeting Summary
Resurrection: Interpreting the Easter Gospel, by Rowan Williams
Chapter 5: “The Risen Body”
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Discussion Led By Mike Kreutzer
Sunday, March 13, 2005

 

GROUP DISCUSSION:  Once again, the discussion centered around how difficult the book has been to fully comprehend and interpret.  First there was the events of Jesus’ reappearance.  Then there was the comments on what is meant by faith.  It was noted that someone once said that Thomas’ lack of faith made it possible for the rest of us to have our doubts!  Is there a two-level meaning that implies baptism is dying with Christ?  If there had been video cameras in the room with the risen Lord, what would they have shown?  The body of Christ can be thought of as distinct from Christ himself.  The definition, or lack of a firm definition of grace was also discussed.  Was the death and resurrection of Jesus predetermined?  Matthew wrote much about the foretelling of Jesus’ coming, even if the early prophesies noted did not necessarily agree with the Old Testament.  The church never becomes completely identified with Jesus.  In many aspects, he is still outside the church.  When the disciples were out in the boat, they needed to see Jesus, or at least the apparition of Jesus.  There is also inconsistencies in the Bible as to when Jesus returned to his Father in heaven.  In John, he returns on the same day, but in Luke it was 50 days after the crucifixion.  In Matthew there are five distinct stories about Jesus’ life that parallel the five books of the Torah.  John’s Gospel is a very high Christology where Jesus is much more spiritual and much less human, as opposed to Mark’s Gospel.  Some believed that the Gospel of John which came two centuries after Jesus’ death, was written to counteract some of the other so called gospels that were also being written at that time, such as Thomas.  There were no accounts of Jesus’ resurrection until Peter’s writings.  There have also been many other stories written and told about what may have happed to Jesus’ body from the time he died until the time he was discovered missing.