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Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

The Lost Tomb of Jesus, which aired Tuesday evening on Vision Television reminded me of an old joke:  A distraught young monsignor bursts into the office of the Congregation for the Defence of the Faith in Rome.  “Your Eminence!” he cries.  “It’s a disaster! They have found the bones of Jesus Christ!”  The Cardinal Prefect calmly replies, “That’s not so bad.  At least we now have proof that Jesus existed.”

The existence of Jesus, it need hardly be said, is essential for Christian faith.  So too is belief in his triumph over death, by the power of the God in whom he trusted.  The location of his mortal remains would seem to be another matter.

A family tomb, to which Jesus’ body was moved from the temporary resting-place where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is now located would explain the Empty Tomb (Mark 16:6: “He is not here”), which many have discounted as a fabrication. 

Be that as it may, the intense interest—and outrage—that this film has stirred up is proof positive that anything sensational about Jesus has an audience.  He is the man who fits no formula.  During the “God is dead” movement, there was a paradoxical quote: “There is no God, and Jesus is his son.”

Dan Brown must be pleased that the DNA evidence collected in the tomb purports to substantiate the basic thesis of his book, The da Vinci Code, that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, who bore him a son.  But for me the most important historical significance of this film is the reminder that while Paul, who had little interest in the historical Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:16), was preaching his gospel to the Gentiles, Jesus’ own disciples (including family members) were preserving his memory in Jerusalem.  It is to them we owe the Jesus tradition behind our canonical gospels. 

But most important of all is the question: what do you believe when you affirm, week after week, “The third day he rose again.”

March 11, 2007

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