The wounds of Christ: The birth of the Church through the side wound of Christ on the cross.

BIRTHING, BREATHING, and the importance of the BODILY resurrection of Christ (and us!)

Illuminated Manuscript: Bible moralisee, Paris, 1225.

As Christians, we believe in the bodily incarnation of the Divine. Jesus Christ, God made man, was born into a fleshly human body. We also believe in the bodily death and resurrection of Jesus. This is the great and beautiful Paschal mystery. We are accustomed to singing in our churches about the wounds and blood of Christ, even fountains flowing of it! We celebrate the sacrament of the Eucharist, feasting on His body and drinking the blood of the covenant. These practices have often seemed strange, unbelievable, and even downright disgusting to the outside world. The early New Testament churches were even thought to be cannibalistic! It is indeed a terrific thing to base our faith on! Bodies do not normally rise from the dead.

I read a story about a woman who was on her way to church on Easter Sunday. She was running late and distressed. To make things worse, her car broke down about halfway to her service. The woman quickly called an Uber so she could still make it to church. A few minutes into the drive, she had a question for the driver so she asked it. There was no response. She decided to reach forward and gently tap his shoulder to get his attention. All of a sudden, the driver screamed! He swerved the car into another lane, screeched the tires, and ran off the road onto the shoulder. They sat in silence for a minute. Finally, the woman apologized. “I am so sorry I frightened you!” The driver responded, “Ma’am, you did nothing wrong. You see, this is my first day as an Uber driver…and for the last 25 years I have driven a hearse!” (Jeff Harvey, 7 Humorous Easter Sermon Illustrations, 2/3/2024, subsmash.com)

Bodies that rise from the dead are surprising, to say the least!

I want to take a few minutes to dig into the details of the bodily resurrection of Jesus, as it is essential for our theology and practice as the BODY of Christ, the Church. Bodies are important—especially scarred and wounded ones.

Our main text today is John 20:19-29. (NIV)

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Let’s contemplate the piece of art that is heading up this article. What do you see? Who do you see? What do you think is happening?

This is an illustration from an Illuminated manuscript from thirteenth-century France. Many people who lived in the Medieval period/early Renaissance were not literate. The printing press had not yet been invented. Monks and nuns spent great care illustrating the Bible so that the stories of scripture could be seen through pictures and accessible to anyone. I like to say they were the first graphic novels. We know the power of pictures- they speak 1000 words! These pictures were also meant to be contemplative. When you gaze at the details, what can you learn about God?

This example illustrates Christ birthing the Church on the cross through His side wound. Metaphors were used significantly in spiritual practice during the Medieval Period. The concept of Christ as “mother” was reflected on and developed into a beautiful theology. In Dr. Grace Hammon’s book, Jesus Through Medieval Eyes, she discusses this topic at length. (You will want to buy her book: Click here ) The figure that is being birthed is Ecclesia, which is the Greek word for church. This figure was prominent in the artwork of the Early Church. As you can see, she often wears a crown and holds a chalice. The crown represents eternal life, that Christ’s death and resurrection made a reality. The chalice points to the sacramental wine of the Eucharist which we know represents the blood of Jesus, shed for us. (Judith Bookbinder, Synagoga and Ecclesia In Our Time: A Transformative Sculptural Statement in Traditional Form. SCJR 11, no.1, 2016)

In John 20, Jesus meets with the Disciples, greets them with peace, and then shows them His wounds. This is His first item of business with them because it was essential for their understanding of His bodily resurrection and the birth of the eternal Church. He repeats the greeting of peace and breathes the Holy Spirit onto them.

We have heard birthing and breathing language before.

“In the beginning,” we read, “ Then God said, “Let US make mankind in our image, in our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26) This is the birth of humankind by the very hands of God. Genesis 2:7 gives us some more information. “And the LORD God formed mankind (Adam) from the dust of the ground (Adamah) and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being.”

In Genesis 3, after the Fall, God placed a curse on the enemy of God referring to his offspring versus the woman’s offspring. The woman’s offspring (through birthing) will strike his head. God also placed a curse on childbearing, which will find its redemption in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In Isaiah, we find a prophecy regarding the promised Messiah that includes birthing language.

Isaiah 9:6 – For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Our salvation will come through BIRTHING.

In Ezekiel 37, the Lord took the prophet in a vision to a valley of dead, dry bones. Calling him “son of Adam,” He asked Ezekiel, “Will these bones live?” Of course, Ezekiel knew that those dry, dead bones had no earthly chance of living again, but he also knew God could do miraculous things. The Lord told him to prophecy to the bones and then to the breath.

“ I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal (son of Adam), and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”

I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, “Mortal (son of Adam), these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’

Therefore prophesy, and say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.

And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.

I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act,” says the LORD.

