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The Resurrection Effect Transforming Christian Life and Thought Anthony J. Kelly, CSsR ORSISG)SOOKS Maryknoll, New York 10545 Founded in 1970, Orbis Books endeavors to publish works that enlighten the mind, nourish the spirit, and challenge the conscience. The publishing arm of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, Orbis seeks to explore the global dimen · sions of the Christian faith and mission, to invite dialogue with diverse cu)rures and religious traditions, and to serve the cause of reconciliation and peace. The books published reflect the opinions of theif authors and are not meant to represent the official position of the Maryknoll Society. To obtain more infor· mation about Maryknoll and Orbis Books, please visit our website at www.maryknoll.org. Copyright €l 2008 by Anthony J. Kelly. Published by Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, U.S.A. All rights reserved. No pilre of rhis puhlicadon may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including phorocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writ- ing from the publishers. For permissions, write to Orbis Books, P. O. Box 308, Maryknoll NY 10545·0308, U.S.A. Manufactured in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Kelly, Anthony, 1938· The resurrection effect: transforming Christian life and thought I Anthony J. Kelly. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978· 1·57075· 770·9 I. Jesus Christ- Resurrection. 2. Theology, Doctrinal- History- 20th century. 3. Theology, Doctrinal- History- 2Ist century. I. Title. BT482.K452008 232' .5-<1c22 2007038081 Contents Preface IX 1. "Placing" the Resurrection: A Theological Problem 1 The Awkwardness of the Resurrection for Theology 1 Reason and Resurrection 6 A Resurrectional Attitude 7 A Postmodern Opportunity? 12 The Resurrection and the Disturbance of Categories 15 Conclusion: A Phenomenological Standpoint 23 2. A Phenomenological Approach to the Resurrection 24 The Phenomenological Turn 24 The Resurrection as Saturated Phenomenon 27 Five Aspects of the Resurrection-Phenomenon 29 The Resurrectioll as Revelatioll 30 The Resurrectioll as Evellt 32 The Resurrectioll as Aesthetic Form 33 The Resllrrectioll as "Flesh" 35 The Resurrectioll alld the Face of Christ 39 Conclusion: Saturated Phenomenon or Mystery? 40 3. The Resurrection and the Phenomenon of the New Testament 44 Receptivity to the Divinely Given 45 Interpretation in the Light of Christ 46 Rhetorics of Receptivity and Excess 48 Light in Darkness 53 Conclusion 60 4. The Resurrection Event 61 The Multi-Dimensional Phenomenon 62 Six Dimensions of The Resurrection Event 64 The Paschal Aspect: The Resurrectioll of the Crucified 64 The Patema/, Gellerative Source 66 Filial I delltity 67 v vi CONTENTS Spirit: The Effl/sive Aspect of the Eve/It 68 Sacrament: The Chl/rch as Body of Christ 71 Eschatological Allticipation 72 The Light of the Resurrection 73 The Light and Its Meaning: Patterns of Rhetoric 75 Arcs of Rhetoric 75 Dimensions of Meaning 77 5. Paul and the Resurrection Effect 79 Paul's Transformative Experience 79 Conversion to the Risen One: Its Narrative Setting 82 From Experience to Meaning 88 1 Corinthians 15:1-28 88 Philippians 2:5-11 95 Conclusion 100 6. Resurrection: The Visual Phenomenon 101 A Continuing Dialectic 102 The Appearances of the Risen Christ 106 The Economy of Seeing: An End and a Beginning 110 The Other Paraclete 112 Conclusion 119 7. Subjectivity, Objectivity and the Resurrection 120 The Polarities of Subject and Object 120 The Complexiry of Experience 121 Five Assumptions Questioned 124 The Saturation of the Phenomenon 128 Conclusion: The Play of Polarities 129 8. The Salvific Realism of the Resurrection 131 Salvific Objectivity 131 Salvific Realism 131 The Divine Initiative 134 Presence and Absence 137 The HIII/IO/lity of the Rise/I jesl/s 138 Forgiveness 139 The Empty Tomb 139 Overtl/re to World History 145 Salvific Subjectiviry 146 A New Begilllling 14 7 The Disciples' New Understanding 148 Called to Witness 149 A Universal Horizon 150 A Reactive World 151 CONTENTS lIii 9. Extensions of the Resurrection Effect 153 The Resurrection and the Trinity 153 The Resurrection and Moral Theology 159 Transcultural Openness 168 10. Resurrection as Horizon 173 Notes 179 Select Bibliography 197 Subject and Name Index 201 Preface This book deals with the resurrection of the crucified Jesus as the focal event affecting all Christian faith and theology. With such a con- centration, however, we intend neither to add another specialisation to an already over·specialised theological curriculum, nor are we trying to fit the resurrection more neatly into a theological system as one ques· tion, doctrine or scriptural theme among many. But we do intend to explore the focal character of the resurrection event for faith, and, as a consequence, the need for theology, in all its specialisations- biblical, fundamental, systematic, liturgical and moral- to be located "in the resurrection", so to speak, and to proceed in its light. With that end in mind, this is not "new theology" of the resurrection, building on, or in contrast to, the outstanding work of writers such as Durrwell, Pannenberg, O'Collins, von Balthasar, D. B. Hart, N. T. Wright, James Alison and so many others. Such a vast work of synthesis and system- atic construction is surely a most desirable project for the future, even if