Did you ever note that none of the canonical (Biblical) gospels describe Jesus' resurrection? We have stories of the empty tomb, but our only resurrection description is in the Gospel of Peter where Pilate sends a centurion and soldiers to go with the Temple elders and scribes to safeguard the tomb so Jesus' followers would not steal the body and claim he had risen from the dead. Two soldiers watching the tomb hear a loud voice; the heavens open and two radiant men walk into the sepulcher. The soldiers wake the centurion and elders, and they all see three men, two whose heads reach the heavens, and the third taller still, walk out of the tomb, followed by a cross. A voice from heaven asks: "Have you made the proclamation to those who have fallen asleep? The cross answers "Yes." (Peter 28-42) This is the harrowing or emptying of Hell.

The Western and the Eastern churches interpret Jesus' resurrection differently. Our tradition teaches that Jesus rose out of the tomb alone, requiring that a general resurrection wait until the end (whatever the end is.) The Orthodox tradition depicts Jesus pulling with him Adam and Eve, and all the righteous who already died. The general resurrection has already happened.
What does this mean for us?

Lenten Devotions
April 3, 2021