Ezekiel 37:5-14

I think it significant that God called Ezekiel “son of Adam” (in the Hebrew) numerous times in the passage. The creation narrative from Genesis 2:7 (above) reads in Hebrew that God formed/birthed Adam from the adamah, which means dust, ground, or earth. Ezekiel is reminded that he too has been formed from the dust of the earth and that he is mortal. He will ultimately end up as dead, dry bones like the ones scattered before him. But God is about to show him that death cannot thwart the promises of God. Ezekiel prophesies to the bones that breath (ruach, which also means spirit/wind in Hebrew) will once again enter them and God will restore a bodily, fleshly resurrection! Ezekiel next prophesies to the breath- that God commands it to fill the dead, dry bones made of earth and become living, breathing beings. The Genesis parallels are unmistakable. God next tells Ezekiel that these dead, dry (no life left at all) bones represent the people of Israel, and even though they feel their hope is destroyed, God has a plan. God will resurrect them from their graves (metaphorically and someday physically) and He will put His Spirit (ruach) into them!

This is the promise of bodily resurrection and rebirth.

In Matthew, we read of the long-awaited birth of the Messiah, God wrapped in blood and flesh. Mary was found to be with a child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18) The Greek word, pneuma, is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew ruach- both meaning spirit, breath, and/or wind.

Birthing language returns in John 3 when Nicodemus seeks answers from Jesus. “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again.” (3:3 NRSV) Nicodemus is rightly confused. How could this ever be possible? Jesus confirms, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit (pneuma).” (3:5)

Let us now return to our Gospel text of John 20: 19-29. (above) It is still Easter Sunday! But what are the disciples doing? Are they running around proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus? Not at all. They are hiding in a room and they are afraid. It seems maybe they were having a hard time grasping the truth of the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead. They saw Him die. They saw His bloody body. They watched as those sacred wounds were given. Even though they had heard news of the resurrection, they were afraid. How could someone rise from the dead? (NA reaction not unlike our Uber driver story.)

All of a sudden Jesus shows up! He is not upset with them. He pronounces “Peace!” when He appears. Jesus always comes with peace. The Hebrew word shalom means much more than our English definition of peace. It is from a root that signifies wholeness and completion. Immediately Jesus shows them his wounds and scars to solidify that this is His resurrected body. It still bears wounds and scars. It is not a “ghostly” return from the grave. These wounds have ushered in true shalom. Jesus has birthed the new covenant and the church through them. Jesus pronounces peace a second time and breathes the Holy Spirit (pneuma) upon them. The chronology is the same- Jesus births the Church on the cross and breathes the Holy Spirit upon them. This is a different indwelling of the Spirit than what we see at Pentecost. This is the breath of eternal life, now possible due to the death and resurrection! This is the reversal of the Fall that blocked mankind from the Tree of Life- now restored through Jesus’ death on a different tree.

The prophecies of Isaiah 53:5 must have been ringing in their ears:

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

                              he was crushed for our iniquities;

                upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace (shalom),

                              and with his wounds we are healed.

Our salvation has come through BIRTHING and BREATHING.

We read that Thomas, one of the 12, was not with them that evening. We don’t why, but Thomas often gets a bad rap because of it. When the others tell him what they had experienced, Thomas expresses he wants the same thing. He desires to see His Lord’s resurrected body and be confident of this great miracle himself. He wanted the same opportunity to touch the bodily wounds of Christ and experience it himself. He is not asking for anything special; he only seeks what his friends had already been given.

What does Jesus do? Jesus seeks Thomas out. He is not upset about Thomas’ request! Jesus will always seek us out when we sincerely desire His presence. This time when Jesus shows up, (just for Thomas?) He does something different. He had invited the others to see His wounds, but He invites Thomas to touch them. He guides Thomas’ hand into the precious side wound. Yes- it seems gross- but can you imagine? Can you imagine touching the wounds that birthed eternal life, that birthed the Church?

“The Incredulity of Thomas,” 12th century. Mosaic, Basilica of the Nativity, Bethlehem, Palestine. Photo: Simon Norfolk. Instagram @art_and_theology.

These wounds were not healed- he put his fingers IN THEM. Jesus’ resurrected body is important. His wounds and scars are important. Our bodies are important. We will experience bodily resurrection. Through his wounds he BIRTHED a new BODY- the BODY of CHRIST to remain on earth and be His hands and feet. He BREATHED eternal life into us. At Pentecost, He will breathe POWER into the Church for the unity of the body of believers in spreading the Gospel and ushering in the Kingdom of God on earth.

We can rest in the knowledge that Jesus established the new covenant with His death and bodily resurrection- allowing us to be re-born as a new creation. (John 3) This new covenant is not written on tablets of stone but onto our HEARTS- our flesh- our bodies. (Jer.31:33) We can contemplate what that means for our bodies now. Even as our bodies are continually breaking down, and we have wounds of own, we can KNOW that God works through scarred and wounded bodies. This is how he birthed and built his Church. And he continues to breathe on us today.

1 Peter 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

1 Peter 1: 23:

You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.

Rejoice!

*This post is adapted from a sermon I preached at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Green Cove Springs, Florida.