There are questions that silently transcend centuries: Who was Jesus of Nazareth, really? Why do his life and death continue to trouble humanity's conscience? And what does it mean to affirm, in the 21st century, that the One who was crucified lives?
The Christian faith is sustained precisely by this affirmation which, for many, is perplexing and for others profoundly illuminating: Jesus Christ has risen. It is not a mere religious symbol or a pious memory of the past; it is the event that gives meaning to Jesus' entire history and grounds believers' hope.
The book Jesus Christ, Dead and Risen, Source of Our Hope, written by Sister María del Socorro Barranza, FMA, Father Hernán Darío Cardona, SDB, and Father Argiro de Jesús Restrepo, PPS, is born precisely with that purpose: to bring the reader closer to the paschal mystery of Christ in an understandable, comprehensive, and deeply experiential way.
The authors combine their pastoral, biblical, and theological experience to offer a path that allows for rediscovering the heart of the Gospel: the triumph of life over death. Those who delve into these pages will not find merely an academic treatise, but an invitation to contemplate the event that changed the history of the world.
The Challenge of Believing in the Resurrection
Curiously, among all the mysteries of Jesus' life, the one most difficult for contemporary man to comprehend is that of the resurrection. In a culture marked by rationalism, haste, and the search for immediate evidence, speaking of a man who died and came back to life may seem strange, even incomprehensible. However, Christian faith was not born from an abstract idea, but from an experience: the experience of those who encountered the Risen One. Those disciples who had fled in fear, who had seen their master die on the cross, began to bravely proclaim that God had raised him from the dead.
That proclamation transformed their existence. And since then, generation after generation, millions of men and women have discovered in the risen Christ the reason for their hope. Therefore, the central objective of this work is to help understand that the resurrection is not a myth or a spiritual metaphor. It is the very heart of the Christian faith, the event that definitively reveals who Jesus is and what destiny humanity is called to.
Jesus: A History Rooted in Reality
The book begins by addressing a fundamental question: Was Jesus a historical reality or a religious myth?
To answer this question, the first chapter places Jesus in the concrete context of New Testament Palestine. The authors present the geographical, social, political, cultural, and religious environment in which the Nazarene lived. This journey allows for understanding that the Gospel does not arise in a spiritual vacuum. Jesus walked real roads, spoke with real people, and interacted with the political and religious authorities of his time. In that world marked by social tensions, messianic expectations, and profound spiritual quests, his message began to resonate with surprising force. By contemplating this historical context, the reader discovers that the figure of Jesus does not belong to the realm of legend. His life is deeply intertwined with the history of his people. And precisely in that concrete history is where God's project manifests itself.
The Kingdom of God and the Scandal of the Cross
One of the deepest questions that arise when approaching the figure of Jesus is the following: If Jesus is the Son of God and announced the Kingdom, how could he suffer and die on the cross?
The second chapter addresses this question from the heart of Jesus' message: the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Through parables, acts of mercy, and transformative encounters, Jesus revealed a Kingdom not founded on power or force, but on love, justice, and mercy. However, that proclamation came at a price. The Kingdom Jesus proclaimed questioned unjust structures, unmasked religious hypocrisy, and opened the doors of salvation to those marginalized by society. It is not strange, then, that his message provoked resistance and rejection.
The cross thus appears as the result of a life radically dedicated to God's project. Jesus does not die by chance or weakness; he dies because he remained faithful to the Kingdom until the end. In that sense, the cross is not the failure of his mission, but the most radical expression of his love.
"God Raised Him from the Dead"
If the cross seems to close the story of Jesus, the resurrection opens it to a totally new horizon. In the third chapter, the authors delve into the first testimonies of the New Testament about the resurrection. To do this, they especially turn to one of the main proclaimers of the Gospel: the Apostle Paul. The letters to the Thessalonians, Galatians, Corinthians, and Philippians contain some of the oldest testimonies of the paschal faith. In them, a central affirmation appears: "God has raised Jesus from the dead" (cf. 1 Cor 15:20).
