I've been a fan of zombies for over a decade now. I admit that I have been a regular viewer of the TV show The Walking Dead. It's not particularly well-written, the characters can be annoying, and it certainly doesn't seem to be going anywhere plot-wise. But I hung in there because I like zombies as a metaphor.
In case you didn't know, all the best zombie stories are allegories. Night of the Living Dead--racism and prejudice. Dawn of the Dead--American consumerism. The book World War Z--humanity's inability to deal with slow moving disasters (like climate change) until they come crashing through our windows, zombie-style. The zombies are a means to tell a larger story. People sometimes miss that.
Likewise, people often misunderstand the point of resurrection. Matthew, Paul, and the writer of Revelation all understood that resurrection is about God righting the wrongs done in our world. It's fundamentally a collective act. There are radical injustices in the world, and a collective resurrection is their way of saying that all the evils of this world will eventually end.
If all that mattered was souls in heaven, then you could just have a single ascension of Jesus to heaven. But they understood that we are both flesh and spirit. We are earthy creatures, not disembodied souls. Jesus' resurrection was their sign of the general resurrection to come, where the earth will be filled with God's justice and peace. That's why the dead walk again in Matthew's gospel.
The sight of a resurrected people is as scary as zombies when you want the world to stay as it is. Those who oppress and trample upon others rightfully fear it. It's the end of the world as they know it, making way for a new heaven and earth. Is it a bit sacrilegious to compare resurrection with zombies? Of course. But it's also true that for those who have been unjustly killed, their lives lost, or are part of a ravaged creation, a resurrection of "zombies" is not something to fear. It's something to celebrate.
Bring on the collective resurrection,
Timothy Murphy
Executive Director
P.S. Today's image comes from thebrickbible.com, which has hundreds of biblical stories told in the form of Legos. They will keep any youth group's attention!