"Christ is risen" is the most succinct summary of our faith. If I was asked to explain what I believed as a Christian, these three words would be the most distinctive answer I could supply. There is much else in our faith that is very important, but the affirmation that Christ is risen is at the heart of all we profess.

It is therefore no surprise that the resurrection of Christ is the central element in the preaching of the early Church presented in the Acts of the Apostles. It is the refrain of Peter's sermon. In his first proclamation of the good news, Peter tells the crowd gathered on Pentecost, "God raised him up. God raised this Jesus; of that we are all witnesses." (Acts 2:24,32) It is because Christ is now exalted at the right hand of God that he is able to pour forth the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33) - the event that gathered the amazed crowd on Pentecost.

Whatever the question or circumstance facing Peter, the resurrection of Christ if the keynote of his answer. How was a crippled man healed? "The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead" (Acts 3:15) - and it was through faith in him that the crippled man was able to walk. (Acts 3:16) When questioned by the Sanhedrin about this healing, Peter responded that "It was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed." (Acts 4:10) Challenged again by the Sanhedrin after having been ordered to remain silent, Peter again responded that "the God of our ancestors raised Jesus" (Acts 5:30) - and the fact that Christ is risen is too earthshaking to be kept secret. (Acts 5:29,32)

Whether explaining how a crippled man could be healed or defending the apostles' preaching, Peter anchored his argument in the resurrection of Christ. He did the same when he had to tell the Roman centurion Cornelius about Jesus: "This man God raised on the third day." (Acts 10:40) That was the event which made all the difference; that was the central truth Peter was commissioned to preach. (Acts 10:41-42)

Paul's preaching likewise found its center in the resurrection of Christ. His first sermon presented in Acts, probably included as a typical example of his missionary preaching, was in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. The resurrection of Christ was its keystone: "God raised him from the dead. We are proclaiming this good news to you, that what God has promised to our ancestors he has brought to fulfillment for us, by raising up Jesus." (Acts 13:32)

Paul's proclamation of the resurrection of Christ was a stumbling block for the Athenians. They listened to Paul politely until he told them God had raised Jesus from the dead, but then they began to scoff. (Acts 17:31-32). Yet Paul proclaimed this message until the end. The last samples of his preaching that are given us by Acts are his defense of his ministry before civil authorities. Paul told both Festus (Acts 25:19) and Agrippa (Acts 26:23) that Jesus had been raised, for it was the cornerstone of his ministry.

The resurrection of Christ was the central element in the faith and preaching of the early Church, and it is the central element in our faith as well. We could devote the rest of this article to reflecting on what the resurrection of Christ tells us about him: about who he us, about how he reigns now at the right hand of the Father, about what he is able to do as the risen Lord. But in the space I have left, let me instead pursue only one facet of his resurrection. What does the resurrection of Christ imply for us? What hopes does it hold out for us?

The letter to the Hebrews calls Jesus an archegos, Greek for "pioneer" or "leader," one who blazes a trail others follow. (Hebrews 12:2) Jesus blazed a trail through death itself to his Father, so we could follow him into his Father's presence. He told his disciples on the night before he died that he was leaving them so he could prepare a place for them, so they could join him there. (John 14:2-3) His death would not excuse them from death, but his resurrection would pave the way for their resurrection.

Saint Paul wrote frequently of our sharing in the resurrection of Christ. Christ has been raised from the dead, the "firstfruits" of all who die and are raised. (1st Corinthians 15:20) "God raised the Lord and will also raise us." (1st Corinthians 6:14) "The one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us in his presence." (2nd Corinthians 4:14) The resurrection of Jesus establishes the pattern of our own resurrection: we also will be raised and ushered into the presence of his Father.

How can such a wonderful future await us? It is, after all, not the normal course of events in this world. The normal course is for life to end in death. From single-cell bacteria to humanity itself, death is the certain outcome of life on this earth.

Our access to eternal life, our access to being raised with Christ, is through baptism. In baptism we are joined with Christ, so that where he as our trail-blazer went we also may go. St. Paul writes of the great mystery of our sharing in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ through baptism:

We who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. For is we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. - Romans 6:3-5

John also speaks of our destiny of being like Jesus in resurrection:

We are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. - 1st John 3:2

This is a destiny great beyond words - too great for us to really grasp or keep in the forefront of our minds. One of Paul's prayers for his converts was that they realize the great future promised for them through the resurrection of Jesus:

May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens. - Ephesians 1:18-20

George Martin