I have spent the last two articles on the Creed meditating on what the Apostle’s Creed means when it says that Christ descended into hell. Today, as we go back to the Nicene Creed, we’re going to look at the Resurrection itself.

he suffered death and was buried, (passus et sepúltus est,)

The authors of the Creed find it important to note that Jesus was buried. This reminds us of his humanity: He truly died; his mother and his friends mourned him. They buried him in accordance with Jewish customs as an act of corporal mercy. Finally, they sealed his grave until they could return and complete the work necessary for his burial.

Even if Jesus was not also the the Son of God and the Second Person of the Trinity, this all should have been done for him anyway, because of his inherent dignity as a human person. Despite the fact that we believe in the Resurrection of the Body (we’ll get there!), it is important to bury the dead properly and to mourn them, and the Church has said this throughout the ages. The mortal remains of those who have died are a holy thing, because they were once a human being. In the case of a Catholic, that body was blessed through the sacraments and even hosted God himself when that person received the Eucharist. And if we should treat the dead with such respect, that should remind us of the even greater respect we should give to living human beings.

The early Christians also wanted to ensure that people know Jesus did not fake his death, nor was there some sort of grave-robbery scenario. The Gospel writers explicitly tell us that not only was Jesus buried, but his grave was guarded by Roman soldiers. No human being could have gone in or out of the grave of Jesus during the three days he was buried. Jesus was truly dead.

and rose again on the third day (et resurréxit tértia die,)

But, as we all know, he did not stay dead. It is striking how closely the Creed aligns with the accounts of the Apostles. Take, for example, St. Paul’s account of Christ’s Passion in 1 Corinthians:

Nicene Creed 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
  For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures;
and was buried, that he was buried;
and rose again on the third day that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures. in accordance with the scriptures;

The Resurrection is the core belief of our Catholic faith. It is the most important thing we believe, because it is the Resurrection that opens the door to eternal life. We remember and make present the Resurrection at every Mass, but this is most specifically remembered on Easter Sunday. Easter is, without a doubt, the most important feast for us as Catholics. When we look at the Church’s calendar, this becomes obvious. We spend more time in preparation for Easter than any other holy day, the festive season for Easter is even longer than the time of preparation. Easter Sunday itself is extended into an octave of eight days, because the joy and relief at the victory over sin and death that is Christ’s Resurrection cannot be contained in one day. The Ascension and the Pentecost are culmination and fulfillment of the celebration that begins on Easter Sunday. They are distinct moments in the life of Christ and his Church, but they cannot be separated from Easter. They are, in a real way, further meditations on the meaning and power of Christ’s Resurrection. If we compare this to the time of preparation and celebration of the Nativity of our Lord (Christmas)–which is most certainly an incredibly important feast, because if Christ was not fully human we are not saved–and Epiphany (a meditation on the revelations to humanity which began on Christmas), it is not even a contest: the Resurrection is the event which saved humanity.

This sentiment was present in the earliest days of the Church. St. Paul writes to the Corinthians:

if Christ has not been raised, then empty [too] is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.
1 Corinthians 15:14-19

Not only is the Resurrection critical to our salvation, but if it is false, then we are worse off then before. We are still in our sins and we are liars. Without the Resurrection, we Christians are the most pitiable people of all.

I hope this helps us to understand just how critically important the Resurrection is, and why we celebrate it at every Mass: it is the single most important event in all of history. Next week, we’ll look at how the Resurrection saves us and what it means.