For Paul, this event is not just another theological idea, but the center of all Christian preaching. "If Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile" (cf. 1 Cor 15:14). But precisely because he has risen, life has a new horizon. The resurrection reveals that God's love is stronger than death and that human history is not destined for absurdity.
The Mystery of the Resurrected Body
Another question that naturally arises is the one addressed in the fourth chapter of the book: What does it mean to speak of the resurrection of the body?
Here, the authors engage in an interesting dialogue between the Hebrew biblical tradition and the understanding of the New Testament. In the ancient world, there were various ideas about life after death, but biblical faith progressively matured a particular hope: the hope in the resurrection.
In this context, Paul's thought again offers profound insight. In the First Letter to the Corinthians, the apostle speaks of the resurrected body as a reality transformed by God's action. It is not simply about returning to biological life, but about participating in a new, full, and glorious existence. This reflection invites us to understand that the resurrection is not just an individual destiny, but a promise that encompasses all creation.
The Women: First Messengers of Easter
It is striking that one of the topics of great relevance in the book appears in the fifth chapter: the fundamental role of women in the announcement of the resurrection. The Gospels agree that it was they who went to the tomb at dawn on the first day of the week. There they heard the announcement that would change history: "He is not here. He has risen."
In a society where female testimony had little legal value, it is profoundly significant that God entrusted precisely to women the first Paschal announcement. Their courage, faithfulness, and love made them the first witnesses of the central event of the Christian faith. This evangelical fact reminds us that in the Kingdom of God, every vocation finds its place and mission.
The Transforming Power of the Resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus is not just an event of the past; it is a force that continues to act in history. The sixth chapter of the book shows how the experience of the Risen One propelled the first disciples to proclaim the Gospel with astonishing freedom. Those men and women discovered that the core of Jesus' message was a new law: the law of love.
The Kingdom of God, announced by Jesus, is open to all peoples, cultures, and nations. It excludes no one, because the love that springs from Easter is universal. The resurrection, therefore, is not limited to a doctrinal affirmation. It becomes a force capable of transforming personal life and inspiring the construction of a more just, fraternal, and solidary society.
A Hope That Does Not Disappoint
The last chapter of the book focuses on Christian hope, a hope that, as Saint Paul says, does not disappoint. This hope is not born of naive optimism or fleeting illusion. It arises from the certainty that Christ lives and walks with his people. Therefore, Paschal faith is learned, cultivated, and strengthened within a concrete community: the Church.
It is in the daily life of Christian communities where hope becomes visible: in solidarity with the poorest, in forgiveness offered, in perseverance in the face of difficulties, in the sincere search for God's will. In a world that often seems to lose its bearings, the testimony of believers reminds us that the final word is not death, but life.
Walking with the Risen One
The book Jesus Christ, Dead and Risen, Source of Our Hope invites the reader to embark on a journey of encounter with the Lord. Its pages help to better understand Paschal faith and, at the same time, encourage living it with greater depth. In a time marked by so many uncertainties, rediscovering the resurrection of Christ is to reignite the lamp of hope.
To look at Christ dead and risen is to discover that love can transform even the deepest nights. And whoever allows themselves to be touched by that truth also begins to become a witness of hope. Thus, step by step, Easter ceases to be merely a liturgical celebration to become a way of life. A life with great openness to the future, trusting in God, and committed to building a world where the light of the Risen One continues to illuminate history.
Furthermore, this work is not limited to offering a theological reflection on the paschal mystery, but becomes a true instrument of formation and growth in faith. Throughout its pages, the reader will find reflection questions and proposals that allow for pausing, dialoguing, and deepening the presented content. In this way, the book can be used both for personal reading and for communal spaces of study and prayer, fostering a more conscious encounter with the message of the Gospel and with the experience of the living Christ.
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