Resurrection is not just a return to life as it was, not just the resuscitation of a corpse. It is not just the ongoing existence of an immortal soul. Resurrection is new life beyond time and space but, as we see in Jesus, with a continuity of personhood. Resurrection is also the symbol of a transformation of the disciples who experienced new life flowing from the presence of God in the risen Christ. Paul is transformed from the persecutor to an apostle; the disciples are transformed into men and women imbued with the Spirit of Jesus and ready to share the message and mission of Jesus.
Jesus lives as the first fruits of a resurrection which is promised to all those who belong to him. New life is now the reality for all believers, as Paul seems to indicate when he says in 1Corinthians 15:12-19 that there is a direct relationship between the resurrection of Jesus and our resurrection. In an emerging universe, the resurrection of Jesus is the presence of God unfolding from within Jesus and giving him a new depth of life with God. Resurrection is the extravagant love of God which transforms the whole individual person of Jesus Nazareth as well as ourselves with the final blossoming of a new depth of consciousness. Resurrection is the presence of God unfolding within each and every individual person, and therefore it is also a new inner relationship with God.
Resurrection is a revelatory symbol insofar as we experience a new dimension of God’s unfolding presence within us. Resurrection is also salvific insofar as we experience a new depth of life manifested in reconciliation, healing, and liberation within the whole Earth community. Resurrection provides a deeper, more loving web of relationship within the entire human community as we enter into and return to the fullness of life.
(Cletus Wessels – Jesus in the New Universe Story )