“I Look Forward to the Resurrection…” – Living the Creed: Recap and Commissioning Write a personal mission statement (300–400 words) summarizing what you have learned from this course and how it could
Hope in the Resurrection
Jennifer Bacuylima
St. Thomas University
REL-2560-OL1
Professor Luis Gonzalez
September 28, 2025
Hope in the Resurrection
The Christian faith in the resurrection is the basis of faith and provides a standard for moral life. The Gospels attest to the resurrection of Christ, when the disciples saw the desolate tomb and the resurrected Lord (Luke 24:1-49). The Resurrection is not a symbol but a historical reality, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church stresses this point: It converted the apostles from fear to a bold proclamation of the Gospel; it has become a source of hope for believers that death is not the end of the story and that it calls them to live in light of eternity.
This hope infuses moral action with a sense of mission and responsibility. Acts 1:6-11 describes Christ's ascension, reminding the disciples that whilst he has returned to the Father, they are called to bear witness until he returns. As such, the believer does not live for temporary advantage but for the kingdom of God and therefore lives for truth, justice, and charity. As Bart Warren puts it, the hope of the resurrection is not an abstract hope but a practical one; it calls Christians to faithfully live in the present.
The moral requirement of this hope is disclosed further in the words of Matthew 25:31-46, where Jesus says that the final judgment will be issued on the basis of how one treats "the least of these." Hope in the resurrection encourages Christians to be merciful, generous, and to serve others. To neglect such duties is to risk being excluded from eternal life, while the faithful love entails the sharing of Christ's joy.
Ultimately, Revelation 21:1-8 provides the vision of a new heaven and a new earth where God lives with his people and death is no more. The Catechism states that death is not the end but the entry into everlasting life, where each one will receive his eternal reward. Jürgen Moltmann further illuminates this understanding by demonstrating that resurrection is not simply consolation but a hope that changes the world here and now. 3 Thus, the Christian hope in the resurrection informs moral life by inspiring faith, grounding love of the neighbor, and sustaining hope for everlasting communion with God.
Notes
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2000), section III, Lumen Gentium, Light of the Nations, section IV, Ad Abolendam, To Abolish, section IV, 1020-1022.
Bart Warren, "The Hope of the Resurrection," Reasons for Hope, 261.
Jürgen Moltmann, "Resurrection as Hope," H. T. R. 61, no. 2 (1968): 129-147.
Bibliography
Moltmann, Jürgen. “Resurrection as Hope.” Harvard Theological Review 61, no. 2 (1968): 129–147.
Warren, Bart. “The Hope of the Resurrection.” Reasons for Hope: 261.
Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2000.
