Daily Reflection - September 15, 2024
Adapted from "Our Daily Bread"
1 Corinthians 15:12-22 (New Catholic Bible)
12 The Resurrection and Faith. Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. 15 We are even false witnesses to God, for we testified that he raised Christ when he did not raise him up, assuming it is true that the dead are not raised.
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16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is without any foundation, and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are utterly lost. 19 If it is for just this life that we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable of all men.
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20 Christ, the Firstfruits. But Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came into the world through a man, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a man.
22 Just as in Adam all die, so all will be brought to life in Christ,
Reflection
People rejected the idea of a future bodily resurrection even in the time of the apostle Paul. Paul stated, "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised," which was a sharp criticism of their position. Furthermore, your faith and our message are meaningless if Christ has not risen from the dead. All individuals who believe that Jesus was raised from the dead "will be made alive" at some point, just as the grave was unable to contain His body.
How does the prospect of a bodily resurrection comfort you? In what way is it a statement of faith?
Pray
God, I beg Your assistance so that I can completely obey You, for Your will is far greater than my own. Amen