What do we believe as Christians? What is at the heart of our faith? What are we looking for as Christians? The church in Corinth to whom St. Paul is writing was an economic powerhouse of a city well-situated for trade coming and going through Greece. So, when St. Paul hears that some of the Christians there are denying the belief that the dead will rise, he wonders about the solidity of the faith of the Christians in Corinth concerning Christianity’s central belief: Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, has risen from the dead. Christ is risen and promises us life eternal with Him. We as Christians believe this, and look forward to life with Christ forever.
But if some Christians in Corinth did not believe in the resurrection, what were they looking forward to? St. Paul puts it very bluntly: “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable of all” (1 Cor 15:19). If the claim to be Christian is simply for social purposes in this world, there is no point in it. The apostle is worried that some of the Corinthians have no interest in Christ’s promises, and are simply looking for something (material) from Christianity in this life. As one who suffered much in his apostolic journeys and preaching, and one who will be executed for his faith in Our Lord, Paul knows the true depths which faith in Christ actually offers.
Today, as we contemplate Christ crucified for our sake and raised again to give us a share in His life, let us ask for the grace to truly believe what the apostles preached: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor 15:20). May this faith empower us to love and to forgive as those whose hope is not in this world only.