Resurrection of the Body
By Robert Fontana
Happy, Holy Easter! Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we proclaim in the ancient Creed: “I believe…in the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.” I was reflecting on this truth following the deaths of a number of friends whose remains were entered into the earth. I wondered, if earth could speak, what would Mother Earth say to the corpus of one being laid to rest with hope in the resurrection of the body. This is what came to me:
Mother Earth’s Letter to the Corpus of Friend
Dear Body of Friend, O holy corpus, O sacred bones and skin! Friend has been called home; you are still here. He has stepped into God’s time; you are left on earth time. I know you grieve your soul’s departure, the soul that animated your flesh and bones, that breathed air into your lungs, and sent life-giving blood through you heart. Be patient, O sacred corpus of Friend, in God’s good time, you will be united again.
In the meanwhile, you, O beautiful and grace-filled flesh and bones of dear Friend, you will be returned to the earth, to the soil from which you came. Earth comes from the stars and the galaxies, which in turn come from the Great Beginning when God unleashed the Spirit’s creative powers into the universe. Earth, like a tender mother, through powerful and mystical forces guided by the Spirit, gave birth to the great seas and land masses, to the creatures of the air, water, land, and those below the land, and finally, in the last age, to woman and man.
You, sweet body of Friend, holy relic, are being returned to the soil that gave you birth. Do not be afraid. I will hold you until that great day when the dead shall rise, and you have been fully reunited with Friend in the transfiguration of the dead. Until then, be at peace.
