From "The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language" by Eugene Peterson
1 Corinthians 15:35-44
(35)Some skeptic is sure to ask, "Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this 'resurrection body' look like?" (36) If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. (37) We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a "dead" seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. (38) You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different. (39) You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies--humans, animals, birds, fish--each unprecedented in its form. (40) You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies-- (41) sun, moon, stars--all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we're only looking at pre-resurrection "seeds"--who can imagine what the resurrection "plants" will be like! (42) This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body--but only if you keep in mind that when we're raised, we're raised for good, alive forever! (43) The corpse that's planted is no beauty, but when it's raised, it's glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. (44) The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural--same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality!
In preparation for All Saints Day/All Souls Day celebration I ran across the above text. I've read it before but in a different translation. It's interesting, isn't it? What will our bodies be like when we get to heaven? Nancy Eisland in her book "The Disabled God" talks a great deal about being disabled and a Christian. I highly recommend her book for those who have a disability or for those who just want to know more about living with disability. One of the big things we (people with disabilities) face is that people always want to pray for and assure us that miracles do happen and we can be "fixed/cured" in the blink of an eye. While I'm sure God can do that, it is not something for which I pray. Don't get me wrong, I get tired of the pain and struggle. I just happen to think that I am who I am because of what I have been through and what I am going through now. I'm not trying to be a hero and I am not a sadist. I just think I'm doing pretty well and I like who I am.
When Jesus was resurrected, he still had the holes in his hands and feet and the wound in his side. (Just ask Thomas!) Will we be resurrected into the bodies we have at our death? If we continue down this rabbit trail we'll find ourselves asking questions about organ donation and cremation. Instead, let's look back at the scripture. The NRSV translates vv. 37 and 38 as "And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body." Let's think about this for a moment. A seed looks nothing like the plant it will become. Eugene Peterson uses the example of a tomato seed and tomato plant in his paraphrase of the Bible. So what does that say about our new bodies? It says that they are going to be better than they are now. It says that they will not resemble the bodies we have now. It says that we have no idea what it's going to be like. That's okay, I think. It's okay because heaven will be perfectly suited to us. No more tears, no more pain, no more suffering. I look forward to that day, that moment when the mystery is revealed. For now, I'm busy with God's work in this world and I am content with that and with my body as it is now.
Blessings upon you and yours!
It is very eye opening for not only people with disabilities, but those that are temporarily abled bodied, for once they understand the broken bread is to remind us all that we are part of the Church, The Body of Christ, and his perfect body was still scarred and disabled. It is also why some people pray so hard for cures, because they don't want to deal with their shortcomings and perceived disabilities.
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