Jesus is fully alive!

"When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead." John 21:9-14

Jesus' disciples had a hard time believing that Jesus really was alive again. Partly this seems to be because Jesus looks different than he had before. We never find out how, except that Jesus is not always recognized at first. In this story from John, there seems to be some question as to who Jesus was, and this was not the only time. The disciples on the road to Emmaus don't recognize him, Mary Magdalene doesn't recognize him at first, the disciples in the boat don't recognize him at first either. It is only when Jesus does something specifically related to his ministry and relationship to the people in the story do they recognize him. In this passage, when he feeds them.

What are we like after death? What does the resurrection mean? These are good questions that we don't have any concrete answers to. Jesus does eat and drink, so he is resurrected with his body, not as a ghost or a spirit. He shows them his hands and his feet, his wounds. Jesus tries to make it clear to his followers that indeed he is alive and that this means great things for the world. However, it is a hard concept to grasp. We don't have a tendency to live in this way. How would we live, what would we do if we had nothing stopping us? Death is no longer something to be feared. Alleluia! Christ is risen!