beyond our present scope. On the other hand, this book can contribute to such a task, even if in a somewhat preliminary way, as it seeks to make theology more "resurrectional" in its method, mood and content. A fresh receptivity to the act of God in raising Jesus from the dead, along with a grateful appreciation of scholarship, past and present, will point in this direction. Consequently, we hope to make a contribution to the resurrection of theology as an assured, distinctive mode of Chris- tian rationality. Why such an exploration of the "resurrection effect" is timely will be explained in different ways as the book unfolds. Suffice it to say at the moment that the resurrectional focus of Christian life and thought is always in need of being refreshed and sharpened. Just as Sunday as "the Lord's Day" commemorating the resurrection can be lost in the modern secular weekend, or, for that matter, slip out of focus in the succession of liturgical seasons as, say, the first Sunday of Advent, or third Sunday of Lent, or the tenth Sunday of "ordinary time", and so forth, some- thing similar can happen for theology. It came home to me after com- pleting my recent Eschatology and Hope (Orbis, 2006) that all the vari- ous themes and questions treated in such a book depended, in the most elemental way, on the resurrection of Christ. Our present hope in the face of all the challenges of life, suffering and death, is an effect of the ix .< PREFACE resurrection. Unless that had happened, hope would at best be a repres- sive optimism, or an accommodation to routine despair. But the effect of the resurrection is to see the world and to live in it otherwise. That is hardly an original insight. In fact it is so taken for granted that the originality of the resurrection's effect on the life of faith can be forgot- ten. What originally made all the difference gradually becomes a remote presupposition, only vaguely affecting the way we understand God, ourselves and the world itself. This book, then, aims to sharpen the focus and to assist readers to register the resurrection effect in all as- pects of their lives. To this end, the chapters converge in one aim- to refresh faith and theology in receptivity to the focal phenomenon of the resurrection. To some degree, such receptivity is always being presupposed in the quest for doctrinal clarity, systematic elaboration and moral theology. But there is room, we shall argue, for a more disciplined attentiveness to the ways in which this key Christian phenomenon is given or disclosed to faith. In short, a phenomenological phase precedes all theoretical or practical considerations. We must first attend to what is given in its own right and in its own light. One way of elaborating a phenomenology of the resurrection is to appeal to a class of phenomena designated as "saturated phenomenon a " (Jean-Luc Marion). However odd-sounding in current English, such a term suggests that the appearance, "given-ness", or self-disclosive im- pact of some phenomena, is so multi-dimensional, so inexhaustible in significance, so over-brimming and prodigal in its effect, that its special status must be recognised. In a word, these phenomena are recognised as "saturated". For instance, there is a kind of event-birth, death, a world war, falling in love-that overflows any fixed boundaries, and provokes endless interpretation. The same goes for a striking work of art: it eludes anyone point of view. Da Vinci's Malia Lisa creates its own history of interpretation and imposes itself in an endless play of perspectives as succeeding generations view it through the centuries. Take another instance: our bodies or "flesh" arc not something we sim- ply possess and classify as a biological entity of a particular type. For the body is a field of incarnate communication with a whole world, especially in the intimate communications of love or parenthood. An- other example is the" face" of another. It is no ordinary object, but, in a sense, a commanding presence. It calls one to a responsibility and an ethical co-existence with the other of limitless implications. All these phenomena have one thing in common: they occur as a kind of "revela- tion", for they are given from beyond the normal horizon of our percep- tions. They are disclosed in a superabundant or over-brimming fashion. In the way they are given, they draw us into a field of an unobjectifiable and inexhaustible "excess". In this way, saturated phenomena affect us, not merely with the superabundance of their significance, but with the PREFACE xi strange power to call us, individually or communally, to see the world within a different horizon. Each in its own way comes to mean the world to us-and our place within it. To a super-saturated degree, the resur- rection of the Crucified is a singular instance of a phenomenon of this kind, while each of these particular instances, as we shall see, expresses some aspect of the manner in which the resurrection reveals itself to reflective faith. Though phenomenological terminology may appear oddly technical or even exotic, the experience it appeals to is not unfamiliar. At the risk of being too literal in reference to "saturation", the following instance might be useful in emphasising what is at stake. One may weary of reading about the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef and viewing documentaries on its marvels-and the present threats to it. We come to feel the need