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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The “decisive importance” that Paul gives to Christ's Resurrection was the focus for the Catechesis given by the Holy Father Benedict XVI at the General Audience on November 5. “On its own, the cross could not explain Christian faith; on the contrary, it would be a tragedy, a sign of the absurdity of being. The Paschal mystery consists in the fact that this Crucified One 'was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures' (1 Corinthians 15:4) -- thus testifies the proto-Christian witness. Here is the central key to Pauline Christology: Everything revolves around this gravitational center point. The whole teaching of the Apostle Paul departs from and always arrives at the mystery of the One whom the Father has risen from the dead. The Resurrection is a fundamental fact...He who has been crucified, and who has thus manifested the immense love of God for man, has risen and is alive among us.”
The Holy Father then reflected on the link between the announcement of the resurrection made by Paul and that of the first pre-Pauline Christian communities, where we see “the importance of the tradition that preceded the Apostle and that he, with great respect and attention, wanted in turn to convey.” Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Corinthians, highlights the “the unity of the kerygma, of the proclamation for all believers and for all those who would announce the resurrection of Christ...The originality of his Christology is never in detriment to fidelity to tradition. The kerygma of the apostles always prevails over the personal re-elaboration of Paul... And in this way, Paul offers a model for all times of how to do theology and how to preach. The theologian and the preacher do not create new visions of the world and of life, but rather are at the service of the truth transmitted, at the service of the real fact of Christ, of the cross, of the resurrection.”
Pope Benedict XVI clarified that “Saint Paul, in announcing the Resurrection, does not concern himself with presenting an organic doctrinal exposition -- he does not want to practically write a theology manual -- but rather to take up the theme, responding to uncertainties and concrete questions that are posed him by the faithful.” A concentration of the essential is found in him: We have been "justified," that is, made just, saved, by Christ, dead and risen, for us. Without the Resurrection, “Christian life would simply be absurd.” On that Easter morning something “extraordinary and new happened, but at the same time, something very concrete, verified by very precise signs, attested by numerous witnesses. Also for Paul, as for the other authors of the New Testament, the Resurrection is united to the testimony of those who have had a direct experience of the Risen One. It is about seeing and hearing not just with the eyes and the ears, but also with an interior light that motivates recognizing what the external senses verify as an objective datum.”
The theme of the apparitions are also of great importance for Paul, in as much as they reveal two important facts: the tomb is empty and Jesus really appeared. The Pope explained: “Thus is built this chain of tradition that, by way of the testimony of the apostles and the first disciples, would reach successive generations, up to us. The first consequence, or the first way to express this testimony, is preaching the resurrection of Christ as a synthesis of the Gospel message and as the culminating point of the salvific itinerary.” In both the Letters and the Acts of the Apostles, it is evident that the essential focus for Paul is testifying to the Resurrection.
The affirmation “Christ is risen” is for Paul and for us, today, a fundamental subject. “Paul knows well and he says many times that Jesus was the Son of God always, from the moment of his incarnation. The novelty of the resurrection consists in the fact that Jesus, elevated from the humility of his earthly existence, has been constituted Son of God 'with power.' The Jesus humiliated till death on the cross can now say to the Eleven: 'All power on heaven and on earth has been given to me' (Matthew 28:18)...That's why with the resurrection begins the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ to all peoples -- the Kingdom of Christ begins; this new Kingdom that does not know another power other than that of truth and love. The Resurrection therefore definitively reveals the authentic identity and the extraordinary stature of the Crucified: An incomparable and most high dignity -- Jesus is God!...It can be said, therefore, that Jesus has risen to be the Lord of the living and the dead or, in other words, our Savior.”
All this has important implications in our life of faith, as the Pope himself pointed out: “We are called to participate from the depths of our being in the whole of the event of the death and resurrection of Christ...This translates into sharing the sufferings of Christ, as a prelude to this full configuration with him through the resurrection, which we gaze upon with hope. This is also what has happened to Paul...To live in faith in Jesus Christ, to live truth and love implies renunciations every day; it implies sufferings. Christianity is not a path of comfort; it is rather a demanding ascent, but enlightened with the light of Christ and with the great hope that is born from him.”
The Holy Father concluded the Catechesis with these words: “we can say with Paul that the true believer obtains salvation professing with his lips that Jesus is Lord and believing in his heart that God has raised him from the dead. Important above all is the heart that believes in Christ and in faith 'touches' the Risen One. But it is not enough to carry faith in the heart; we should confess it and give testimony with the lips, with our lives, thus making present the truth of the cross and the resurrection in our history.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 6/11/2008)
