Conformation to the Death of Christ and the Hope of Resurrection

Byrnes, Michael “Tesi Gregoriana Teologia” 99 - 2003, pp. 328.

By careful exegesis and theological reflection upon two important passages in which Paul addresses this theme -2 Corinthians 4, 7-15 and Philippians 3, 7-11- this study aims to understand more deeply his doctrine of participation in the dying and rising of Jesus. Most studies of this topic focus on the element of sharing in the sufferings of Christ. Close examination and comparison of these pericopes, however, reveal that Paul also proposed this dynamic as an essential marker of Christian apostolic identity: a believer is identified by his or her conformity to the self-surrender and sacrificial love that marked the pattern of Jesus’ death. The orientation to participation in the dying and rising of Christ expands our insight into the apostle’s doctrine, and it encourages contemporary Christians to conform their lives more closely to the character of Jesus.

Michael Byrnes was born in Detroit, Michigan (USA). After undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, he pursued master’s degrees at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit and his doctorate in theology at the Gregorian University in Rome. A priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit, he is a professor in the theology faculty at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.