Pitied
Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-34.
"I'm so sorry."
Words spoken often at a time of loss, or a time when something terrible has happened—words of pity. Pity is brought on as a reaction to the suffering of others, or during times of deep regret or disappointment. Sometimes, pity is wrapped up in compassion and we're moved to do something for the one in need. Other times, we just feel bad for them and don't react in any other way. We just pity them, or feel bad for them.
Either way, pity is a word that has negative overtones, and understandably so. The word used in the Bible can also mean "miserable" or "wretched." Those two words evoke even more dramatic pictures in my mind. "Wretched" brings up images of tortured faces (maybe like the one above) and "miserable" summons visions of having nothing going for you or your life. Pitiful, miserable, wretched—none of those words are what anyone sets out to achieve in their life.
Paul says, however, that is exactly the kind of life we have if what we proclaim is not true. In this passage, he's trying to straighten out the Corinthians' theology and belief in the resurrection. Some in the early church community had preached that Jesus didn't really rise from the dead; he only seemed to rise. The early disciples, they said, had a "shared illusion" and because they "felt" his presence near them, they had only said he had risen to make themselves feel better. Paul says that's ridiculous. In fact, he says, if Christ has not been raised then any sort of hope we get from the promise of his resurrection is useless. "Shared illusions" should not and do not give us any sort of hope. The only real hope, the only real promise that matters, is if Christ has been raised from the dead. Because only if he has been raised do we have any hope of being raised from death ourselves.
If Christ has not been raised, we should be pitied. If Christ has not been raised, we are miserable people. If Christ has not been raised, we are wretched. If Christ has not been raised, then our hope is worthless.
But...Paul says, triumphantly...Christ HAS been raised from the dead, and his resurrection is the promise of our own. There is no need for pity, because our hope is a hope that outlasts this life. Our hope outlasts anything that can happen to us here. Our hope sustains us in difficult times and will carry us through even death itself. Christ has been raised...and he has destroyed even the last enemy. Don't pity me—I believe in the resurrection! Thanks be to God!
"I'm so sorry."
Words spoken often at a time of loss, or a time when something terrible has happened—words of pity. Pity is brought on as a reaction to the suffering of others, or during times of deep regret or disappointment. Sometimes, pity is wrapped up in compassion and we're moved to do something for the one in need. Other times, we just feel bad for them and don't react in any other way. We just pity them, or feel bad for them.
Either way, pity is a word that has negative overtones, and understandably so. The word used in the Bible can also mean "miserable" or "wretched." Those two words evoke even more dramatic pictures in my mind. "Wretched" brings up images of tortured faces (maybe like the one above) and "miserable" summons visions of having nothing going for you or your life. Pitiful, miserable, wretched—none of those words are what anyone sets out to achieve in their life.
Paul says, however, that is exactly the kind of life we have if what we proclaim is not true. In this passage, he's trying to straighten out the Corinthians' theology and belief in the resurrection. Some in the early church community had preached that Jesus didn't really rise from the dead; he only seemed to rise. The early disciples, they said, had a "shared illusion" and because they "felt" his presence near them, they had only said he had risen to make themselves feel better. Paul says that's ridiculous. In fact, he says, if Christ has not been raised then any sort of hope we get from the promise of his resurrection is useless. "Shared illusions" should not and do not give us any sort of hope. The only real hope, the only real promise that matters, is if Christ has been raised from the dead. Because only if he has been raised do we have any hope of being raised from death ourselves.
If Christ has not been raised, we should be pitied. If Christ has not been raised, we are miserable people. If Christ has not been raised, we are wretched. If Christ has not been raised, then our hope is worthless.
But...Paul says, triumphantly...Christ HAS been raised from the dead, and his resurrection is the promise of our own. There is no need for pity, because our hope is a hope that outlasts this life. Our hope outlasts anything that can happen to us here. Our hope sustains us in difficult times and will carry us through even death itself. Christ has been raised...and he has destroyed even the last enemy. Don't pity me—I believe in the resurrection! Thanks be to God!
I don't even understand how people could say that they were just telling themselves He was raised when He was seen by so many other people. People try to discredit things because it's not what they want to believe. That is definitely pitiful.
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