 | Rev. Patrick Notley is the Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church located at 525 N. Broadway in downtown Wichita. Reverend Notley received an MA in Divinity at San Francisco Theological Seminary and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA. Born in Denver, CO and raised on the East Coast, Reverend Notley along with his wife, relocated to Wichita in 1997 to join the church, where he is responsible for Evangelism Educational programs. You can reach Reverend Notley at (316) 263-0248 ext. 22 or by email at pwnotley@firstpresbywichita.org |
***IMAGE1:LEFT***QUESTION: What body and mind will one have in eternity… the one he or she had at death or the one he or she had when both were the best they ever were?
ANSWER: I have now sat with this question for a great while before attempting to respond. During this time I have noticed that of all the questions posed to me, so far, this one has been, by far, the most difficult to answer. So I hope you will allow me a bit of a digression, as I talk first about that difficulty and then attempt to respond directly to the question posed.
What is so difficult about the question? It is rather concise in its inquiry and on the surface, at least, not a particularly challenging question to wrestle with theologically. So what is the problem? I don't have any particular issues about body image - other than the fact that I could have less body to image at this stage in my life; and I seem to still have a mind that allows me to think, not only in theological terms, but also in terms of every day living and interaction with my fellow human beings - although this could and is disputed by others on a somewhat regular basis. So again I have had to ask myself, what is the problem? The response that has finally come to me after many days of searching and reflection is, that the question posed is not of any great importance to me. This is in no way to be seen as an attempt to demean the one who has asked this question, for questions posed, especially in the arena of faith, are quite important to the one who posed the question if not to others who will hear and reflect on their own views to the question. It is only to say that, for me, the issue of what body or mind I will have after I leave this earthly realm and enter into the full presence of my creator, redeemer and sustainer is not particularly significant or engaging.
I come to this conclusion, in part from my understanding of a conversation Jesus had with his disciples about, what is commonly referred to as, "The Second Coming." As recorded in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus says near the end of this conversation, "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come." (Mark 13:32-33, NRSV) Now, while not a direct response to the question posed, this passage does bear, for me at least, on why I find the question not a significant issue. The underlying message of this passage is that there are certain events that humanity, as the children of God, are simply not privy to. Another way to put it is that God acts as God will act and our "job" is to be ready to respond to God's actions. Or, still another way, The Mark passage counsels each human to a live a life that is worthy of meeting God at the very next moment. So to dwell on the question of what body or mind I will have is to not focus on living for God it is to focus on living for self.
However, a more pointed response to this question can be found in the Apostle Paul's first letter to the Christian community in the city of Corinth. Paul is writing to a community that is predominantly Greek in outlook and is trying to explain ideas that are predominantly Jewish in nature, that is, bodily resurrection. So in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul has an extended discussion starting with the Christian's faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ and then moves to the human person's own death and eventual resurrection. Starting with the 35th verse of that chapter, Paul writes, "But some will ask, 'How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?' Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And, as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed…But, God gives it a body as God has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own kind of body." (I Corinthians 15:35-37a, 38; NRSV) Once again what becomes evident is that God acts. God will give to each person as God sees fit a body that is appropriate to that person.
However, I would be remiss if I did not also comment on the whole issue of the bodily resurrection of persons. It is part of the ancient Christian creed we know as the Apostles Creed and this idea is part of the basic theological understanding of, I would dare say, most Christian believers; however, to push the issue too far is to, again, step into the realm of God's action. In other words, I do not see that it is a very productive issue to dwell upon to any great extent, because we, as human beings, simply have no idea what this will all look like in the end. Our sole purpose in this life is to live a life that is worthy of God's claim on our lives as the children of God. So to dwell upon the issues of whether there is a bodily resurrection, how it will happen, what we will look like, and so on is to attempt to get inside the mind of God, which, at best is simply a frustrating endeavor and at worst is to attempt to be God ourselves. God calls each of us to live well and to live each moment as if we will be fully in God's presence in the next and God calls us to let God deal with the rest.