to go there, to dive into it, to be im- mersed in it, to be carried by its tides, to snorkel around its coral splendours and swim with its variegated marine life. Books and articles, photos and museum specimens are left behind for the sake of immersing oneself in the living reality, and so to have an immediate exposure to it at first hand. This does not demand leaving all scientific exploration behind, or forgetting ecological concerns. But it does mean letting the Reef reveal itself by drawing us into the immediacy of what is so over- whelmingly given. Receptivity to the character of the given tends to inspire energetic testimony to this natural wonder of the world. More- over, unless people continue to experience and explore the Reef, all the words, policies, and programs would soon appear second-hand and paper-thin. Any number of concerns might lead the first-hand explorer to reflect on what has been so encompassingly experienced, and so in- spire particular responses of a scientific, ecological, artistic or political character. But, in a profound sense, once it is immediately experienced, no one can get over what has been given by way of immersion in that exuberant world of marine wonders. Once "saturated" by it, immersed in it, it becomes significant in new ways. Awash with such experience, we may well see things differently in contrast to pages of scientific re- ports, the arresting photographs, the tourist brochures and so forth. For the Reef is not something disclosed by being catalogued as a national treasure, or treated as a resource for the local tourist industry, or made into a scientific object of marine biology-photographed, classified, cata- logued, mapped and modelled with technical expertise. There is an origi- nal moment, might we say, when we can cease to possess or own it in such ways, and allow the Reef to possess us. As we float over its corals and swim amongst its schools of fish, we are no longer the centre. How- ever fleetingly, its reality literally washes over us with a totality that makes us part of it. The Reef must be allowed to come to us in its unique- ness. And so we come to have an intimate familiarity with this particular natural wonder in a way that precedes, calls forth but ever eludes the xii PREFACE business of scientific analysis, ecological management, tourist develop- ment and so forth. Stealing a march on Marion and others, visitors may speak of the Reef as an "event" that changed their perceptions of the natural world forever: for they found themselves "faced" with nature in its uncanny and enthralling otherness. Yet, at the same time, they feel themselves newly "embodied" in a world of wonder and variety beyond any normal range of contacts. They are met with the impact of a "beauty" that overwhelms them. Something has "revealed" itself that words and ideas can never capture. All metaphors limp, and all experience of the totality is very limited; but the point is there. The phenomenal given-ness of reality in the im- mediacy of experience precedes the questions, reflections and decisions that might arise. The phenomenon is more than a reflection of our prior concerns or previous experience. It exceeds expectations in a striking way. In this and similar cases, it is as though the silvering which backs the mirrors of our perception is stripped away and lets the light of a larger world shine through-so that we see more than our own reflec- tion. Some might prefer the more homely metaphor of not confusing the woods with the trees-of a rain forest, for example. You can cut down a particular tree for fuel or for timber, or even hunt out its flora and fauna for some particular purpose, guided by any number of maps mark- ing particular entry points. But, in the totality, you live in another key, wandering through it, or lost in its wonders, alive to the prodigality of its reality. No amount of records can ever "capture" what the explorer has been through: the overall feel of the totality of the sounds, scents, colours and profusion of forms is more than can be objectified in the photographic records and mementos compared to what has been "given" to those who have been there. The point in making this rather literal reference to a saturated phe- nomenon in the natural world is to suggest how the resurrection of Jesus is such a phenomenon, however uniquely, in the world of Chris- tian experience. For, in ways yet to be discussed, the resurrection en- compasses the life of faith with an inexhaustible significance. In recent years, theology has been criticized for not clearly focusing on the specif- ics of Christian revelation, and thereby being too influenced by domi- nant ideologies of the day.' All the more reason, then, to emphasise the need for attentiveness to the concrete particular form of Christian rev- elation given in the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Moreover, if the IFor example, Michael J. Buckley, At the Origb,s of Modern Atheism (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987};Joseph S. O'Leary, Questioning Back: Tbe Overcoming of Metapbys- ics in the Cbristiall Trad,tion (New York: Seabury, 1985);John Milbank, Theology and Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason (Oxford: Blackwell, 1993); William C. Placher, Tbe Domes- lico/iot! of Tra"sccndcnce: How Modern Thinking About God Wle1lt \Vrong (Louisville: Westminster, 1996).

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