But someone may say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?” 36 You fool! What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind; 38 but God gives it a body as he chooses, and to each of the seeds its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for human beings, another kind of flesh for animals, another kind of flesh for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the brightness of the heavenly is one kind and that of the earthly another. 41 The brightness of the sun is one kind, the brightness of the moon another, and the brightness of the stars another. For star differs from star in brightness. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. 43 It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one. 45 So, too, it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being,” the last Adam a life-giving spirit. 46 But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. 48 As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.
Paul addresses the resurrection of the dead with a focus on the nature of the resurrected body. He poses two hypothetical questions skeptics may ask; how is the resurrection possible, and what kind of body will people have? Paul answered the questions using an analogy of sowing and reaping to illustrate how one is transformed through death. Just as a seed must die to give new life as a plant, the mortal body must die to be raised to a glorious new life (Jn. 12:24). The mortal body is transformed and renewed. Paul made a distinction between the seed that is sown and the plant that grows explaining that in the same way the seed undergoes a miraculous transformation, the mortal body will also be transformed by the sovereign power of God in the perfect way that God wants.
Paul explained that there are different kinds of flesh among the different living beings, each serving the unique purpose for which it was created by God. Mankind was created in the image and likeness of God and was given dominion over the rest of creation (Gen. 1:26-27). This shows the dignity and primacy of humanity in the created order. While all bodies have matter and form, there are distinctions in glory and brightness between heavenly and earthly bodies. The heavenly bodies, the stars and moons, are different from earthly bodies but both types of bodies have their own splendor. There are varying degrees of brightness even within the heavenly bodies. In ancient times some religions considered the stars to be living beings for the divine. There is diversity and richness in God's creation, both in terms of fleshly beings and celestial bodies.
Since there are so many different kinds of bodies created by God, Paul concludes that the resurrection gives rise to a different kind of heavenly body. Four negative aspects of the earthly body with which his Christian audience could identify are transformed into four positive attributes of the heavenly body. In the resurrection, the Holy Spirit transforms the earthly physical human body with its limitations and imperfections into a completely different spiritual body. A radical change occurs whereby the earthly bodies are transformed from corruption to incorruption, from dishonor to glory, from weakness to power, and from a natural body to a spiritual body. The limitations and imperfections of the earthly body are replaced by the perfection and glory of the spiritual body.
Paul draws a parallel between Adam, the first man, and Christ, the second man. Adam's earthly nature is contrasted with Christ's heavenly nature. Just as humanity inherits the likeness of Adam, the earthly man, through natural birth, believers will also inherit the likeness of Christ, the heavenly man, through spiritual rebirth. In the resurrection, believers will bear the image of the glorified Christ, reflecting his glorified nature.
Almighty God, grant us the grace to hold fast to the hope of the glorious resurrection, and to trust in your power to renew us, whereby our earthly bodies will be transformed into heavenly ones, reflecting the image of your Son, Jesus Christ. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen! Alleluia!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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